Art Workshops, Classes & Retreats
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June 10-11, 2023
This comprehensive workshop covers all aspects of painting a traditional portrait. Topics include achieving a likeness, modeling light and shade, mixing flesh tones and applying paint through various techniques. All participants will produce at least one finished portrait. Includes demonstrations and portrait history. Valuable information for all levels. Tuition includes a $25 model fee.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Theodore Xaras
Cost: $250
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

June 12-14, 2023
Are your paintings muddy and well, …kinda grey? In this in-person plein air workshop, you will learn how color secrets can transform your paintings! Many times, paintings end up looking too blue and green or grey. Learn how to push reds into your paintings in unexpected ways and places. Learn how to warm up a blue so it shimmers. Unlock the secrets to sparkle on the water! Award-winning artist Debra Huse is a great teacher, sharing every aspect of her techniques to achieve successful paintings. Break old habits and bring a new, more confident, approach to your work.
Location: Carmel, California
Instructor: Debra Huse
Cost: $595.00
Sponsor: Carmel Visual Arts
Website

Mondays, June 12-26, 2023
Paint with the medium (oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel) of your choice in a relaxed atmosphere with as much instructor help as you want. Bring in new or unfinished work you want to do. Short demos, techniques, and critiques will be available to assist you. Realism, impressionism, or something more modern is all welcome.
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Dennis Lake
Cost: $150
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

June 17, 2023
The still life genre presents the perfect opportunity to practice technique, create new challenges with color, texture and reflections or to experiment with a new approach or style. Work alongside the artist as he demonstrates techniques for beginning and continuing a painting. A dynamic still life will serve as subject matter and inspiration. Photography will be discussed and encouraged as a way to continue painting from a reference at a later time. All levels welcome.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: David Berger
Cost: $95
Sponsor: Cerulean Arts Gallery & Studio
Website, email, 267-514-8647

June 17-18, 2023
Explore the Carquinez Strait area with a fresh eye towards design, color, and a sense of place in the moment. While reviewing the basics of solid picture-making, push yourself to see the world more abstractly, pushing paint with a sense of freedom. Two days of plein air start with demonstrations to set you up with plenty of painting time and individual attention. Students must have at least some plein air experience and have a proper painting set-up of outdoor easel etc.
Location: Benicia, California
Instructor: Randall Sexton, www.rcsexton.com
Cost: $270 Members / $295 Non-Members
Sponsor: Arts Benicia
Website, 707 747-0131

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 20-23, 2023
Learn the essentials of landscape painting in the New Hope/Lambertville countryside, the area made famous by Daniel Garber, Edward Redfield, Fern Coppedge, and other masters of Pennsylvania Impressionism. Locations will include Daniel Garber’s historic farmstead, Cuttalossa Farm! Veteran plein air artist Joe Sweeney will guide newcomers and artists of all levels through both the artistic concerns and practical matters of open air painting. Topics include color mixing to achieve a sense of light and air, capturing time of day, compositional fundamentals, and sound drawing and painting practices. Instruction is geared toward oil/acrylic painting and pastel drawing/painting.
Location: New Hope, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Joseph Sweeney
Cost: $325
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

June 21, 2023
This is an open half-day workshop for any student wishing to enhance their skill level in abstract and/or impressionism painting. It is also for students looking to explore the abstract and/or impressionistic world to see if it is an avenue they perhaps would like to pursue in the future. All students are encouraged to bring in works that have been started by them that need further development; ideas that they would like to bring to fruition; and/or look to see if working in abstract is appealing in their choice of medium. Instructor Art Cornell will be there assisting each student, providing critique to their work, pointing out strengths and weaknesses, or, helping you start something new!
Location: Hilton Head, South Carolina
Instructor: Art Cornell
Cost: $100
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

June 22, 2023
Spend a lovely day outside learning how to paint with pastels in plein air! The class will start with a pastel painting demonstration on the raised lawn at Shelter Cove Community Park. Carol will share how she creates brilliant color vibration in her pastel paintings. You will learn how to focus in on a strong composition, define your values, identify your light sources, create a point of focus, and how to see and use color effectively in plein air. You will learn the importance of painting light, shadows and colors from real life. There will be personalized teaching and individualized feedback throughout the day.
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Carol Iglesias
Cost: $120
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

June 24-25, 2023
Abstraction meets representation in this creative take on still life painting. Students will assemble their own still-life set-ups from folded and cut colored paper and then translate these arrangements through observational oil painting on paper. Working from colored planar structures allows the opportunity to explore all the essential aspects of representational still life painting – form, space, value, color relationships, and composition – while experiencing the inherent abstraction of simple shapes and planes of color. Printed papers may additionally allow the introduction of compositional concepts of harmony, pattern, and repetition. This class serves both as an engaging exercise in color and abstraction to inspire one’s painting practice and as an excellent introduction to painting concepts through humble, easy-to-draw subject matter.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Meghan Cox
Cost: $195
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

July 1, 2023
Enliven your figure painting by positioning an observed figure into an imaginary or secondary space; a technique practiced by many of the artists we admire. Work from a live model and learn to simplify complex figurative forms and carefully observe value and color. At the same time play with lighting, color, scale and proportion to create a convincing space for your figure. Suitable for students with basic painting experience.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Sterling Shaw
Cost: $150
Sponsor: Cerulean Arts Gallery & Studio
Website, email, 267-514-8647

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

Wednesdays, July 5 - August 9, 2023
The oil sketch is a traditional way for painters to execute preparatory ideas and quickly capture initial impressions – perfect for plein air painting! Learn useful techniques for rapidly encapsulating color and form while working directly from observation. Select locations along the Schuylkill River will include beautiful Laurel Hill Cemetery and Bartram’s Garden.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Roger Chavez
Cost: $375
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Wednesdays, July 5-26, 2023
Learn how to create a realistic and character descriptive portrait of your beloved pet in this class. The instructor will guide through a step-by-step process that includes how to create the facial structure of your pet, render beautiful and sparkling eyes, build nose and mouth shapes, create light and dark fur, and create an interesting background.
Students may choose to draw, work in pastel or paint with acrylic.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Alicia Mino Gonzalez
Cost: $195
Sponsor: Cerulean Arts Gallery & Studio
Website, email, 267-514-8647

Thursdays, July 6 - August 10, 2023
Without question, every oil painter benefits from color mixing instruction: Understanding how to accurately see, mix, and adjust color not only allows you to achieve the results you want in your work but also enables you to avoid the pitfalls of wasting paint though inaccurate and poorly understood pigment mixing. Explore key methods and principles for effective color mixing, using a limited palette to create prismatic hues and earth tone colors. Instruction will address the role of light in the visual perception of color, as well as subtractive and additive color systems. Work from varied still life arrangements to put your color comprehension into practice, and advance your painting skills for all subject matter.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Roger Chavez
Cost: $295
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

July 8, 2023
Color is perhaps the most misunderstood and confusing element of painting for people. This workshop will focus on color’s theoretical underpinnings —how it works and why it works— and how to apply these principles when faced with the reality of painting with artist's pigments. Participants will work to develop their own vocabulary of color through making color studies and scales, and paint from a still life to practice seeing, relating and mixing colors. Designed for beginning through intermediate painters who are looking to gain a greater understanding of color and the color mixing process.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Bruce Garrity
Cost: $95
Sponsor: Cerulean Arts Gallery & Studio
Website, email, 267-514-8647

Saturdays, July 8 - August 12, 2023
Paint from a life model in a single pose for the entire course. Extended time with a single subject allows students to work with the instructor to tailor exercises that address their individual interests, including the development of one large image or several smaller studies. The first session will include time for gestural and thumbnail drawings in preparation for the model’s final placement. Instruction will cover a variety of topics including glazing, broken color, surface texture, composition and design, the relationship of the figure to the environment, the creation of atmosphere and color harmony, disrupted realism, and open- versus closed-form painting. All levels welcome. Students are welcome to draw-only, or use other appropriate media, if they wish. Note: Tuition includes a $35 models fee.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: David Wilson
Cost: $330
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632
July 10-14, 2023
Enjoy open-air painting in beautiful Valley Forge National Historical Park, the encampment site of George Washington’s Continental Army and now home to a painter’s delight of lush scenery and historic architecture! Located 35 minutes northwest of Center City Philadelphia, the park features great views of the Schuylkill River, Valley Creek, the Valley Forge Farm, Mt. Joy, Mt. Misery, and many valleys, cabins, and colonial houses, with ample parking and access to restrooms. Working from diverse landscape subject matter, students will learn essential plein air approaches, including color mixing to achieve a sense of light and air, capturing time of day, compositional fundamentals, and sound drawing and painting practices. Instruction is geared toward oil/acrylic painting and pastel drawing/painting. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation.
Location: Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Joseph Sweeney
Cost: $375
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Mondays, July 10-31, 2023
Paint with the medium (oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel) of your choice in a relaxed atmosphere with as much instructor help as you want. Bring in new or unfinished work you want to do. Short demos, techniques, and critiques will be available to assist you. Realism, impressionism, or something more modern is all welcome.
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Dennis Lake
Cost: $200
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

July 10-14, 2023
Come explore the vibrant possibilities of oil painting through PAFA’s time honored methods. In this course learn materials and techniques including painting supports, brushes, historical and contemporary oil mediums, and their preparations. Discussions and demonstrations will include topics such as paint chemistry, color mixing of prismatic hues and earth tone colors as well as the additive and subtractive color systems. Painting from a variety of subjects including the still life and the cityscape will allow for a development and understanding of the two-dimensional visual language.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Jill A. Rupinski
Cost: $425
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Tuesdays, July 11 - August 15, 2023
Paint portraits from a variety of models using the direct painting method. Examine the proportions and volumes of the head, as well as the placement, structure, and characteristics of the facial features, through preliminary drawings and demonstrations. Develop color using a limited palette to understand how to use chroma, temperature, value, tint, and tone. Instruction will address materials, composition, paint handling, and color mixing, blending, and theory. Homework assignments working from photos, Masterworks, or oneself/others will encourage students to learn to make personal aesthetic and technical choices and to practice concepts addressed in class. Open to all levels, this course is excellent for beginners as well as experienced students who want to review fundamental techniques or who simply enjoy painting portraits from life.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Roberto Osti
Cost: $590
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

July 12, 2023
This class is designed for intermediate and advanced students wishing to improve their skill level in abstract/impressionism painting. You need to bring in any current work, work you wish to be critiqued, new work you would like to do. I will do demonstration of various techniques you can use in advancing your work as well as exploring abstract impressionism.
Location: Hilton Head, South Carolina
Instructor: Art Cornell
Cost: $80
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

July 15-16, 2023
Presenting or incorporating words in art is a powerfully direct way of speaking to the viewer for personal, serious, or comic effect. Modern and contemporary artists have depicted words or phrases, or combined text with imagery or abstraction, to express emotions or ideas or to comment trenchantly on politics, social concerns, advertising, or media. Explore methods of incorporating text into your own paintings and mixed media work to make potent and personal statements. Bring in found/collected text or your own writings and ideas, sketch to investigate ways of incorporating them into compositions, and progress to creating a finished piece that communicates effectively through word and aesthetic. Instruction will focus on acrylic and mixed media approaches, but students are welcome to work in oil.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Doah Lee
Cost: $195
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

July 15 & 16, 2023
Learn to paint your way through the questioning and uncertainty of the art-making process in this intuitive, practical and empowering two-day workshop. The focus will be on materials driven experimentation and investigation while learning to dispel the voices of criticism in your head and perceiving doubt as a valid means of investigation rather than a paralyzing force. Discover the freedom that comes from generating imagery without preconceived outcomes. Instruction will be presented on an artist-to-artist basis, whether participants are beginners or seasoned artists, representational or nonobjective.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Keith Leitner
Cost: $185
Sponsor: Cerulean Arts Gallery & Studio
Website, email, 267-514-8647

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 20-22, 2023
The class is designed as a skills building workshop. We will take a deep dive into drawing and proportions, value as it relates to skin tone, edges, and likeness. Class exercises, where you will work from photo reference, will equip you for painting better portraits. 4 weeks of online help, following the class, will walk you through that portrait project that you have been wanting to do. Students will receive a full color booklet of notes. Class size will be limited to maximize individual attention. A healthy, delicious lunch will be prepared by Brenda for $14 per day.
Location: Franklin, Tennessee
Instructor: Dawn Whitelaw, www.dawnwhitelaw.com
Cost: $590
Sponsor: On Track Studios
Website, email

July 22-23, 2023
Experience still life painting as a means of exploring vibrant color and abstraction. Day 1 of this workshop will focus on understanding and mixing color: examining basic color theory and relationships, using a limited palette of primary pigments to achieve an array of colors, learning how to identify and adjust value and temperature. Day 2 will take this color expertise from describing objective objects to promoting personal and aesthetic effects through abstraction: composing form and space expressively, and using color for personal or formal effects. Instruction will be geared toward acrylic painting, addressing materials and brush/palette knife techniques, but students may use oils if they prefer. All levels welcome.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Doah Lee
Cost: $195
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

Mondays, August 7-28, 2023
Paint with the medium (oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel) of your choice in a relaxed atmosphere with as much instructor help as you want. Bring in new or unfinished work you want to do. Short demos, techniques, and critiques will be available to assist you. Realism, impressionism, or something more modern is all welcome.
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Dennis Lake
Cost: $200
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

August 7-9, 2023
Bill Farnsworth will teach a 3-day oil painting workshop dealing with a figure in a landscape. Bill will paint a demo every morning to show students a step-by-step process. Students will learn the importance of capturing the gesture of a figure and how it brings a narrative to a painting. Emphasis will be on drawing, values and edges. Bill will be instructing from photos the first two days and then a model the last day. A healthy, delicious lunch will be prepared by Brenda for $14 per day.
Location: Franklin, Tennessee
Instructor: Bill Farnsworth
Cost: $550
Sponsor: On Track Studios
Website, email

August 12-13, 2023
Highly reflective and transparent/translucent surfaces, such as metal and glass, can be a challenge for oil painters to represent accurately: distortions, abrupt shifts in value, and color influences by surrounding objects can make it difficult for the artist to discern what they are actually seeing or how to capture these effects. However, the problem of how to render shiny or transparent objects need not be...opaque! Through straightforward demonstrations, learn logical step-by-step approaches for painting each of these challenging subjects, and follow up with hands-on practice working from glass- and metal-themed still life arrangements. Prior drawing and painting experience strongly recommended. Note: This workshop is designed for oil painters, but acrylic painters are also welcome.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan
Cost: $195
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

August 17-20, 2023
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

September 8-11, 2023
4-day workshop held in the beautiful Edna Valley, California. This intensive oil painting workshop will be led by a successful New York artist who is known for her visceral self-portraits, expressing the vulnerability of the collective human experience. The teaching aims to instruct painters on how to use the photograph to create a painting that surpasses the look of the photograph, not simply imitates a photograph.
Location: Arroyo Grande, California
Instructor: Alyssa Monks
Cost: $1460 includes lunch daily
Sponsor: Willow Pond SLO
Website, email, 805 550-6399

September 13-16, 2023
Join Randall Sexton for his 20th-year return to Landgrove with a freshly modified format for 2023. This four-day intensive will combine plein air and studio time dedicated to the challenges of the Figure in the Landscape. The focus will incorporate the landscape of the greater Landgrove area with figurative elements and painting the figure on location en plein air (weather permitting). The class is open to all levels, but geared towards artists with prior plein air experience looking to strengthen their figurative skills. Sexton will be painting in oil, is open to students using other mediums.
Location: Landgrove, Vermont
Instructor: Randall Sexton, www.rcsexton.com
Cost: $750
Sponsor: Langrove Inn
Website, (802) 824-6673

September 14, 2023
Expand on your classroom skills and spend a lovely day outside learning how to paint with pastels in plein air! The class will start with a pastel painting demonstration on the boardwalk at Veteran’s Memorial Park. Carol will share how she creates brilliant color vibration in her pastel paintings. You will learn how to focus in on a strong composition, define your values, identify your light source, create a point of focus, and how to see and use color effectively in plein air. You will learn the importance of painting light, shadows and colors from real life. There will be personalized teaching and individualized feedback throughout the day.
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Carol Iglesias
Cost: $120
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

September 19-21, 2023
Gary weaves a scientific understanding of light and color into his teaching segments. Students will glean a fresh understanding of how to render subject matter with an enlightened eye toward accurate and interesting compositions, shapes, values, colors, and edges. This course is tailored for intermediate painters and/or beginners with good drawing skills. Baughman is a patient encourager whose teaching style focuses on “making strengths stronger and weaknesses irrelevant.” Plein Air painting requires students to work rapidly in the alla-prima mode to capture the fleeting shadows and lighting as the sun moves across the sky. Baughman will daily demonstrate this method of working wet in wet and in one pass. He will give a gentle, positive critique at the end of each day.
Location: Hilton Head, South Carolina
Instructor: Gary Baughman
Cost: $400
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

September 25-27, 2023
Come paint the Monterey and Carmel Coastline with award-winning California artist Randall Sexton. This 3-day workshop is open to all levels—but it is especially geared to push the experienced artist to greater heights. Randy will review the basics of solid picture making… while sharing his own methods for “Simplifying the Complex.” Three days will be spent on location (gathering direct experience en plein air.) Daily demonstrations will be followed up with “one-on-one” assistance at the easel. Hosted by Carmel Visual Arts, Sexton returns to lead his seventh workshop in the Monterey Peninsula. Class size is limited and they tend to fill up quickly so don’t hesitate to register. Hope you can join us!
Location: Carmel, California
Instructor: Randall Sexton, www.rcsexton.com
Cost: $600
Sponsor: Carmel Visual Arts
Website, (831) 620-2955

October 11-13, 2023
Join George Van Hook, a nationally recognized artist who has won numerous Plein Air competitions and awards from around the country for his oils and watercolors, for a four-day plein air workshop. George stresses alla prima painting and using a loose and fast approach to capture the landscape in the first try. Participants will be meeting on location and painting all day from 9am-4pm. Workshop includes live demos and individual attention. Please bring your own plein air equipment, supports, and media (oil, pastel, watercolor, acrylic). A healthy, delicious lunch will be prepared by Brenda for $14 per day.
Location: Franklin, Tennessee
Instructor: George Van Hook
Cost: $475
Sponsor: On Track Studios
Website, email

October 18-20, 2023
Create oil paintings that glow! Discover how to channel passion in to your paintings with the use of both brushes and palette knives. You’ll learn how to trust your creative instincts, allowing the process to guide you. Focus will be on adding strong contrasting values to make your paintings “glow” and the importance of a powerful focal point. We will also touch on adding complementary colors throughout. Subjects to explore: sunrise, moonlight, seascapes and marsh, including how to paint simple figures or wildlife for added interest.
Location: Hilton Head, South Carolina
Instructor: Peggy Ellis
Cost: $450
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

October 19-22, 2023
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

November 4-5, 2023
This popular weekend class focuses on the figure and portrait in a series of exercises designed to challenge artists at every experience level, but especially for intermediate to advanced painters. Class size is limited to 9 students. There will be plenty of room to view demonstrations and lots of individual feedback. Saturday is an “aerobic work-out” of short poses (25 to 40 minutes), while Sunday consists of longer poses - (one in the AM and one in the PM). A supply list will be sent out upon registration. Working from life, students come away with a new understanding of the human form, color-mixing, composition, and paint-handling.
Location: Saratoga, California
Instructor: Randall Sexton, www.rcsexton.com
Cost: $475
Website, email

November 6-10, 2023
Enjoy painting indoors and outdoors in Southern California as you learn to "Lay It Down & Leave It Alone"! Award-winning artist Debra Huse will teach you three things you must always do for a successful painting and the Impressionist masters' secrets that she has uncovered. Let Debra “hold your hand” to get the correct feel of the brush and how to apply paint. Learn the secrets to capturing clouds, mountains, water, boats, skies, and trees. Enjoy positive, upbeat and insightful instruction. Break old habits and bring a new, more confident, approach to your work. Class size is limited to ensure individual attention and instruction.
Location: Newport Beach, California
Instructor: Debra Huse
Cost: $795.00
Sponsor: Huse Skelly Fine Art Gallery
Website, email

November 9-11, 2023
Artists who are interested in improving their work often get stalled in their progress and just need a kick-start to get back on the path for excellence. This workshop is a chance to take a good honest look at your current work and consider what exactly needs improvement. The class will be divided into three parts: identification of the one area that most needs improvement, individualized exercises to address the problem, studio painting to put new ideas in to practice. Six weeks of online mentoring is included with the class to maximize the class work. Class size is limited to 10 to maximize individual help. A healthy, delicious lunch will be prepared by Brenda for $14 per day.
Location: Franklin, Tennessee
Instructor: Dawn Whitelaw, www.dawnwhitelaw.com
Cost: $600
Sponsor: On Track Studios
Website, email

January 17-19, 2024
Join award-winning artist Peggy Ellis for this exciting workshop appropriate for oil painters at all levels! We will explore capturing light with step by step techniques and tips; including starting with a strong composition, value studies and color harmony. Students will learn as a group, and, receive a lot of one-on-one individual attention and critique from the instructor. Instructor will begin each day with a demo!
Location: Hilton Head, South Carolina
Instructor: Peggy Ellis
Cost: $450
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

May 13-15, 2024
Still life painting can be highly rewarding, but it can also be intimidating. Perhaps your past attempts to paint fruit have looked flat and formless. Maybe the colors in your flowers have appeared "chalky" or "muddy." Perhaps you've struggled to arrange a good still life in the first place! If these difficulties sound familiar, I'm excited to show you how to conquer these challenges and many more in this information-packed workshop. Learn how to identify and accurately capture the most subtle color changes. Learn how to make fruit and other objects look 3-D. And learn how to draw your viewer's eye from across the room with the 5 Principles for Powerful Paintings!
Location: Hilton Head, South Carolina
Instructor: Adam Clague
Cost: $475
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

May 16, 2024
Stepping outside and painting the landscape can be exhilarating, but it can also feel overwhelming! In this plein air workshop, I will share the powerful principles you need to break down a scene into manageable chunks, establish your center of interest or "focal point" and create a dynamic, engaging composition. I'll begin the workshop with a demonstration of key plein air principles. In the afternoon, you'll be able to paint the landscape, and I will offer my thoughts and assistance. Please join me for this fun, informative plein air workshop in the great outdoors. This workshop is designed for intermediate and advanced level oil painters.
Location: Hilton Head, South Carolina
Instructor: Adam Clague
Cost: $175
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

See also:
Art Books for Oil Painting |
Tutorials for Oil Painting