Join Us! OPEN HOUSE, Sunday, April 8 from 1-3pm. Meet Instructors. Free drawing session. Spring session runs from April 16 through June 25.
ADVANCED DRAWING: AFTER THE CLASSROOM (FULL)
6 Week Short Class
Mondays 2-5pm — April 16 through May 21
Instructor: Jo Weiss
$290
Stressing the skills learned through the myriad classes taken as a developing artist, this class looks to further develop a good studio practice. Asking questions such as where to take the lessons and how to develop the visual language along a course that is personally driven. Multiple media may be used, depending on the concerns of the student. Expect some reading and additional studio work.
HIGH SCHOOL TEENS (6 Weeks Drawing from the Live Model)
Thursdays, April 19, 26, May 3, 10, 17, 24
4:15 – 6:15pm
Instructor: Mary Freedman
$215
High school teens should not miss this opportunity to have six weeks of instruction working from the live model in a fun and supportive yet serious environment. All models will be clothed or in swim suits. Students will learn about proportion, contour, gesture, mass, light and shade, some basic anatomy, and placement of the figure in an environment. Paper, charcoal and drawing pencils will be provided.
MASTER WORKSHOP: GETTING TO THE ESSENCE OF LANDSCAPE PAINTING (FULL)
Instructor: Martin Campos
2 full weekends:
Saturday/ Sunday April 21/22 and May 19/20
10am – 5pm
$455
Working outdoors near WSS and close-in DC, students will learn to create spontaneous landscape paintings with an intuitive spirit. On lots of small panels and with two brushes only, we will hone our observational skills by quickly identifying the most essential forms, gestures and color relationships that we see. Our palette will be limited and our movements quick and bold, leading to paintings that can stand on their own or become notes to take back to the studio. Special outdoor painting equipment is not required.
MEDITATIVE DRAWING
Tuesdays, April 24, May 22, June 19 5:45-7:00pm
Instructor: Jill Phillips
$75
The meaning of life is to see. Zen master Hui Neng “When I start drawing an ordinary thing I realize how extraordinary it is, what a sheer miracle: the branching of a tree, the structure of a dandelion’s seed puff.” (Frederick Franck) What does it mean to really see? To be alert? Pay attention? Slow down? Drawing and meditation can share many qualities. The repetition of a mark in synch with breath, or the careful observation through line of an object in front of you can increase awareness and true seeing without being impeded by the labeling and categorizing part of the brain. Through guided exercises we will work towards those moments when time seems to disappear, ‘chatter’ is put aside, perceptions are heightened, actions seem effortless, and process is unimpeded. We call it entering the ‘zone’, or flow. Not just for art students, come and see.
TRAVEL JOURNALING: CREATING A SKETCHBOOK
Saturday, April 28
10am – 5pm
Instructor: Sally Levie
$120
As travel season approaches it is time to think about ways to document your vacation memories and experiences. Photos are great, but slowing down to really look and record your experiences by hand brings expanded richness to each day of travel. Using watercolors and inks, discover how to create your own sketchbook and trip memories, through gesture drawing and journaling text. Students will learn about the best materials for creating a compact travel studio, and ways to create beautiful pages to treasure forever.
DRAWING TWO MODELS
Mondays, June 4, 11, and 18
2 – 5pm
Instructor: Diane Wilson
$150
Enjoying the rare chance to work with two models at once, participants will have an intensive opportunity to explore the structural and expressive qualities of figures in pictorial space. Principles of composition and underlying geometry will be addressed through periodic critiques, as will mark, material, contour, edge, and relationship to the page. Through concentrated and vigorous engagement with the figure in space the door to invention and transformation begins to open.
LEARNING FROM KLEE
Wednesday, June 6, 13, 20
2-5pm
Instructor: Joanne Kaufman
$150
Inspired by the exhibition at the Phillips Collection of artists who themselves were influenced by the work of Paul Klee, students will explore their own personal dialogue with this master of invention.
Jump into the 20th century and beyond with the revolutionary writings and work of this towering artist.
WINTER 2018
Visiting Artist Workshops
MAGGIE SINER : TWO WINTER WORKSHOPS BACK-TO-BACK
WHAT ABOUT RED? – COLOR COMPLEMENTARITY IN PAINT (FULL)
Maggie Siner Workshop #1
Thursday/Friday – January 11/12
10am – 5pm
$415
Goethe (in Theory of Colors) said “Every decided color does a certain violence to the eye and forces it to opposition.”
The color red will become the vehicle for understanding the importance of complementarity in painting and its connection to the infinite subtleties of color relationships on the canvas. This workshop will approach color theory through direct painting. Students will improve their use and understanding of color by studying color vocabulary, translating value into hue, color as light and space, methods of color modulation, and particularly on the dynamics of color complementarity – all beginning with the color RED!
THE BACK VIEW – USING OUR ANATOMY
Maggie Siner Workshop #2
Saturday/ Sunday – January 13/14
10am – 5pm
$415
The back view of the model is far from boring! It is beautiful, evocative and expressive, but only if you understand the anatomy that leads to the structural and gestural nuances. The posture of the back reveals unique individual gesture. How do the ribcage, spine and scapula, as well as the connecting muscular system, create the gesture and planar movement of the back. A drawing into painting workshop, working from both the skeleton and the model, this class is appropriate for both new and returning students.
THE FIGURE: CONNECTING WITH THE MASTERS (FULL)
Visiting Artist Arcenio Martin Campos
February 3/4th and March 3/4th
10am – 5pm
$450
WSS is delighted to welcome back contemporary figurative painter Martin Campos as he explores with students the connection between contemporary figure drawing and the work of influential masters. This will take place in a 4-day dynamic and thought provoking workshop taught over two separate weekends.
Students will explore the construction of form by examining artists whose work have a strong influence on Campos – particularly Degas, Schiele, and Michelangelo. Campos will share his thoughts on drawing as an ever-changing and shifting organism, that can constantly move and be adapted. Using a variety of drawing materials, including color, students will work from the model and mine the drawings of old and modern masters to bring their lessons to contemporary times, narratives, and space. A wide variety of approaches will be employed, from the traditional, to the organic as well as the intuitive.
Learn about Martin at www.arceniomartincampos.com
MEDITATIVE DRAWING
Tuesdays, April 24, May 22, June 19
5:45-7:00pm
Instructor: Jill Phillips
$75
The meaning of life is to see.
Zen master Hui Neng
“When I start drawing an ordinary thing I realize how extraordinary it is, what a sheer miracle: the branching of a tree, the structure of a dandelion’s seed puff.” (Frederick Franck)
What does it mean to really see? To be alert? Pay attention? Slow down? Drawing and meditation can share many qualities. The repetition of a mark in synch with breath, or the careful observation through line of an object in front of you can increase awareness and true seeing without being impeded by the labeling and categorizing part of the brain. Through guided exercises we will work towards those moments when time seems to disappear, ‘chatter’ is put aside, perceptions are heightened, actions seem effortless, and process is unimpeded. We call it entering the ‘zone’, or flow. Not just for art students, come and see.