Art Workshops, Classes & Retreats
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March 31 - April 2, 2023
Even still life subjects can be incorporated into the most extraordinary story of your life! German artist Theissen leads students through developing drawings with pencil and ink in her signature sepia graphic novel style.
Location: Key West, Florida
Instructor: Heidi Theissen
Cost: $310 / $280 for members
Sponsor: The Studios of Key West
Website, email, (305) 296-0458

April 3, 2023
Life Drawing, also known as Figure Drawing, is the practice of drawing in order to study the human figure in detail. Many artists perceive figure drawing as an endless effort with limitless possibility for improvement, learning, and diversity. There will be a model, male or female, most often nude, posing for different durations: 2 minutes to 10 minutes, then followed by a long pose of 20 to 30 minutes. Some popular mediums used during life drawings are charcoal, graphite, pen, ink and pastels. For the longer poses, some may use painting mediums like acrylics or oil, or, go back after the session and add in additional media. Feel free to bring and use whatever you desire.
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Cost: $20
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

April 13, 2023
Our monthly drop-in platform helps those who have an ongoing figure drawing practice, want to incorporate the figure into their work, or simply want to start with one of the best possible drawing foundations. So, take a break from working from photos or trying to convince your family members to sit still. Our monthly sessions offer the chance to work from a live model for up to two hours.
Location: Key West, Florida
Cost: $35 per session
Sponsor: The Studios of Key West
Website, email, (305) 296-0458

April 13-14, 2023
Over the course of three evenings, Lothar Speer teaches artists how to capture the likeness of friends and strangers with a tongue in cheek nod to personality traits. Learn to incorporate the subtle art of satire into your drawing practice.
Location: Key West, Florida
Instructor: Lothar Speer
Cost: $140 / $125 for members
Sponsor: The Studios of Key West
Website, email, (305) 296-0458

April 15-16, 2023
Images, Words, and Movement: Teaching Artist Panzeca leads participants through a series of exercises in writing, drawing, and movement. In this two-day workshop, students will write poems using randomly generated words, draw and ink narrative comics, mix and match images and captions, and write an improvisational poem after dancing.
Location: Key West, Florida
Instructor: Andrea Panzeca
Cost: $75 / $60 for members
Sponsor: The Studios of Key West
Website, email, (305) 296-0458

Saturdays, April 15 - May 20, 2023
Capture the landscape in open air with the vibrancy and realism that can be achieved with colored pencil! Explore descriptive and expressive line quality, color relationships, cross-hatching and layering techniques, capturing light and volume, and the effects of working on different papers as you portray the beauty of Philadelphia’s parks in your own personal style. Learn methods for choosing a composition, mixing color through layering, and working efficiently outdoors. Working in dry media will allow you all the benefits of using color, but with the ease transporting lightweight and portable materials and no wet paintings! Drawing locations featuring shade, restrooms, and other amenities may include Clark Park in West Philly, Wissahickon Park in Mt. Airy, and Bartram's Garden in Southwest Philadelphia.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Michelle Oosterbaan
Cost: $375
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

April 16, 2023
Time: 10am - 4pm, Sunday April 16, 2023. Medium: demonstration will be in watercolor but you can use any medium. Small group: 6 - 8 students. Deadline to register March 16, 2023. The goal of this workshop is to make outdoor work straightforward, simple and focused.
This workshop will feature:
1. Choosing the subject matter for painterly style and deep insight into the subject.
2. Focusing on focal areas to isolate the main message.
3. Rearrange, remove and add elements to achieve harmony in your painting.
4. Using 3 planes of vision in landscape.
5. Using the "Train Method" to keep things painterly and fresh.
6. Individual instructions at your easel
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Instructor: Vladislav Yeliseyev
Cost: $180
Sponsor: Renaissance School of Art
Website, email, 941-330-6865

Sundays, April 16 - May 14, 2023
Capture the small-town beauty of Manayunk's hilly streets, rowhomes, and storefronts. Learn to create a convincing sense of space, light and time of day while depicting streetscapes, trees, water and sky. Color mixing and painting techniques for oils will be demonstrated, but all drawing/painting media are welcome. Located just 15 minutes outside of Philadelphia, Manayunk offers engaging urban and riverside neighborhood subjects with parking, shade, provisions and facilities available. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation to painting locations.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Larry Francis
Cost: $395
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

April 29, 2023
Capture the active life of the city and its rich architecture. This is an excellent workshop for anyone who wants to learn to sketch on the bus or train, in cafés and public parks, or while traveling abroad. Topics include perspective, gauging proportions by eye, gesture figure drawing, and methods for simplifying form. All levels welcome. Rain Date: May 6. (Please plan on the rain date when registering – regular withdrawal policies apply for students unable to attend the rescheduled date.)
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan
Cost: $115
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

May 4-6, 2023
This plein air workshop focuses on the rich historical and biological life of the Kapok Tree. Utilizing a variety of drawing and painting techniques, these painting classes will allow us to get up close and personal to this majestic Key West icon from above, below, and inside out. Moving between 3 different public locations, students will play with scale, perspective, light, and shadow to create a series of drawings and paintings on location. Morehouse will lead discussions on exploring how trees communicate and what we as humans can learn about reciprocal relationships through trees’ interdependent networks of communication and collaboration.
Location: Key West, Florida
Instructor: Fiona Morehouse
Cost: $260 / $220 for members
Sponsor: The Studios of Key West
Website, email, (305) 296-0458

May 6, 2023
Do you have the urge to make something but don't know where to start? Do you dabble and try different things but aren't getting anywhere? Join Cerulean Collective artist Carol Cole for a series of practical, playful exercises to help you figure out what you like and how to get started doing it. Explore ways to recognize and value your unique, artistic gift. No previous experience required.
Location: Philadelphia, PA, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Carol Cole
Cost: $85
Sponsor: Cerulean Arts Gallery and Studio
Website, email, 267-514-8647

May 8, 2023
Life Drawing, also known as Figure Drawing, is the practice of drawing in order to study the human figure in detail. Many artists perceive figure drawing as an endless effort with limitless possibility for improvement, learning, and diversity. There will be a model, male or female, most often nude, posing for different durations: 2 minutes to 10 minutes, then followed by a long pose of 20 to 30 minutes. Some popular mediums used during life drawings are charcoal, graphite, pen, ink and pastels. For the longer poses, some may use painting mediums like acrylics or oil, or, go back after the session and add in additional media. Feel free to bring and use whatever you desire.
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Cost: $20
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

May 16, 2023
This one-day class will introduce students to the basic materials and tools needed for learning how to draw confidently with graphite pencils. You will be introduced to a full range of pencil grades and why and when to use them. Through the use of exercises and discussion, we will practice the techniques that can take you to the next level of drawing. This course will touch upon seeing rather than remembering; shapes. You will learn how to see the world around you differently through these observations and practice. We will establish the habits you need to keep your paper clean, erase safely without discouragement, and learn what makes for an interesting subject to draw.
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Laura Schuler
Cost: $100
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

June 5-9, 2023
The New Studio Summer Camp will allow students to engage in creative and challenging art projects that allow them to explore various media, supplies and techniques. All projects will revolve around a weekly theme to maintain a cohesive energy that opens the doors of curiosity, adventure, and exploration.
Projects will involve painting, drawing, mixed media, sculpture, and upcycling as campers partake in the creative process.
Location: Jupiter, Florida
Instructor: Jacalyn Gmoch
Cost: Half Days: $175 & Full Days: $350
Sponsor: The New Studio For The Visual Arts
Website, email, 561-295-5712

June 5, 2023
Life Drawing, also known as Figure Drawing, is the practice of drawing in order to study the human figure in detail. Many artists perceive figure drawing as an endless effort with limitless possibility for improvement, learning, and diversity. There will be a model, male or female, most often nude, posing for different durations: 2 minutes to 10 minutes, then followed by a long pose of 20 to 30 minutes. Some popular mediums used during life drawings are charcoal, graphite, pen, ink and pastels. For the longer poses, some may use painting mediums like acrylics or oil, or, go back after the session and add in additional media. Feel free to bring and use whatever you desire.
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Cost: $20
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

June 19-23, 2023
The New Studio Summer Camp will allow students to engage in creative and challenging art projects that allow them to explore various media, supplies and techniques. All projects will revolve around a weekly theme to maintain a cohesive energy that opens the doors of curiosity, adventure, and exploration.
Projects will involve painting, drawing, mixed media, sculpture, and upcycling as campers partake in the creative process.
Location: Jupiter, Florida
Instructor: Jacalyn Gmoch
Cost: Half Days: $175 & Full Days: $350
Sponsor: The New Studio For The Visual Arts
Website, email, 561-295-5712

June 22-24, 2023
This class is a three day intensive drawing experience. The emphasis is on accurate drawing for painting. If the drawing part of the painting process steals your joy, this is the class for you. Drawing is the foundation for painting. Improving your drawing will certainly improve your painting. Class is limited to 12 students. A healthy, delicious lunch will be prepared by Brenda for $14 per day.
Location: Franklin, Tennessee
Instructor: Dawn Whitelaw, www.dawnwhitelaw.com
Cost: $480
Sponsor: On Track Studios
Website, email

June 26-30, 2023
Come develop your observational skills, strengthen your drawing ability, and build your college portfolio. The focus in this course will be in drawing extensively from observation using visual tools as we work from the still-life, landscape, and the portrait as subjects. We will become familiar with and explore historical and contemporary drawing materials and techniques, learning their characteristics and limitations. We will also explore works from historical and contemporary artists to begin a learning dialogue with their works to form a greater understanding of them as well as the two-dimensional visual language. $15 model fee included in cost of course.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Roger Chavez
Cost: $440
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

July 3-7, 2023 ***No Class July 4th***
The New Studio Summer Camp will allow students to engage in creative and challenging art projects that allow them to explore various media, supplies and techniques. All projects will revolve around a weekly theme to maintain a cohesive energy that opens the doors of curiosity, adventure, and exploration.
Projects will involve painting, drawing, mixed media, sculpture, and upcycling as campers partake in the creative process.
Location: Jupiter, Florida
Instructor: Jacalyn Gmoch
Cost: Half Days: $140 & Full Days: $280
Sponsor: The New Studio For The Visual Arts
Website, email, 561-295-5712

July 5-7, 2023
Learn to draw urban landscapes while exploring the vibrant city around PAFA. Students will learn about materials, composition, shading, light and perspective while drawing in (shaded) parks, streets, and (indoor) views from PAFA. Gain a new practice in sketching en plein air and develop portfolio pieces. Great for students at all levels, from beginners to more experienced artists. Students will be able to explore and learn to depict the wide range of landscapes just outside the door!
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Alyssa Khalifa
Cost: $260
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

July 14-16, 2023
This workshop focuses on "painting from a point", using a wide variety of colored pencils and compatible surfaces to create dynamic, vividly-drawn colored pencil paintings. Materials used include waxy/oily colored pencils as well as those remarkable “sleeper” products, watercolor pencils. Surfaces (provided) include papers, boards, even unique sanded papers. Featuring an abundance of free art supplies, this workshop is full to the brim with personal attention, demonstrations, tools, and techniques that are sure to increase your repertoire. Kristy Kutch, C.P.S.A. is an experienced, supportive workshop teacher, the author of two colored pencil technique books and the featured artist on four instructional films.
Location: Portland, Oregon
Instructor: Kristy Kutch, C.P.S.A.
Sponsor: Oregon Society of Artists
Website, email, 503-228-0706

July 17-21, 2023
Students with foundational drawing experience as well as beginners will focus on building their observational skills. Using the still-life, cityscape and nude model as subjects, various visual tools will be used to help see relationships between objects and shapes. In addition, students will learn the characteristics and limitations of the picture plane to gain a better understanding of what it means to draw on the flat surface. Students will become aware of historical and contemporary drawing materials and techniques giving them insight into historical drawings and their artists. Model fee of $25 is included in price of class.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cost: $450
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

July 17-21, 2023
The New Studio Summer Camp will allow students to engage in creative and challenging art projects that allow them to explore various media, supplies and techniques. All projects will revolve around a weekly theme to maintain a cohesive energy that opens the doors of curiosity, adventure, and exploration.
Projects will involve painting, drawing, mixed media, sculpture, and upcycling as campers partake in the creative process.
Location: Jupiter, Florida
Instructor: Jacalyn Gmoch
Cost: Half Days: $175 & Full Days: $350
Sponsor: The New Studio For The Visual Arts
Website, email, 561-295-5712

July 24-28, 2023
In this course, students will be taught cartooning basics, studying drawing and inking techniques using a variety of professional tools. They will also be taught the language of sequential art (comics). Students will write a story based on real life or imagination, then design characters and environments to be used as they transform that story into a short-form comic.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Jeff Kilpatrick
Cost: $425
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

July 31 - August 4, 2023
The New Studio Summer Camp will allow students to engage in creative and challenging art projects that allow them to explore various media, supplies and techniques. All projects will revolve around a weekly theme to maintain a cohesive energy that opens the doors of curiosity, adventure, and exploration.
Projects will involve painting, drawing, mixed media, sculpture, and upcycling as campers partake in the creative process.
Location: Jupiter, Florida
Instructor: Jacalyn Gmoch
Cost: Half Days: $175 & Full Days: $350
Sponsor: The New Studio For The Visual Arts
Website, email, 561-295-5712

August 7-11, 2023
Learn to draw or paint the portrait with confidence through time-honored methods. Drawing instruction will guide students through a comprehensive understanding of the head structure, perspectives and features toward achieving both a likeness and aesthetic effect. Extended poses will allow thorough observational study of both drawing and painting processes. Model fee of $25 is included in the price of the class.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Inga Kimberly Brown
Cost: $450
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

September 11-14, 2023 (9:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.)
Sharpen your colored pencils for workshop fun in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin- post-summer rush but still during the mild September weather. Kristy Kutch, a supportive, generous teacher, is the author of "Drawing and Painting with Colored Pencil" and "The New Colored Pencil". Kristy is featured in 4 instructional DVDs. Included are many aspects of this medium and its compatible surfaces. Create effects ranging from soft, transparent, and aqueous to dense and dramatic. Harbor Shores Hotel, on Geneva Lake, offers outstanding student discounts. Rooms feature mini-fridges, wet-bars, and microwaves. (Lodging reservations should be made separately. Inquire at 888-746-7371 to receive booking link. Mention this workshop for discount.) Bring an extra tote bag for samples; plan for this memorable workshop!
Location: Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Instructor: Kristy A. Kutch, C.P.S.A.
Cost: $285
Sponsor: Kristy Kutch Colored Pencil Workshops
Website, email, 219-874-4688

October 8-12, 2023
Step into historic, charming Glastonbury, Connecticut and experience creating (and lodging) at a beautiful colonial inn! This course focuses on "painting from a point", using a variety of colored pencils and surfaces to create dynamic, vividly-drawn paintings. Products used include watercolor pencils and waxy/oily colored pencils. Surfaces feature papers, boards, and even sanded papers. Featuring an abundance of colored pencils and free art materials, this workshop is full to the brim with small-group personal attention, demonstrations, and techniques that are sure to increase your repertoire.
Kristy Kutch is an upbeat, experienced workshop instructor, the author of "Drawing and Painting with Colored Pencil" and "The New Colored Pencil". She is also the featured artist on four instructional DVDs.
Location: Glastonbury, Connecticut
Instructor: Kristy A. Kutch, C.P.S.A.
Sponsor: Artists Rising Creativity Retreats
Website, email, 860-916-0514

November 10-12, 2023
This boutique workshop, limited to only 8 participants, will be fun! We will dive into the world of abstract art, learning how to suggest rather than delineate. Soon you will be working intuitively without even realizing it.
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Instructor: Joan Fullerton
Cost: $775
Sponsor: Ingrid's Originals Inc.
Website, email, 312-320-0833

See also:
Art Books for Drawing |
Tutorials for Drawing