Plein Air Explorations

Outdoor Live Class 

Saturday • May 22, June 5, June 12 and June 19

We are Back!

BONUS: June 5 is Plein Air at Norristown Farm Park and there will be jurying at 4 pm for prizes awarded by Carla Bates from The Framing Shop of Conshocken.

Plein Air painting can be challenging for those that have always painted in a studio, but the rewards of painting outdoors are immense!  Painting outdoors opens a world of vibrant colors and shadow and light details that is not found in photos.  Doug has taught Plein Air painting for many years, and he has studied extensively with Albert Handell and other Plein Air master painters.

Classes will start at 10 am in area parks and will end with a class critique around 3 pm.  Doug will do a demonstration each morning and will provide help at your easel.  Bring your usual painting gear and provide for sun protection, lunch and water.  Lunch will be eaten on location.

Come join us for this wonderful outdoor exploration of the beauty around us and gain valuable insights and support from Doug based upon his long experience painting outdoors.  All mediums and experience levels are welcome.

Possible painting locations: Valley Forge, Perkiomen Trail, Green Lane, Lansdale Train Station, New Hope, Doylestown and more…

Raindates will be made up.

Bits n Pieces Mosaics

“Live” – 8 maximum and masks are required

Monday • 5-weeks • 2 to 5 pm 

Session 1: April 5, 12,19, 26, May 3

Session 2: May 10, 17, 24, 26, June 7

(Session 2 has been adjusted for Memorial Day holiday)

Sketch Club – Pen & Ink with Watercolor

Online Zoom Class – Maximum of 12

Session 1 • Tuesday • June 8 -to 29 • 1:30 – 3:30 pm
Session 2 • Tuesday • July 13 to August 3 • 1:30 – 3:30 pm

Curious about urban sketching or keeping a travel sketchbook or an art journal of your daily life? This class will focus on learning how to sketch what you see, simplifying scenes, and objects to create personal impressions of places, things, and experiences. We’ll discuss simple portable supplies so that you can work anywhere. No drawing or painting experience necessary.

Have a few sheets of plain paper and a pencil and eraser for the first class. We’ll go over the other supply options then.
Feel free to contact me with questions: gsivitzart@gmail.com 

Introduction to Drawing What You Love

Online Zoom Class – Maximum of 12

Great for beginners or students that are new to online programming

Tuesday • 6-weeks • 7 to 9 pm
Session 1: January 19, 26, February 2, 9, 16, 23 – Level 1 basic drawing skills and learning about value, perspective. and the human body

Break: March 2

Session 2: March 9, 16, 23, 20, April 6, 13 – Level 2 which is for beginner/intermediate with some basic drawing experience; will be focusing on birds, animals, and flowers

Break: April 20

Session 3: April 27, May 4, 11, 18, 25 and June 1 – Level 3 which is beginner/intermediate with some basic drawing experience; will be focusing on landscapes, vehicles, and objects

Break: June 9

Session 4: June 15, 22, 29, July 6, 13, 20 – Level 4 which is beginner/intermediate with some basic drawing experience; will be focusing on facial expressions, hands and feet

Tired of your drawings looking flat? Do your still lives just look off? Or maybe your characters  end up with a long torso and tiny legs. Is that white, blank page saying you are already doing it wrong before you even begin? It might be time to uncover the secret to drawing things you love. Every object, character and scene are made up of shapes in space. This class will teach you how to see shape in everything, so you can draw anything you’d like. Once we learn to see shapes in space, we will learn some tricks to drawing people, animals, objects and scenery. This class is perfect for beginners and those who need a refresher in drawing. When you’re happier with your drawings, you’re going to draw more, and that’s good for everyone!  

Supplies:

1. Canson Mixed Media Paper (11X14)–This paper is easy to find and works great if we need to add water to anything
2. 2B Pencil
3. Orange or Blue Col-Erase Pencil
4. Soft Charcoal Pencil
5. Round Watercolor Paint Brush Size 4 (We’ll use this to add water to charcoal)
6. Blending Tortillons
7. Kneaded Eraser
8. Ball Point Pen– My favorite is the Zebra f.301 0.7 mm

Digital Tools (Optional)

1. iPad and Apple Pencil or a Desktop/Laptop and Wacom Drawing Tablet
2. Software Options–Procreate for iPad, Sketchbook Pro for iPad or Desktop/Laptop Operating Systems 

Feel free to contact me with questions: jdrodpictures@gmail.com

Pen to Paper Series

This series is designed to work together with one another, writing and illustration, featuring instructors Russell Magee and Jason Rodriguez. Learn to explore your emotions and senses to create through writing then illustration.

Online Zoom Classes – Maximum 12

Monday • 5 weeks • 7 to 9 pm

Writing Session 1: January 18, 25, February 1, 8, 15
Break: February 22
Illustration Session 2: March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Break: April 5
Writing Session 3: April 12, 19, 26, May 3, 10
Break: May 17
Illustration Session 4: May 24, June 7, 14, 21, 28 

Writing

To write is to paint using words for colors, sentences for brushstrokes, a pen for a paintbrush. To write is to court life’s wondrous details, to capture and reconvey, and delight in the process. Is your imagination burning behind an idle hand? Do you have a voice that aches to be heard? Are you a writer and just need a bit of guidance? This class will teach you the basics of better writing. From the foundation of grammar and the study of the sentence, to the art of the craft–the study of imagery, description, and narrative in both poetry and fiction. The goal of this class is to improve your writing and help you create pieces you are proud of. This class is perfect for both beginners looking for help getting started and the seasoned writer looking to hone their craft and simply create. Give life to your imagination, and sound to your voice.

If you have any questions please contact me at robertrussellmagee@gmail.com

Illustration

Comics, Cartoons, Picture Books. They all do one thing–tell a story in pictures. This class will not teach you how to draw but how to communicate a narrative in pictures. We’re skipping how to draw a character running and going straight to answering questions like what is this character running from? Are they tired? Are they fast? Are they slow? The goal of this class is to teach the artist how to communicate emotion, action and meaning in images regardless of their drawing skill level. This class starts with the artist first and seeks to foster their specific way to illustrate a story. The Required Material is very basic for this reason. The Optional Recommended Material is where the artist can choose the medium best for them. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at jdrodpictures@gmail.com for further direction.

Required Material –

• Canson Mixed Media Paper (11X14)–This paper is easy to find and works great if we need to add water to anything
• 2B Pencil
• Orange or Blue Col-Erase Pencil
• Kneaded Eraser

Optional but Recommended Material (Pick at least ONE Media for Making Lines and ONE Media for Making Color)
Material for Making Lines:

• Ballpoint Pen – “Zebra f.301 0.7 mm”
• Brush Pen – “Pentel Pocket Brush Pen”
• Multiliners – “Sakura Micron Set”
• Charcoal Pencil

Material for Making Color:

• Oil Pastel – “Sakura Cray-Pas Expressionist” (works best on grey or tan Toned Paper)
• Color Pencil – “Prisma Color Premier” (at least a 24 ct. set)
• Watercolor – “Sakura Koi Water Colors Pocket Field Sketch Box”
• Brush sizes – Round 7, 4, 1

All Media Drawing

“Live” – 8 maximum and masks are required

Wednesday • 5-weeks • 10 to 1 pm 

Session 1: January 20, 27, Feb 3, 10, 17
Break: February 24
Session 2: March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
Break: April 7
Session 3: April 14, 21,  28, May 5, 12

Oil Painting – seeing color in a new light!

“Live” – Maximum of 8 and masks are required

Tuesday • 6-weeks • 10 – 1 pm 

Session 3: April 6, 13, 20,  27, May 4, 11

Everything Watercolor, including the kitchen sink!

Online Zoom Class – Maximum of 12  

Great for beginners or students that are new to online programming

Wednesday • 6-weeks • 1:30 to 3:30 pm

Session 1: January 20, 27, Feb 3, 10, 17, 24
Break: March 3
Session 2: March 10, 17, 24, 31, April 7, 14

Watercolor is not as difficult as you may think! Through demonstrations and exercises, you’ll learn how to work with watercolor rather than against it to create representational and non-representational paintings full of textures and color. Designed for beginners and intermediate artists alike, the focus of this online class will be playing with watercolor and having fun.

SUPPLIES

I realize that it’s a little harder to get art supplies right now. Think of this list as the ideal, but we’ll make do with what you already have or can get. Beginners, I’d recommend getting just the minimum required, then you can see if you like watercolor before you buy a lot of supplies. Feel free to contact me with questions: gsivitzart@gmail.com

Watercolor Paper: Use at least 140 lb. watercolor paper with a Cold Press or Rough surface. Good brands include Strathmore 400 series, Fabriano, and Arches. A watercolor block will only allow you to work on one painting at a time, so you may want a pad or sheets of paper instead. I do not stretch my paper, but you are welcome to if you want.

Watercolors in Tube or Pan Form: Professional artist-quality paints are best, but less expensive but also good student grade watercolors included Winsor & Newton “Cotman”, and Grumbacher “Academy” lines. Professional watercolor brands include DaVinci, M. Graham, Daniel Smith, Winsor & Newton, and Grumbacher. Dick Blick and Utrecht also offer their own watercolor lines.

Colors: You can start with just 3 colors, a red, a yellow and a blue, and mix all of your other colors from those three. Some options might be:

Reds, Yellows, Blues, Alizarin Crimson Hansa Yellow, Ultramarine Blue, Quinacridone Rose Gamboge, Prussian, Blue Winsor Red,  Winsor Yellow,  Winsor Blue,

Pyrrol Red,  Lemon Yellow,  Cereulean Blue

Palette: There are so many options for palettes. I use a Mijello Fusion air-tight watercolor palette, but you can go as simple as clear or white plastic plates to mix your colors on! Most pan paints come with a palette built in.

Brushes:  For beginners, a small #1-#4 round brush for detail and a medium sized #8-#12 brush for larger areas will be a good start. A 3/4” or 1” flat or wash brush is handy, but not required. The size of the brush is noted on the brush handle. Make sure your brushes are made for watercolor painting – watercolor brushes are designed to hold a lot of water, unlike oil painting brushes for example. Princeton has some good budget brushes available at Artist & Craftsman Supply. Simply SImmons (Michael’s or Dick Blick online carry these) is another good inexpensive brand. Utrect, Grumbacher and Winsor & Newton all have good synthetic or natural hair watercolor brushes. Good quality watercolor brushes can be expensive, but make painting much easier!

Other supplies

• Pencil (2B is fine) • Tracing paper • Printer or basic drawing paper

• Eraser (I recommend a kneaded eraser) • Tissues • Paper towels or rags

• Containers for water • Hair dryer

I’ll be mentioning other optional supplies as the class goes along.

Some Art Supply Companies

Artist & Craftsman Supply 7926 Germantown Ave., Chestnut Hill

dickblick.com (also has brick & mortar stores in Philadelphia and Allentown)

cheapjoes.com

jerrysartarama.com

rexart.com

Feel free to contact me with questions at gsivitzart@gmail.com

Collage!

Online Zoom Class – Maximum of 12

Great for beginners or students that are new to online programming

Monday • 5-weeks • 2 to 4 pm (CLOSED)

Session 2: March 29, April 5, 12, 19, 26

In this fun and low pressure online class, students will learn how to create interesting and dynamic collage artworks on paper by juxtapozing different elements within each collage.  Materials recommended are colored papers, colored pencils, magazine cutouts, markers, acrylic paint, oil pastels, glitter, scrapbooking elements (at your discretion) and glue.  We will be working on a 11″ x 14″ bristol paper base.

Feel free to contact me with questions at jessica@jessicalibor.com

Pen and Ink! with watercolor

Online Zoom Class – Maximum of 12

Great for beginner or students that are new to online programming

REGISTRATION IS CLOSED

Tuesday • 6-weeks • 1:30 to 3:30 pm

Session 2: March 9, 16, 23, 30, April 6, 13

Pen & ink is a versatile drawing medium that allows you to create different textures, values, and lines for beautiful and expressive drawings. Watercolor enhances pen & ink with color and special effects. In this introductory class, we’ll combine pen & ink with watercolor to create beautiful works of art. No painting experience needed. Some drawing experience recommended, but not required.

MATERIAL LIST 

General Supplies:
Basic supplies for sketching: eraser (kneaded eraser is best) • pencil (HB or 2B is fine, 2H if you
have it) • basic drawing paper (printer paper is fine) • tracing paper • ruler

Pen & Ink Supplies:
– Sakura Pigma Micron pens in black – 01 (.25 mm line), 03 (.35 mm line) and 05 (.45 mm line).
These sizes are sold as a set or individually. Check carefully to make sure you get black ink. Pens
like Rapidograph mechanical pens (although they tend to clog and have to be cleaned) and
Faber-Castell PITT artist pens would also be fine.

Feel free to contact me with questions at gsivitzart@gmail.com

Painterly Expressions

Online Zoom Class – Maximum of 12

Great for beginners or students that are new to online programming

Fridays • 5-weeks • 1 to 3 pm

Session 1: March 26, April 2, 9, 16, 23

In this guided online class, students will be able to work in oil, acrylic or watercolor, and use their own subject matter or reference photo.  Jessica will give demos in the various mediums and talk about their properties, and will give helpful and kind critiques to help students develop their own paintings.  Supplies recommended are watercolor paints, paper and brushes, acrylic paints with various brush sizes and a small canvas (11″ x 14″ or smaller), and oil paints with various brush sizes and a small canvas (11″ x 14″ or smaller).  Students do not need to work in all three mediums, but can pick one to work with the whole time or try new things as it strikes them!

Feel free to contact me with questions: jessica@jessicalibor.com 

Playful Exposure to Digital Photography

Online Zoom Classes – Maximum 10

Thursday • 5 weeks • 6 to 8 pm

Session 1: January 21, 28, February 4, 11, 18
Break: February 25
Session 2: March 4, 11, 18, 25, April 1

Steve will be walking you through how your digital camera works and how to set up a professional camera shot. This class is also a way to optimize your photo for presentations or reproduction which can assist artists who want to enter artwork in online and shows and exhibits.

Class requirements: Camera and Zoom link will be provided.

Advanced Painting in Oils, Pastels and Acrylics

Online Zoom Classes • Maximum of 12

Thursday • 6 Weeks
Class:  2 pm • January 14, 21, 28 February 4, 11, 18
Critique: 11 am • January 21, 28, February 4, 11, 18, 25

This class focuses upon advanced painting in multiple mediums and explores their similarities.  Learning in one medium applies to all three.  It is offered on-line for six primary classes with an added group critique class each week.  Doug has painted in oils since youth and for the last 40 years has done much work in pastels with a watercolor underpainting.  He has won many awards and is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America and the Pastel Society of the West Coast.

Doug will be demonstrating Pastels and oils during the series and will be critiquing the work done.  In this way, each student will have the opportunity to apply the instruction and receive feedback.  Classes will begin at 2 pm on January 14 and will be each Thursday through February 25.  Critique classes will be offered the next Thursday each week at 11 am.  Please join us for this informative class.