Ready to move beyond the fundamentals? This continuing studio course is designed for artists who want more time, deeper exploration, and individualized guidance in developing their abstract painting practice. Building on previous abstract painting experience, this class emphasizes the development of a personal visual language through emotion, memory, atmosphere, and individual themes. Whether your work begins with a memory, an emotion, a landscape, music, or an intuitive response to paint itself, this class will help you deepen your personal approach to abstraction.
Rather than creating the same projects together, students will pursue their own paintings while receiving individualized guidance, brief demonstrations, warm-up exercises, and group critiques. Throughout the course, students will continue developing their individual abstract painting practice through sustained studio work, experimentation, and thoughtful reflection. Topics may include composition, color relationships, visual rhythm, mark making, texture, atmosphere, editing, and building a cohesive body of work. While concepts and demonstrations will be introduced throughout the course, they will be guided by the needs and interests of the class, allowing students to explore challenges and opportunities as they arise in their own work.
Each session will combine warm-up exercises, short demonstrations, independent studio time, individual coaching, and opportunities for group discussion and critique. Students will be encouraged to experiment, revise, and refine their paintings while strengthening their artistic decision-making and developing greater confidence in their unique visual language. By the end of the course, students will have advanced one or more paintings, deepened their understanding of expressive abstraction, and further developed a sustainable personal painting practice that can continue beyond the classroom.
Sketchbook (9" × 12" or larger recommended)
Pencil and eraser
Large newsprint pad (18" × 24" recommended)
A selection of dry drawing materials for warm-ups and planning (charcoal, Conte crayon, soft pastel, graphite, colored pencil, or similar)
Palette knives (a variety of metal shapes and sizes recommended)
Paper towels or rags
Painting tape (neutral or cream artist's tape) if working on paper
Your preferred painting surfaces (canvas, canvas panels, wood panels, Bristol or other heavy weight paper.)
Acrylic and/or oil painting materials (paint, brushes, palette, solvent or water container, etc.)
