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Introduction to Oil Painting: Glass and Fabric (Indirect Methods)

August Thursday Evenings: 6 PM - 8:30 PM ET

River Rock Studios in Greenville, SC

Discover the exciting and unique properties of oil painting in this oil painting class designed for beginners and enthusiasts alike as we create a traditional still life painting. Students will be introduced to traditional indirect painting techniques, taking a painting from a grisaille (monochromatic underpainting) through glazing and scumbling, to a finished work. Students will leave with a painting, as well as a basic understanding of this oil painting technique, composition, and color theory.

Dates: 8/7, 8/14, 8/21, 8/28

What You'll Learn:

Materials and Tools: What makes oil paint so special and different from other mediums? Why must a canvas be primed? Why should you not finger paint with oils (and why we do anyways)?

Basic Techniques: Learn fundamental techniques of indirect oil painting, starting from a grisaille (under painting) and moving to glazing (transparent washes of paint) and scumbling (opaque application of paint).

Composition: Discover how to direct your viewer's eye through placement of objects and colors in your painting.

Color Theory: Understand the basics of color theory and how to create harmonious palettes in your paintings.

Personal Expression: Discover ways to express your unique artistic voice through the medium of oil paint.

Class Format:

This hands-on course combines demonstrations, practical exercises, and individualized instruction to help you build confidence and proficiency in oil painting. We will examine still life paintings from art history and see how to use their techniques for our own works.

Who Should Attend:

This class is perfect for beginners with no prior experience in oil painting and intermediate artists looking to build on their techniques.

Materials:

A list of required materials will be provided upon registration.

Price: $200 for all 4 classes, or $55 per class

Inquire below to register and receive the materials list.

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Open Figure Drawing Session

Monday, August 11: 7 PM - 9:30 PM

River Rock Studios in Greenville, SC

This is an open figure drawing session with a nude model where we focus on the anatomy and gesture of the human form. The model will start with quick poses (1 minute, 5 minutes, 20 minutes) and end with a long pose. All levels welcome.

This class is held on the second Monday of the month. Dates for 2025:

January 13 - female model

February 10 - female model

March 10 - male model

April 16*- female model

May 12 - Female Model

June 2 - Male model

July 21 - Female model

August 11 - male costume model

September 15 - female model

October 13 - Male model

$30 plus tips for the model. $5 off if you bring a friend! Please register below.

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Private Lessons

Are you interested in learning how to draw or paint in a private setting? Come study with Caroline. Styles include drawing with graphite or charcoal, oil painting, soft pastel techniques, and plein air painting. Students can choose to focus on still lifes, portrait painting, designing a narrative work, copying master works, etc. We will look at how works from the past have informed the art world today and how students are in conversation with the story of art as a whole. The course can be as structured or unstructured as desired. Contact Caroline to get started today!

$65 for an hour or $250 for a package of 4 classes

Semi-Private Painting Classes - 2 - 3 students $60 per hour or $215 (split between the students) for a package of 4 classes

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Introduction to Figure Drawing

Sunday afternoons in October: 3 PM - 6 PM ET

River Rock Art Studios

Intimidated by drawing people? Or just curious to improve your drawing skills? Come join me for an intro to figure drawing class! We will spend four weeks looking at different ways to approach figure drawing working from a live, nude model.

In these four weeks, we will practice 6 different methods of figure drawing:

Week 1: gesture drawing and envelope drawing

Week 2: proportional measurements drawing

Week 3: anatomical drawing

Week 4: blind contour and mass drawing

We will discuss the pros and cons to each technique, what tools to use and why, and how they can be combined as you discover what works best for you. This class focuses on technique rather than a finished product and is a great course for anyone interested in developing their drawing skills.

Class format: This will be a small, focused class. At the beginning of class, Caroline will provide short lectures and demos, but the majority of the class time, you will be drawing from the model focusing on the new technique of the day while Caroline circulates to offer individualized help and feedback.

Price: $225 for all 4 classes, $60 for single classes

Dates: Sunday afternoons in October: 10/5, 10/12, 10/19, 10/26

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Figure Drawing Long Pose

Sunday, August 24, 3 PM - 6 PM

River Rock Art Studios

In this class, you will take a drawing from start to....as close to finished as possible in this instructed long pose figure drawing class. We will have a model for 2 posing hours, and we will work subtractively, starting on a piece of paper tones with charcoal. We will learn how to place your figure on the page, how to edit what you see, and how to create a beautiful drawing with depth, volume, and poetry.

You will need: an 18 x 24 piece of white paper which we will tone at the beginning of class, charcoal sticks, charcoal pencils, white chalk pencil, kneaded eraser, hard eraser, drawing board, paper towels. Alternatively, we can provide materials for an additional $15 fee.

Class: $55

Caroline Gates 2025