Master ceramic artists Lynnette Hesser and Steve Loucks will begin by demonstrating techniques to make unique serving dishes and then help you make your own to serve your special occasion or favorite foods such as cheese balls, shrimp cocktail, asparagus, deviled eggs, or baked salmon. Learn how to alter basic bowl and plate forms by darting, stretching, and reforming them and then embellishing them with carvings, sprigs, lugs, and/or handles. We will demonstrate all the clay wheel and handbuilding techniques used and more, as well as, help each participant individually both days. Pieces may be either taken home unfired or left to be bisqued and picked up later. For more information, visit the artists’ websites: lynnettehesserceramics.com and stevelouckspottery.com.
 
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Instructor: Lynnette Hesser & Steve Loucks
Cost: $450 Museum members/ $500 non-members
Sponsor: Huntsville Museum of Art
Website, email, 256-535-6372

Come to a once in a lifetime workshop with master craftsman and nationally acclaimed artist Alan Shuptrine! Learn the historical background of this lost art of water gilding and discuss the art of the frame by taking a tour through the museum’s collection and viewing frames on display. Then head to the Museum Academy studios and learn water gilding with 22 kt. genuine gold leaf. At the end of the class, students will leave with their own water gilded and finished frame. Alan Shuptrine is also recognized as a nationally renowned artist for his sensitive and detailed paintings in watercolor and oil. His accomplishments in master craftsmanship with gold leaf are in museums nationwide. For more information, visit alanshuptrine.com.
 
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Instructor: Alan Shuptrine
Cost: $475 Museum members/ $525 non-members
Sponsor: Huntsville Museum of Art
Website, email, 256-535-6372

Water reflections can be fascinating. The water can act like glass and give an almost perfect reflection of the object or distort the objects due to movement of the surface. This workshop will focus on a bird and its reflection in the water. Students will learn methods to create the puzzle-like reflections in the water by using masking, layering, and wet-on-wet techniques. Next the subject of the reflection, the bird, will be explored as students learn techniques for creating a realistic likeness of the bird. The fundamentals of watercolor and the application of design principals will be discussed and demonstrated so that each student will have the tools to complete their own successful painting.
 
Location: Fairhope, Alabama
Instructor: Lorraine Watry
Cost: $400 (members), $440 (non-members)
Sponsor: Watercolor Society of Alabama
Website, email

Want to paint more vibrant portraits? Ann Moeller Steverson will teach you how to create beautiful soft skin tones with a rainbow of natural colors. By enhancing your observational skills and noticing subtleties, you will explore how ambient light affects objects and color. You will learn how to observe the planes of the head, set up attractive and effective lighting, create excellent reference images, and mix paint for more natural-looking colors. Learning these techniques will help your subject matter glow, feel alive and significantly improve your skin tones. For information, visit annmoellerstudios.com.
 
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Instructor: Ann Moeller Steverson
Cost: $450 Museum members/ $475 non-members
Sponsor: Huntsville Museum of Art
Website, email, 256-535-6372

With this workshop, Qiang will introduce his approaches of adding figures into landscape paintings in oil. Painters need to have adequate amount of training in anatomy, proportion, perspective, and skin tones to be able manage subtle variations in human forms. He will introduce visual tools to make figure painting much easier. The students will create storytelling paintings in an expressive style. Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate. Qiang Huang (pronounced as Chong Wong) was born and raised in Beijing China and now lives in Austin, Texas. He has studied art from multiple master artists like David Leffel and Sherrie McGraw. For more information, visit qh-art.com.
 
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Instructor: Qiang Huang
Cost: $600 Museum members/ $650 non-members
Sponsor: Huntsville Museum of Art
Website, email, 256-535-6372

The workshop sessions begin each morning at 9:00 a.m. when Couch completes a painting, explaining what he is doing, and why, as he paints. The “mysteries” of design will be unraveled for you while you learn watercolor painting! Students paint in the afternoons, after which Couch critiques all the day’s completed work, including his own. An optional slide show/lecture on the principles of design – including color and composition – will be presented in the afternoon of the first day. Skill Level: Beginners, Students, Hobbyists & Professional Artists. Visit tonycouch.com.
 
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Instructor: Tony Couch
Cost: $600 Museum members/ $650 non-members
Sponsor: Huntsville Museum of Art
Website, email, 256-535-6372

Capturing a powerful portrait goes well beyond the press of a button. In this workshop, students explore all aspects of portraiture and delve into the process of working with people. Students learn through attention to detail, postures and expressions, approaching potential subjects, establishing trust and developing a relationship, working through the process and all of the details of creating a great portrait. Rania Matar will discuss well-known artists, framing, environment, light, location, background, body language, expressions and the importance of the gaze. The Huntsville Museum of Art will have on view the SHE exhibition from August 20 - November 26, 2023, Organized by The Museum Box LLC, Boston, MA. For more information, visit raniamatar.com.
 
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Instructor: Rania Matar
Cost: $775 Museum members/ $825 non-members
Sponsor: Huntsville Museum of Art
Website, email, 256-535-6372

This workshop is about painting the portrait alla prima (wet-into-wet) and the techniques used to create a fresh, direct response to our subjects. There will be a painting demonstration and lots of class time for students to work from a live portrait models. Rather than focusing on details, students will learn to simplify and interpret the head and face as a series of basic shapes and planes described by light and shadow. Shevlino will spend time discussing basic proportions and how to recognize the planes of the head and how to simplify them. Shevlino studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (certificate ’84) and the University of Pennsylvania (BFA ’92). Visit davidshevlino.com.
 
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Instructor: David Shevlino
Cost: $700 Museum members/ $750 non-members
Sponsor: Huntsville Museum of Art
Website, email, 256-535-6372

The sky is the most emotional aspect of any landscape painting. It sets the mood, time of day and the attitude of your painting. We will investigate the individual characteristics of sky and water and how to render them. On Day One and Two, we will work on techniques for clear skies and creating believable clouds. On Day Three, we use underpainting to explore the layers of transparency in water, and Day Four, we work on whitewater. There will be daily demonstrations along with plenty of one-on-one instruction at your easel. Workshop will be held indoors. Liz Haywood-Sullivan, PSA-MP, IAPS/MC, is a representational landscape artist painting in the pastel medium. Visit lizhaywoodsullivan.com.
 
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Instructor: Liz Haywood-Sullivan
Cost: $700 Museum members/ $750 non-members
Sponsor: Huntsville Museum of Art
Website, email, 256-535-6372