Courses & Workshops

Courses & Workshops

I teach several courses and workshops at the Art Students League of New York.

The Art Students League of New York has been instrumental in shaping America’s legacy in the fine arts. Many renowned artists have trained and taught at the League. Today, more than 2,500 students of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels, study at the League each month.

Below are a few of my reoccurring topics. To see my currently available course check out my instructor’s page for registration information.

Any form of visual experience from the clothes we wear to the paintings we most admire involve color. Color in art can be used to create space, light, emotion, and atmosphere. No two-dimensional surface is active without it. No three-dimensional space is enhanced or exists without an understanding of the nuance of color. This course is designed to ask and answer the questions of how and why color works. The class is conceived for all levels from the absolute beginner to the working artist.

The goal is to give the student and artist a working vocabulary of color ideas.

The class is taught in three stages:

Stage 1: Experiments using Color Aid paper (Classes: 1 – 5)

These exercises are a series of collages based on the Josef Albers workbook, “The Interaction of Color”. I have developed approximately 20 experiments of different levels of complexity.

Stage 2: Exercises with Color Pencil (Classes: 6 – 10)

Here I’ve developed a group of grids for the student to complete. These grids include: a value vs. brightness grid, a mixing grid and a color wheel.

Stage 3: Observational Studies (Classes: 11-12)

Working from life, the student is given a series of assignments to resolve specific problems.

For example: 1. warm vs cool, 2. brightness vs value, 3. transparency and opacity

During this final stage the student can chose the medium: collage, color pencil, watercolor, acrylic or oil paint. The speed and completion of the course will depend on the make-up of the class and the variety of student. With any class dealing with color theory and management there is a significant design element. This class naturally becomes a two-dimensional design course as well.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

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Time: Mornings: 5:00pm – 6:30pm
Days of Week: Tuesday Jan 8 – March 26
Course Number: #3018
Monthly Cost: $230 (monthly)

Colored pencils are no longer the marker of your elementary school teacher. Advances in the technology of artist grade colored pencils have produced a new medium with an extraordinary range of unique qualities. Pencils are easily portable, relatively inexpensive with little clean up. Yet the finished artwork can look as dense as an oil painting or as translucent as watercolor.

This class will introduce the student to the wide versatility of the new medium, including simple exercises, color studies for larger works and finished compositions. Techniques such as layering, modeling, creating textures, blending and burnishing will be explored through lectures and demonstrations. All levels of students from the curious beginner to the expert draughtsman are welcome.

 

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

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Time: Mornings: 9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Days of Week: Monday, March 4 – Friday, March 8
Course Number: #6147
Monthly Cost: $345; (includes $10 materials fee)

This three day intensive color pencil workshop goes beyond the pencil and onto the page. The class is for the student who has already played with color pencils or thought about playing with color pencils and wants to expand their experience and knowledge. Each day will feature a different lesson. Day 1 – Paper: We will be exploring difference surface, textures and middle tone. Day 2 – Watercolor and Color Pencil: We will work with watercolor pencils layering with wax pencils. Day 3: Preparing and executing a drawing from background to foreground using layering and masking.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

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Time: Mornings: 9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Days of Week: Monday, March 18 – Wednesday, March 20
Course Number: #6211
Monthly Cost: $265; (includes $10 materials fee)

This workshop will focus on color—how it works and why it works—through practice rather than theory.  Experience is the only route to a working vocabulary of color ideas. This one week workshop will begin with the classic study of the interaction of color using Josef Albers’ techniques, primarily with cut paper and collage. The students will then explore the density and transparency of light and color, through careful observation from life with color pencils.  Color creates magic in any work of art, and this workshop will teach each student how. Students of all skill levels and disciplines are welcome.

The basics of composition, drawing techniques as well as the complexities of color relationships all lead to the creation of a viable painting.  The understanding of this creative process is the object of the class. Oil, watercolor or color pencil– all media are welcome in this course. All levels of students or artists are welcome in this course.  There will be several still life setups throughout the summer to work from. Students are also encouraged to prepare and set up their own. Instruction will be based on an individual’s need and interest.