Class Support Documents and Downloads

Student Gallery:
Landscape Painting

Student Gallery:
Introductory Drawing and Painting

Landscape Processes:
Demonstrations and Class Exercises

Student Gallery: Introductory Drawing and Painting Classes

DRAWING HIGHLIGHTS. All drawing classes begin with an exploration of drawing "keys" — techniques artists use to see more accurately: line, gesture, angles and proportion, measuring, negative space, and value. Students are also encourged to think about composition from the start. They "take charge of the picture plane" by using the entire sheet of paper and engaging what's in the background.

PAINTING HIGHLIGHTS [jump below]. In "Drawing into Painting" students do two 3-week paintings. The lessons of value and composition learned in drawing are carried over to the paintings. Each painting begins with an underpainting, an atonal version of the composition that works out issues of value, composition, and drawing. The subjects are kept simple so students can focus on color and paint handling.

Bob Zat
Value Drawing, pencil on paper
Class: Drawing for Beginners

 

   

Donna Combs, Study: Angles and Measuring, pencil on paper, 2005
Class: Drawing into Painting
In the first weeks students work exclusively with line — what we call "the indispensible abstraction." Above, "before" and "after" drawings completed on the first evening of class show how quickly perspective can be improved (right) by using the keys of angles and measuring.

Gael Ford
4-Value Drawing, charcoal on paper
Class: Drawing into Painting. The first exercise in value uses an additive an subtractive method, and achieves a full range of value with only five distinct values.

Brigid Slinger
Ink Drawing, ink on paper
Class: Drawing for Beginners. Gesture is one of the most essential "keys." The goal is not accuracy, but to capture the underlying energy and movement of the forms.

Peter Moser
Value Drawing, charcoal on paper, 2007
Class: Drawing into Painting

Kate Thompson
Gesture Drawing, pencil on paper, 2005
Class: Drawing into Painting

Instructor Example
Underpainting
Students learn how to begin a painting with an "underpainting" — an tonal version of the painting done with one color. This resolves issues of composition,value,and drawing before advancing to color in the second week.

Susan Matalon
Underpainting (week 1 of a 3-week painting), oil on canvas

Linda Rempel
3-Week Painting, oil on canvas
Class: Drawing into Painting

Many Shoger
3-Week Painting, oil on canvas
Class: Drawing into Painting