Starting with an outline of field study and reference gathering, Guy Combes will guide you through the process of building a composition. Although there will be reference provided for the class to follow a demonstration painting, he will encourage you to bring in photos of animals or landscapes that have special meaning to you. The demonstration will follow clear steps toward the completion of an oil painting, through image transfer, underpainting, glazing and final rendering of considerate detail. Throughout the workshop Combes will be happy to answer questions about how he markets his work, and how he uses his art to raise awareness and funds for conservation, both in East Africa and the Sonoran Desert region.
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Instructor: Guy Combes, www.guycombes.com
Cost: $685 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707

In this workshop, students may work in oil or acrylic. Students will enjoy a fun festive day painting winter birds from reference photos that will be supplied, or they can bring their own favorite bird photos. There are so many pretty winter birds to paint: festive red cardinals with holly or a chickadee with red berries and snow falling. Come see what you can create! Krista will start the day with an inspirational demo, and the rest of the time will be left to the students to paint their own winter bird paintings. Learn the secret of making bird paintings that come to life!
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Instructor: Krista Eaton, www.kristaeaton.com
Cost: $95 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707

Over four days, students will breathe life into their paintings by going outside the lines and getting loose with their techniques. Each day will begin with a demonstration, followed by plenty of painting time with lots of individual attention from Kim. She will focus on helping students gain confidence painting the human/animal form or portrait, upgrade their ability, and learn to be more analytical of their own paintings. Techniques will include painting shapes and the application of paint with correct values, leaving lost and found edges for interest and movement, and integrating the foreground with the background to make a cohesive painting.
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Instructor: Kim Johnson Nechtman, www.kj-art.com
Cost: $420 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707

In this class, students will model a Bas Relief in oil based clay, based on reference brought by the students. I will teach the students fast, effective mold making, casting and patina techniques I’ve learned over 25 years of experience. Students will take the molds home and are suitable for the bronze casting process if a bronze is desired. This is a fun class where the students complete their piece from start to finish. Subject matter is whatever the student desires.
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Instructor: Rod Zullo, www.rodzullo.com
Cost: $675 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707

Students will use oils (acrylics are allowed as well) to paint from photos. They will have a choice of dozens of photographs consisting of trees, boats, cityscapes, figures, koi, and hanging fruit. Students will also have the option to paint from their own photos if they choose. Penix will cover topics like how to make your paintings more 3-dimensional, the power of warms and cools, color theory, harmony, edges, shape-quality, variety, simplifying, loosening brushwork, elements of design, elements of light and shadow, the power of suggestion and finally painting how you see versus just copying a photograph.
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Instructor: Derek Penix, www.derekpenix.com
Cost: $725 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707

Building your artistic arsenal while bringing an animal to life is both joyful and powerful. Through daily demonstrations, examples and individual attention, this five- day workshop will enhance your ability to develop and execute paintings that will bring animals to “life.” Most importantly, you will leave with a better awareness and understanding of seeing, drawing and painting in general, while building a deeper appreciation of ways to breathe spirit and personality into the characters that populate your paintings. Bill will address the keys to both artistic and technical growth that will apply to all facets of your work, while bringing greater joy to the process, and improving your result.
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Instructor: William Suys, www.williamasuys.com
Cost: $680 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707

Join nationally and internationally acclaimed artist and instructor, Addison Palmer, for this 1-Day in-person painting workshop where you will learn the keys to painting your pet in a realistic manner.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Addison Palmer
Cost: $90
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

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 swan 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 swan, will be explored as Students learn techniques for creating a realistic likeness of the bird.
 
Location: Harahan, Louisiana
Instructor: Lorraine Watry
Cost: $350.00/$400.00
Sponsor: Louisiana Watercolor Society
Website, email

Dogs are front and center in this dynamic workshop with several live animals to inspire and inform your efforts. There will be plenty of demos but everyone jumps right in on the first day with fun, mind- altering exercises. You won’t even know you’re working but results will be apparent as each day we build on previous work. You will fall in love with a “modified” limited palette as it will quickly move you forward preparing you for a full complement of color on the last day. If you want to bring life into your animal portraits this is the place for you. There’s never a loss of fun and laughs while getting some serious work done.
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Instructor: Johanne Mangi, www.johannemangi.com
Cost: $595 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707

Join this intensive, five-day workshop and discover approaches and techniques for creating dynamic wildlife paintings. Beginning with an abbreviated lecture on the principles of design and composition and the fundamentals of painting and how they translate into dramatic wildlife paintings, Dustin will then guide students through the process of creating a wildlife work from concept to completion — each day focusing on a fundamental aspect of the process. Techniques for overcoming the limitations of reference photography and using reference and field studies to realize the student’s idea, understanding form, design, and color to create drama as well as introducing painting techniques that will enhance one’s work are some of the components of wildlife painting that will be covered in this workshop.
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Instructor: Dustin Van Wechel, www.dustinvanwechel.com
Cost: $635 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707

Get loose, go outside the lines, and don’t be afraid of watercolors! During this four-week course, Kim will guide students through three different approaches to an animal subject: a very direct painting approach, a wet-into-wet approach, and a unique “throwing paint” approach. Students will let their fears evaporate, learning instead to relax and open up their creativity and imaginations. Students will continue to explore additional techniques around the making of shapes, using color combinations, simultaneously designing foreground and background, and taking advantage of soft and hard edges. Students will gain confidence in reaching the point where they realize their painting is complete.
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Instructor: Kim Johnson Nechtman, www.kj-art.com
Cost: $210 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707

Learn to make an accordion folded, standing booklet with your nature illustrations on both sides. We’ll start with a 4×6?, 4-panel prefolded accordion style booklet made from watercolor paper. Cynthia will do several demonstrations to show how to draw, use ink pens, paint in watercolor or use watercolor pens, make collage, and add calligraphy. Each person will create a unique nature art booklet that will stand vertically for display. No previous experience needed.
 
Location: Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin
Instructor: Cynthia Quinn
Cost: $150 + $10 supply fee
Sponsor: River Arts Inc
Website, email, 608-643-5215

This five-day workshop is designed to improve your painting skills and help you develop your personal style. Mr. Homer will demonstrate how to go beyond merely copying a photo and how to add drama and mood to your paintings. Photoshop techniques for correcting color and distortion will be covered as well as how to compose using different backgrounds. Students will explore the principles of realism, abstraction, and impressionism. You will do exercises to help develop accurate but expressive brushwork and be shown how to render minute detail. Emphasis will be on accurate drawing, values, edges, “keying in” a painting, and on finishing techniques. Mr. Homer will make sure that you get individual attention and instruction geared to your level.
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Instructor: Chauncey Homer, www.chaunceyhomer.com
Cost: $600 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707

Join Andrew Denman as he shares the secrets to his dramatically different approach to painting in an easy, step-by-step tutorial. Denman is known for his beautiful portrayals of wildlife in a unique style combining realism with stylization and abstraction. You will employ a series of thick, impasto underpaintings, cover over with many layers of gesso, then sand down to reveal astonishing textures, patterns, and colors, which can either stand on their own, function as an abstract foil to any subject, or provide underlayment for natural textures like fur, feathers, bark, rocks, and grass. The first three days will focus on a series of easy-to-follow exercises. The last two days, students will create a small finished painting of their own.
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Instructor: Andrew Denman, www.andrewdenman.com
Cost: $650 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707

Students will have the option of choosing the animal they would like to sculpt from dogs and cats to horses and wildlife. Students will learn fast, effective armature building, and Rod’s techniques for modeling heart and souls into their animals. Rod’s known for his expressive animal sculptures, based on solid proportions, but not derived from extensive math or measuring. All reference will be from photos, models, and studying other art. Students can expect to finish a medium sized clay model, suitable for bronze casting. Rod Zullo, Fellow of the National Sculpture Society, has years of experience teaching sculpture. Many of Rod’s students have advanced in their careers because of his mentoring and enthusiastic approach to living as an artist.
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Instructor: Rod Zullo, www.rodzullo.com
Cost: $675 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707

In this workshop Paolo will share with you the process and techniques used in sculpting desert animals. In addition to the basic sculpting fundamentals, such as finding forms, basic block ins, anatomy and proportions, we will take time to study the animals we are sculpting. Discussing their environment, behaviorism, and life span. These things can play a huge role in the shape and character of an animal. Understanding them can give personality to the sculpture and help bring it to life. Students are encouraged to bring reference material if they want to sculpt a particular animal. Paolo will also have references available. All clay and tools will be provided in the workshop and students will be able to keep the tools.
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Instructor: Paolo Acuna, www.paoloacuna.com
Cost: $315 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707