Accomplish a painting(s) of your choice in a studio face to face environment. Use oil, acrylic, watercolor or related medium of your choice. Instructor demos, guidance and critiques are tailored to your needs. Take one or all course days. Students should bring own supplies. Some limited supplies available for sale.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Dennis Lake
Cost: $144 for Members, $160 for Non-members
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

Whether you have always wanted to try portraiture or have years of experience drawing/painting people or animals this class will help you discover more of your own style while learning some time-tested techniques for simplifying and expressing yourself as a portrait artist. All of us have been looking at people’s faces our whole lives. Yet, rendering them as an artist involves seeing faces in a new way. Going beyond line drawing to shapes and shadows, use of chiaroscuro, color accuracy, and overall design composition this class will help you on your way to creating truly 3 dimensional portraits that are alive and vibrant. Great for intermediate and advanced level artists.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Jana Stiles
Cost: $144 for Members, $160 for Non-members
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

The class begins with a discussion of bird anatomy, comparative anatomy, the principles of aerodynamics, the importance of drawing and assembling shapes, and how to achieve the illusion of movement in sculptures of birds in flight. All aspects of modeling in oil-based clay will be explored and beginning students are welcome. Students will learn the importance of assembling strong, meaningful shapes and how eliminating unimportant details can create the bird’s essence. Students will work from computer imagery, photography, drawings, field guides, and a printed workbook. Above all armature building, assembling reference for a specific species aerodynamics, anatomy, and creating art is the focus. Sandy has instructed bird sculpture for over 35 years and is recognized as one of America’s leading wildlife artists.
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Instructor: Sandy Scott, www.sandyscott.com
Cost: $680 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707

Starting with an outline of field study and reference gathering, Guy will guide you through the process of building a composition, while sharing his inspiration and knowledge of East Africa. 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 the conservation causes he is involved with.
 
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

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

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

Dogs are front and center in this dynamic workshop. If you are looking to up your game, this is the class for you. Several live animals participate 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. 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: $525 (not including fees)
Sponsor: Scottsdale Artists' School
Website, email, (480) 990-1422 or (800) 333-5707

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 just some of the vital 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

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 during the week. 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

Are you mezmerized and joyed by the incredibly beaurtiful, ballet-like motion, fluidity and grace of Koi? Come truly express yourself with David Lobenberg's bright colors and new and exciting paint application techniques You will use everything from stencils and pipettes to conte crayon and chalk markers to bring your Koi to life with curving and bending motions which convey these graceful creatures. David’s watercolor paintings can be found in private, public, and corporate collections across the country. His work has been featured in American Artist, Southwest Art, and American Art Collector magazines and several others.
 
Location: Bend, Oregon
Instructor: David Lobenberg
Cost: $495
Sponsor: Art in the Mountains
Website, email, 503-930-4572