Discover the exciting and unique properties of oil painting in this introductory course designed for beginners and enthusiasts alike as we transform a reference photo into a compelling 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: 5/8, 5/15, 5/22, 5/29

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).

How to turn your photo into a painting: Discover what kind of image makes a good reference photo and how to push your image past the limits of the photograph.

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. Each student will work from a photo that they bring in, examining how photos can be used as references not as "masters." What elements of the photo should be kept and what should be ignored?

Who Should Attend:

This class is perfect for beginners with no prior experience in oil painting, as well as artists looking to brush up on the basics.

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

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

$35 plus tips for the model. Please register below.

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

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 you will take your drawing from the initial block in to rendering (shading), learning how to create an image with depth, volume, and poetry. Learn how to place your figure on the page, how to edit what you see, and how to create a beautiful drawing.

You will need: an 18 x 24 piece of paper (ideally toned), charcoal sticks, charcoal pencils, white chalk pencil (if using toned paper), kneaded eraser, hard eraser, drawing board. If you want me to provide materials there will be an additional $15 cost.

Class: $65

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 - male model

Week 2: proportional measurements drawing - female model

Week 3: anatomical drawing - female model

Week 4: blind contour and mass drawing - male model

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 March: 3/9, 3/16, 3/23, 3/30

Color Theory and Cupcakes

Dates: 4/3, 4/10, 4/24

Sometimes color just doesn’t seem to work–it can be confusing and frustrating to mix what seems to be the perfect color on your palette just for it to look muddy and dull on your canvas. Why does color seem to transform, sometimes in the most inconvenient ways? Join us in April for a class on color theory to demystify color and create 2 paintings of cupcakes along the way.

What You'll Learn:

Materials and Tools: What colors and brands are best for oil painting. What mediums do we use and why?

Basic Techniques: Learn fundamental techniques of how to mix paint, and how to choose a palette that matches your composition. How do we set up for a painting?

Color theory: How do we make one color look like another color? How do we think about light and temperature? What psychological impact does color have? How do we make color work for us?

Personal Expression: Discover ways to express your unique artistic voice through oil paint–what brush strokes and colors resonate with you?

Class Format:

This hands-on course combines demonstrations, practical exercises, and individualized instruction to help you build confidence and proficiency in oil painting. In week one, we will do a series of exercises and charts to understand the relationships between colors and the personalities of each one. In weeks two and three, we will use limited palettes to create 2 paintings of cupcakes.

Who Should Attend:

This class is perfect for beginners with no prior experience in oil painting, as well as experienced artists looking to dig deeper into color theory.

Materials:

You will need oil paint bushes, palette knife, palette (I recommend palette paper) 3 cheap canvas boards (for exercises), 2 small square canvases (for cupcake paintings), oil paint (cadmium red light, lamp black, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow light, ultramarine blue, titanium white), oil medium (linseed oil and gamsol (gamsol is optional but recommended), paper towels.

*If you would like me to provide the materials, you can pay a fee of $30, and I will provide everything except brushes.

Cost: $150 for all 3, $55 drop in rate