Blog

Drawing in Color with Oil Pastels + Oil Sticks (B)

January 15, 2020

Learn to work with either oil pastels or oil paint sticks, or try the two together, to create rich, colorful drawings. Both are highly portable and easy to clean up, making them a good choice for travel, plein air, or small work spaces. We’ll focus on experimenting with the materials and you’ll discover a personal […]

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Color Theory + Interaction

January 15, 2020

Develop a working and theoretical understanding of color with class activities from Josef Albers’ “Interaction of Color.” Learn the basics of color mixing and explore effective color schemes. You’ll create your own portfolio of collages, explore color relationships and recreate select collages in paint.

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Exploring Value and Color Relationships

January 15, 2020

A clear understanding of the relationship between value and color is essential in using color effectively. The exercises in this class will work with translations between color and gray scale values to help you see value in color and use it more effectively.

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Encaustic Painting (A)

January 15, 2020

Explore encaustic for the first time or expand your skills. The layering of encaustic paint produces luminous and textured surfaces. Learn to apply transparent layers, imprint botanical materials, use transfers and work with stencils and paper.

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Pen + Ink Drawing (Ages 11–12)

January 15, 2020

Explore traditional and innovative approaches to line drawing with pen and ink. Demonstrations will introduce you to the different types of line-making techniques, including contour, hatching, stippling, gesture and developed lines to create form, patterns and textures. Students will create their own completed drawings as they come to understand the value and depth of expression, […]

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Color Theory for Painters + Designers

January 15, 2020

Learn a variety of techniques for creating luminous color! Students will complete a series of exercises using the New Munsell Student Color Set for a better understanding of color use, creation, manipulation and organization. Exercises will aid students with palette development, color mixing, color schemes, using light sources and selecting colors for personal projects. Demonstrations […]

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Furniture Finishing and Painting Techniques

January 15, 2020

Transform your furniture from trash to treasure. You’ll learn nine paint techniques including distressing, antiquing and applying metallic finishes. We’ll go over the differences between chalk, milk and latex paint and discuss how to select the best furniture pieces and make minor repairs. You’ll learn to paint and protect your finished product. We’ll practice on […]

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Drawing in Color with Oil Pastels + Oil Sticks (A)

January 15, 2020

Learn to work with either oil pastels or oil paint sticks, or try the two together, to create rich, colorful drawings. Both are highly portable and easy to clean up, making them a good choice for travel, plein air, or small work spaces. We’ll focus on experimenting with the materials and you’ll discover a personal […]

read more

Painting with Watercolor (Ages 11–12) – NEW!

January 15, 2020

Learn to paint with watercolors! You’ll improve upon your basic drawing and painting skills using watercolors. Students will learn to understand color, color-mixing, brushes, and paper, as well as aspects of design and planning one’s art work. Critiques will be built into the class to allow students to learn how to speak about their work, […]

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Acrylic Collage Workshop

January 15, 2020

Create paintings using collage techniques. We’ll begin by creating a series of small media experiments with acrylic paint. Then we’ll incorporate those experiments into a larger collage on panel.

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Increase Your Speed + Capture The Color in Oil (B)

January 15, 2020

Limit your time and complete a representational oil painting alla prima, in a single session. Two sketches painted from life will be completed each week, with increasingly complex and colorful arrangements of still life and clothed figure models . With practice, students will create looser paintings filled with light, vivid color and energetic brushwork.

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Sketchbook Diaries

January 15, 2020

Elevate small daily moments in sketchbook diaries. We often go through the day ignoring all the little things that make our lives what they are. In this class, we will change all that by reflecting and creating a journal that brings those instants to life. We will go over the basic supplies used (and how […]

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Introduction to Acrylic Painting (A)

January 15, 2020

Learn the fundamentals of working with acrylic paint, including essential color theory and brushwork techniques. We’ll look at historical references and contemporary examples. Students will come away with a deeper understanding of this medium and its expressive possibilities.

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Family Studio Program

January 15, 2020

Come and make art side by side as a family. Each week, families will explore a new medium and create a beautiful project together. This program is best suited for families with children aged 3 to 8, however, all family members are welcome. Drop in for one session or buy a discounted package that includes […]

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Family Studio Program

January 15, 2020

Come and make art side by side as a family. Each week, families will explore a new medium and create a beautiful project together. This program is best suited for families with children aged 3 to 8, however, all family members are welcome. Drop in for one session or buy a discounted package that includes […]

read more

Family Studio Program

January 15, 2020

Come and make art side by side as a family. Each week, families will explore a new medium and create a beautiful project together. This program is best suited for families with children aged 3 to 8, however, all family members are welcome. Drop in for one session or buy a discounted package that includes […]

read more

Mural Painting

January 15, 2020

Enjoy painting and want to paint big? Join us for a collaborative painting experience. We’ll get inspired with a mural walk through the Fan, then work both individually and together to create a large-scale painting that will be displayed at VisArts.

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Spring Plein-Air Watercolor Workshop

January 15, 2020

Spend a spring afternoon in one of Richmond’s parks or greenspaces learning to paint the spring foliage! We’ll meet at VisArts in the morning to go over materials, basic goals and a few techniques. Then, we’ll decide as a group where to paint for the rest of the day. Once on site, you can start […]

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Encaustic Painting (D)

January 15, 2020

Explore encaustic for the first time or expand your skills. The layering of encaustic paint produces luminous and textured surfaces. Learn to apply transparent layers, imprint botanical materials, use transfers and work with stencils and paper.

read more

Pen + Ink Drawing (B)

January 15, 2020

Learn how to draw using black India ink, a dip pen and brush. We’ll cover techniques such as cross-hatching and stippling. You’ll learn the ins and outs of using a dip pen and brush, then we’ll go over drawing fundamentals such as value, perspective and line. We’ll also study the history of ink drawing by […]

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Scientific Illustration (B)

January 15, 2020

Explore innovative and technical approaches to scientific illustration through pen and ink. Students will learn different types of line-making techniques and ink washes and will create their own scientific illustration with botanical and animal specimens.

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Family Studio Program

January 15, 2020

Come and make art side by side as a family. Each week, families will explore a new medium and create a beautiful project together. This program is best suited for families with children aged 3 to 8, however, all family members are welcome. Drop in for one session or buy a discounted package that includes […]

read more

Pen + Ink Drawing (Ages 11–12)

January 15, 2020

Explore traditional and innovative approaches to line drawing with pen and ink. Demonstrations will introduce you to the different types of line-making techniques, including contour, hatching, stippling, gesture and developed lines to create form, patterns and textures. Students will create their own completed drawings as they come to understand the value and depth of expression, […]

read more

Introduction to Watercolor Intensive – NEW!

January 15, 2020

Get acquainted with watercolors or refresh your knowledge of the medium. We’ll explore our materials, then cover application methods like wet-on-wet, glazes, blocks, resists and lifts. We’ll also cover work area set-up, composition set-up, lost and found edges, transferring imagery and methods for controlling the paint. With an emphasis on value as a way to […]

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Abstract Painting

January 15, 2020

Do you want to introduce abstraction to your paintings? Learn new ways to approach composition, color and process while finding new modes of painterly expression. We’ll work on new paintings in a self-directed manner, leaving plenty of time for one-on-one discussion and in-class critiques.

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