2015 Summer Workshops

Visiting Artist Series with Bettina Nelson

Bettina Nelson is a young Philadelphia artist who came to DC last year to assist Ken Kewley with has workshop at WSS. In the few hours that Kewley turned his class over to Nelson for a mini session, she opened the eyes and minds of students in ways that couldn’t have been predicted. At the request of many, we are bringing Bettina back for her own workshop. Don’t miss it!

INTUITION: WORKING INSIDE OF BOOKS (FULL)

Instructor: Bettina Nelson
Sat/Sun — July 25/26
10am-5pm
$270
This workshop will focus on exploring working from intuition, inviting the unexpected by immersing students in the present moment of color and shape, and by imposing limitations on the work. Each student will have his or her own book to work inside of. There will be no guidance as to what the pages will look like. We will focus on the process of: beginning a page, reacting to that by using different tools to play and explore, and coming to recognize when to move on. We will try to fill an entire book. This workshop is meant to strengthen practices of open-mindedness, play, intuition, looking, trust, and flexibility. http://www.bettinannelson.com/

CARICATURE: NOT WHAT YOU ARE THINKING

Instructor: Diane Wilson
Wednesdays, July 8, 15, 22, 29
1:30 – 4:30pm
$215

NOT your party souvenir caricature! Derived from the Italian word ‘caricare’ meaning to charge or load, a caricature is a description or drawn image showing features in a simplified or exaggerated manner. As one of the earliest caricaturists, Leonardo DaVinci would seek out people with deformities in order to create impressions more striking than ordinary portraits. Honore Daumier created over 4,000 lithographs most of which were politically and socially charged caricatures. Working from the model to discover the natural characteristics, acquired characteristics, and accouterments that contribute to a person’s individuality, the class will learn the art of the ‘loaded portrait.’

FIGURE DRAWING (FULL)

Instructor: Diane Wilson
Wednesdays, July 8, 15, 22, 29
7-10pm
$215

This class is for students with some prior drawing experience. Emphasizing the continued refinement of perceptual drawing skills, the course concentrates on the structure, movement and expressive qualities of the figure. Students work towards a personal sensibility through a variety of drawing materials.

LEARNING TO SEE WITH PAINT

Instructor: Brian Kelley
Mondays, July 6, 13, 20, 27
1:00-4:00pm
$215

This short class introduces students to some basic painting concepts and skills.  Topics covered will include materials and surfaces, light/dark value relationships, shape relationships, placement, mark, and composition.  Using a limited palette of colors, students will work from still life and interior space.

2 DAYS WITH LINOCUT PRINTS

Instructor: Brian Kelley

Tuesday / Thursday, July 21 and 23
10am – 4pm
$215

Excellent work has been produced with linoleum by artists such as Matisse and Picasso.  Discover the versatility of this popular relief print technique, which does not require a press. This course will introduce the basic skills of linocut from designing your image to cutting your block and printing. You will have the opportunity to experiment with mark making, color usage and reductive printing. In a reduction print the artist develops all colors from the same block. With each color pass more linoleum is removed from the block. Each color is printed on top of the last, and the entire edition is printed at once.

PAINTING WITH THE MASTERS: BEG, BORROW AND STEAL (FULL)

Instructor: Carol Rubin
Tuesdays, July 7, 14, 21, 28
7 -10pm
$215

Looking at artists such as Thiebaud, Matisse and Morandi, students will gain insights into what makes their still lifes so appealing as they apply the lessons learned to their own class work. Set-ups will be reminiscent of some of these master paintings with their composition, structure and color relationships in mind. A fun and valuable summer painting class, this workshop is appropriate for all levels.

THE LOGIC OF COLOR! (FULL)

Instructors: Milena Spasic and Jill Phillips
Thursday / Friday, July 9/10
10am – 4pm
$215

Color is deceptive and elusive, with characteristics that shift from the tube to the palette and then to the context of the painting. This workshop will provide you with in-depth color mixing strategies, plus the vocabulary to get color to say what you want it to say. A series of exercises, both abstract and from looking, will help you to understand how color functions and to hone your own personal color vocabulary. The class will also explore several limited palettes to see how expansive limitations can become.

LEARNING TO SEE: BEGINNING DRAWING (FULL)

Instructor: Milena Spasic
Saturdays, July 11, 18, 25, Aug 1
10am – 1pm
$215

This short class will provide an introduction to the foundations of observational drawing. Students will learn the basics of contour, shape, value, gesture, negative/positive space, proportion, and the use of basic drawing materials as we look carefully at still life and interior space. This course is designed for beginning students.

WORKING WITH WATERCOLOR

Instructor: Milena Spasic
Thursday / Friday, July 16, 17
10am – 4pm
$215

A watercolor mark is distinct and easily stands out from the marks made with oils or acrylics. Transparent layers of washes interspersed with the glistening of the textured white paper left untouched, and crisp dry brush marks that stand in contrast are part of the language of watercolor. To handle the medium is to balance the fluidity, the unexpected with the controlled; to observe the water as it carries the pigment across a shape. One chooses to interfere or not interfere, to dab, to subtract, or to let dry and add another mark afterwards. At the same time the placement, size and relationship of the shapes in the composition have to be considered. With practice comes playfulness with the element of chance, rather than hesitancy; and that is when the marks come to life. Students will have an opportunity to practice mark­making and handling of the medium, while painting from observation from a variety of subject matter. Some outdoor painting is planned, weather permitti

SURFACE PREP FOR PAINTING

Instructor: Brian Kelley
Tuesday, July 14
10am – 4pm
$110

The difference between store bought canvases and ones that you stretch and prepare yourself can be huge, with different methods and materials leading to varied painting experiences. This one day hands-on workshop will introduce students to the different weights and weaves of canvas and linen, types of stretcher bars, methods and materials for stretching, and the primers and barriers used to protect the canvas from the destructive properties of the oil. In addition to stretching and prepping a flexible canvas, students will learn about other surface possibilities for painting, particularly the more rigid surfaces like wood, fiberboard and paperboard. While traditional methods will be discussed, the workshop will use more contemporary, conservator approved materials.

2015 Spring Workshops

Join our Spring Visiting Artist series with Janice Nowinski

Workshop: Photo as Catalyst: Extracting and Transforming (FULL. Please contact us to be placed on waitlist.)

Visiting Artist and Instructor: Janice Nowinski
Saturday May 2, 10am-5pm
$190
This is a painting workshop. At WSS where working from life is emphasized as the way to learn to see visual relationships, how do we make use of the photograph as source material for paintings?  What information can we glean, what do we jettison?  Why do we extract what we do, and how do we transform that into work that is personal and felt? What can the photo lead us to in terms of memory, narrative, metaphor and invention?  And how do the painter’s mark, color, and use of material contribute to the content?

We will depart from the basic rule of realism as stated by painters such as Courbet, Manet, Monet, Cezanne and Signac “paint what you see” (perceptual painting) and move into the territory of Matisse, Picasso and Francis Bacon and “paint the emotion awakened by what you see” using photographs as a catalyst as well as some aspects of the perceptual painting approach.

This workshop is for experienced painters. Certificate students have priority. Class limited to 12. Supply list will be provided with registration confirmation.

Washington Studio School is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of Janice Nowinski works “Recent Paintings,” April 17 through May 30. Included in the May 2 workshop is a gallery talk at 2pm.

Learning to See: Drawing for Absolute Beginners

Instructor: Milena Spasic
Saturday mornings April 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16
10am–1pm: $270
This short class will provide an introduction to the foundations of observational drawing. Students will learn the basics of contour, shape, value, gesture, negative/positive space, proportion, and the use of basic drawing materials as we look carefully at still life and interior space. This course is designed for beginning students.
Supplies:  Click for Basic drawing supplies

Figure Drawing Intensive for Beginners

Instructor: Jo Weiss
Fri, Sat, Sun May 15, 16, 17
10am–2:30pm, $270
This workshop offers an opportunity for focused attention on the human figure to those with some drawing experience but who are new to working from the model.  Focus will be on controlling the complexity of the figure, understanding the structural issues involved in building the form of the figure, expression through gesture, empathy, the space the figure occupies, and the spatial qualities of mark-making.

Digital Photo for Artists

Instructor: Alexander (Sasha) Vasiljev
Wednesdays May 13, 20, 27, June 3, 10, 17
10am–1pm, $270
A “must” course for the student and professional artist! Learning to take, correct and store proper digital photos of our artwork for websites, juried show submissions, grant applications, residency applications and blogs is critical. This workshop will teach you the basics of digital photography in addition to how to photograph artwork. Through hands-on instruction, you will learn your camera’s functions, exposure, the difference between aperture and shutter speed, selecting ISO, depth of field, exposure compensation, and more. You will learn how to avoid common mistakes through discussion and professional critique. After completion of the workshop you will better understand your equipment and be able to take the photographs you desire with more confidence. What to bring: DSLR or point-and-shoot camera with MANUAL capabilities, lenses, charged battery, memory card, camera’s manual, paper, pen (and artwork on the days designated by the instructor).

iPad Sketch

Instructor: Alexander (Sasha) Vasiljev
Saturday May 30
10am–2pm, $70
Many prominent artists are beginning to use the iPad in lieu of a sketchbook to make visual notations and quick sketches on location that they then take back to the studio to develop into paintings. This one-day workshop will introduce you to a variety of drawing apps and their capabilities for sketching with a stylus or your finger and literally having color at your fingertips. Students will learn about the apps, download what they are interested in, and then have the opportunity to do a digital sketch (most likely from still life).

2015 January-March Workshops

Learning to See: Drawing for Beginners
Instructor:  Mary Freedman
Thursdays 7-10pm, January 8, 15, 22
$170
This workshop will provide an introduction to the foundations of observational drawing. Students will learn the basics of contour, shape, value, gesture, negative/positive space, proportion, and the use of basic drawing materials as we look carefully at still life and other natural objects. This course is designed for beginning students.
Supplies:  Basic drawing supplies (see website)

Life Drawing – The Ballerina as Model
Instructor:  Diane Wilson
Wednesdays 7-10pm, January 7, 14, 21
$170
With a ballerina from the Kirov Academy of Ballet as our model, we will draw the gesture, movement, and beauty of the figure as dancer.  Our model will pose in traditional ballet dancewear as well as costumes borrowed from the Kirov closets.  Don’t miss this opportunity!Relief

Printmaking – Linocut
Instructor:  Brian Kelley
Wednesdays 10am-4pm,  January 14, 21
$215
Excellent work has been produced with linoleum by artists such as Matisse and Picasso.  Discover the versatility of this popular relief print technique. This course will introduce the basic skills of linocut from designing your image to cutting your block and printing. You will have the opportunity to experiment with mark making, color usage and possibly the addition of collage.

Introduction to Monotype – Making Marks
Instructor:  Jenny Walton
Monday and Tuesday 10am-4pm, January 12 and 13
$215
A monotype is a one-of-a-kind print made by drawing or painting onto a non-absorbent plate.  The image is then transferred to paper by either running it through a press or hand printing. Join this exciting workshop for 2 days day of experimental mark-making using a variety of methods and materials.  Inks will be non-toxic Akua inks.  You will pull several prints as well as learning to properly use the press.

Exploring Collage
Instructor:  Maya Weber
Saturdays 10am-4pm, January 24, 31
$215
Collage, whether used as the primary method for building an image or incorporated into a mixed media piece, is a wonderful way to engage with the abstract play inherent in two dimensional art. It is direct and malleable, and encourages emphatic statements of shape, plane and color. For painters accustomed to habits of palette and brush, collage introduces an element of surprise and that can present new possibilities. In this two-day workshop, students will use hand-painted papers and magazines to construct abstract studies and works from life that build awareness of essential painting elements and encourage experimentation.

The Playful Still Life
Instructor: Susan Yanero
Sundays 1-4pm, February 1, 8, 15, 22
$215
Fun, dynamic and instructive!  Where will your still life go? What will stay still? Using an amusing collection of colorful, unconventional objects in a fun and lively environment, the class will use still life to explore the visual dynamics and forces which are so inextricably bound to the dynamics of life.  With a variety of drawing materials (including color) students will push the boundaries of still life both visually and conceptually.

Digital Photography for Artists (6 weeks)
Instructor: Alexander (Sasha) Vasiljev
Tuesdays 10am-1pm, February 3 to March 10
$270
A “must” course for the student and professional artist!  Learning to take, correct and store proper digital photos of our artwork for websites, juried show submissions, grant applications, residency applications and blogs is critical. This workshop will teach you the basics of digital photography in addition to how to photograph artwork. Through hands-on instruction, you will learn your camera’s functions, exposure, the difference between aperture and shutter speed, selecting ISO, depth of field, exposure compensation, and more. You will learn how to avoid common mistakes through discussion and professional critique. After completion of the workshop you will better understand your equipment and be able to take the photographs you desire with more confidence. What to bring: DSLR or point-and-shoot camera with MANUAL capabilities, lenses, charged battery, memory card, camera’s manual, paper, pen (and artwork on the days designated by the instructor).

The Handmade Sketchbook
Instructor:  Milena Spasic
Saturdays 10am-2pm, February 28, March 7, 14
$215
An artist should never be without a sketchbook as a repository for ideas, discoveries, and recollections!  In this three-day workshop students will learn the basics of making a handmade hardcover sketchbook – and then begin to fill it with work!  An introduction to making signatures, types of binding methods, paper choices and more will be covered in this class.  The materials and tools of bookmaking will be explored, while the importance of using the book will be emphasized.

Drawing at the Museum
Instructor: Joren Lindholm
Sundays 1-4pm, March 1, 8, 15, 22 (at The National Gallery of Art)
$215
There are no better teachers than the masters, and no better way to learn from them than by standing in front of their paintings and drawings.  In this workshop issues of space, picture plane division and organization, directional lines, edges, rhythm and light will be included.  Some drawing experience is recommended. Each of these 4 sessions will focus on either a specific artist or period in western painting.Materials list: paper, support for working (sketchbook is fine), dry drawing media (student’s choice: pencil, charcoal, ball point, marker).For each session meet first in the main rotunda, mall side, and then the instructor will take you to a selected area in the museum.  Drawings will be discussed and shared each session.

Essentials of Anatomy: Figure Drawing and Sculpture (FULL. Please contact us to be on the wait list)January 9, 10, 11 from 10am-5pm
Instructor: Maggie Siner
$550 (Class limit is 12)WHAT GOES ON BENEATH THE SURFACE? We are pleased to bring Maggie Siner’s ever-popular anatomy class to WSS. Always a sell-out. Don’t wait to register! This intensive 3-day study of anatomy is the single best thing you can do to improve your figurative work. Using primarily drawing, class will also include 3-D clay modeling for a better grasp of anatomical volumes.
Human anatomy in its 3-dimensional structure of complex forms and ever-shifting configurations (i.e. movement) is the foundation of good figurative painting. This class offers a rare opportunity to study anatomy with Maggie Siner. Fascinating, informative, challenging, never quite long enough. If you understand the coherence of forms beneath the figure’s surface, if you can control volumes and be sensitive to balance and gesture, then your figurative work will be more convincing and expressive. NOTE: Previous drawing experience required.   (No cadavers but not for sissies)2014 Marathon & September Workshops3-DAY DRAWING MARATHON WITH JO WEISS (FULL. Please contact us to be placed on the waitlist.)“From […] apprehension is formed a concept, a reason engendered in the mind by the object, whose manual expression is called drawing.” Vasari, 1568This year’s Marathon will focus on experimentation. Driven by process, participants will consider three different purposes of drawing and how they effect material and design. Through apprehending the subject from an experiential basis, participants will form a concept generated by the arrangement and plan its construction.Saturday, Sunday, Monday – August 30, 31, September 1
Saturday 10am-4pm, Sunday 10am-4pm, Monday  10am-5pm
$400 (plus a small materials fee for shared roll of paper payable to instructor)Limited to 10 students  – Register early online through PayPal or send in your completed registration form.
2014 Fall WorkshopsStarting in early September, WSS kicks off the fall season with nearly a dozen exciting workshops, ranging from drawing to monotype to exploration of paper, plus digital photography. And, in November we welcome the return of guest and visiting artist Ken Kewley. Read more about all of these offerings below, and register early! These workshop offerings fill quickly. Class size is limited to 12 students. Before registering, please read WSS policies on refunds, cancellations, and student withdrawals. You may register online, using PayPal from the drop-down menus below, or complete our registration form.Installations in Mitchell Park (FREE)
Help WSS Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Mitchell ParkSaturday, September 6, 11am-2pm
Instructors: WSS Faculty members
(Mitchell Park is located just up the street, one block west of Washington Studio School.)
In the spirit of Andy Goldsworthy and other environmental artists, WSS will work with participants to prepare small installations from natural materials to be discovered and enjoyed around the park.  Bring sticks, stones, twine and any other materials useful for suspending and tucking away interesting site specific installations.  These temporary installations will be enjoyed throughout the fall, and will accompany a showing of Andy Goldsworthy’s film “Rivers and Tides” at WSS main floor. (Date to be determined, please check back.)The Essentials of PaperTuesday, September 23
11:30am–1pm – Sarah Becktel
1:30–4:30pm – Milena Spasic
$90 (plus $10 material fee paid to afternoon instructor)
Understanding the various properties, uses and limitations of the materials we use is essential in order to make decisions about the right material and surface for the particular work at hand. This special workshop begins with Sarah Becktel, Artist Educator for Strathmore Artists Paper, in a hands-on presentation on Strathmore Drawing and Watercolor Papers and focuses on how understanding a paper’s fiber, weight, texture, surface, grade and permanency affect an artist’s choice and usage of fine art paper. Attendees participate in exercises, using Strathmore papers and drawing materials. In the afternoon, students will spend 3 hours with WSS instructor Milena Spasic and continue the discussion with further exercises using an array of additional papers. The 90-minute presentation will cover all aspects of fine art drawing papers:
History of Writing Surfaces: parchment to papyrus to paper
History of Paper: from China to Europe
How Paper is Made: past and present
Handmade paper vs. Machine made paper
Components of Paper: fiber, watermark, surface texture, sizing, weight, permanence.
Environmentally friendly papers and alternative fibers
Types of Paper: newsprint, sketching, drawing, bristol, illustration, charcoal, pastel, watercolor, mixed-media
Grades of Paper: student, artist, professional
Paper StorageStrathmore will provide free to registered students:
Strathmore papers and literature
Selection of drawing materials
Watercolor brushMonotype: Making MarksTuesday, September 9, 10am-5pm
Instructor: Jenny Walton
$130
A monotype is a one-of-a-kind print made by drawing or painting onto a non-absorbent plate and then running it through the press to transfer the image.  Join this exciting workshop for a day of experimental mark-making using a variety of methods and materials.  You will pull several prints as well as learning to properly use the press.Drawing DupontSundays, September 14, 21, 28, 10am-1pm
Instructor: Joren Lindholm
$170
Students will have three Sunday autumn mornings drawing the gestures, movement, shape and value relationships found in our nearby environment, particularly around the Dupont Circle Farmers Market.  A wonderful way to enjoy the season!Rapid Notation: Quick Response in PaintInstructor: Milena Spasic
Mondays, September 8, 15, 22, 7-10pm
$170
Quick studies in paint are valuable to the student in so many ways.  By doing multiple quick studies from a variety of subjects, students in this fast-paced workshop will learn to edit what is inconsequential and superfluous detail.  They will gain an understanding of what elements are important to them by capturing the critical elements that express their emotional response to the subject. They will reach a greater understanding of the broad relationships between light (value), color and form, and they will learn to simplify and strengthen compositions.Figure DrawingInstructor: Diane Wilson
Wednesdays, September 3, 10, 17, 24, 7-10pm
$215
Drawing from the model, this workshop will focus on the structure, movement and expressive qualities of the figure. Line, gesture, proportion, volume and placement are all considered as we work from this most enduring subject.Learning to See: DrawingInstructor: Mary Freedman
Thursdays, September 4, 11, 18, 25, 7-10pm
$215
This workshop will provide an introduction to the foundations of observational drawing. Students will learn the basics of contour, shape, value, gesture, negative/positive space, proportion, and the use of basic drawing materials as we look carefully at still life and other natural objects. This course is designed for beginning students. Supplies:  Basic drawing supplies (see website)Multiple Figure DrawingInstructor:  Tania Karpowitz
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday – September 10, 11, 12
Wed 10am-4pm; Thu 10am-2pm; Fri 10am-4pm
$285
This class explores the time-honored topic of multiple figure composition in drawing and painting. Working with multiple models or a single model in multiple poses, students will continue to develop their perceptual awareness and ability to transpose figures into imagined or constructed spaces. Students will look at the work of many master and contemporary painters, and learn strategies for creating dynamic figure groupings that relate and project content.  This is primarily a drawing class and is recommended for students with drawing experience. Great painters throughout the ages have composed paintings, both quiet and epic, by finding the relationships between two or more figures. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity.Large Scale Compositional Figure DrawingInstructor: Carolyn Reece-Tomlin
Monday and Tuesday, September 15 and 16, 11am-5pm
$215
Students draw the figure with an emphasis on maintaining energy through experimentation with a variety of drawing materials including cut and glued paper. The importance of process, change and structure is explored in resolving each student’s individual compositional and spatial issues in a large format drawing.
VISITING ARTIST KEN KEWLEY (Full – please contact us to join the wait list.)Abstraction for the Realist: A workshop for both the figurative and the abstract artistInstructor:  Ken Kewley
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: November 14, 15, 16
10am–5pm
$500
On the occasion of “The Intimate Diebenkorn” exhibition in Washington, DC at the Katzen Arts Center at American University, November 8 through December 14, 2014.With Diebenkorn as our starting point we will explore abstraction; the pure abstract work and the abstraction in the figure, still life, and landscape. A very structured workshop of looking and abstracting through drawing, painting, collage and sculpture to get at a balance between the two. Between looking at something out there and looking at our work a balance must be found to say something and to say it in an interesting way. The statements, ‘You cannot make it up’ and ‘You must make it up’ are both true. We must let both guide us. What we put down on our paper or canvas are real things that we can adjust just as we adjust objects in a still life. It is this abstraction that we must adjust if we are working purely abstractly, or if we are working from life. We will make abstract drawings, paintings, collages and sculptures that we will transform into figures, still lifes, landscapes and then turn back into abstractions, all to explore the balance between the two. The  non-representational work and the representational work both need to work abstractly to fully satisfy ourselves and then others.2014 Summer WorkshopsSummer at WSS brings short classes, workshops and our Teen Intensive program, all taught by our regular faculty, plus WSS is proud to bring you our Artist in Residence, Reem Bassous.  Summer session will run July 7 to July 31, and workshops will vary on day of week and time of day.If you’ve always wanted to take one of our classes, but short on time, we encourage you to immerse yourself in one or more workshops with us this summer. You will be thrilled. Visit our drawing and painting sections for workshop descriptions and to register. Class size is limited to 12 students, so register early!Join Us! Open House, Sunday June 15, 1-3pm. Free drawing session2014 Spring, Visiting ArtistMemorial Day Weekend “Master Class”
with Stuart Shils
Life Studio as Painted SpaceA two and a half day indoor painting class
Lecture:  Friday May 23 at 6pm – open to the public
Class:  Saturday/Sunday May 24, 25 (9am-5pm) and
Monday May 26 (9am-1pm)
$725 (includes Friday lecture, attendance required)The Life class offers a controlled and carefully orchestrated setting for engaging with and exploring many pictorial concerns ranging far beyond “how to” paint the figure. In fact, our first requirement is learning to see, so that “how to” paint a figure is not part of our agenda at all. Rather, students will be encouraged to focus on pictorial structure, to consider close and accountable looking at both the set up of the room and at the painting, with a model as part of a much larger organization of form and color. There will also be an emphasis on drawing for its own sake and in relation to planning for and thinking through painting. We’ll also explore aspects of collaboration between students as a way of understanding the decision making process more fully and seeing where we stand individually by way of working together. Using materials such as acrylic paint and Crayola crayons, students will have the opportunity to leave the familiar behind and turn over new rocks.The night before the first day is the 90-minute introductory lecture, Explorations of the Figure in Space, and workshop students are required to attend.Stuart Shils workshops fill quickly all over the country – Register early! It’s a great way to spend the long weekend!Digital Media(short classes): Intro to Digital Media and iPad Sketch.Portrait Interpretations, Painting (short class): May 29,30,31. 10am-3pm, KarpowitzFigure Drawing (short class): May 28, June 4,11,18. 7-10pm, Wilson2014 Winter WorkshopsOur winter workshops run for several weeks in January, starting January 4. We also bring Gerald Wartofsky in January and Maggie Siner in February as part of our Visiting and Guest Artist Series.     2014 Winter Workshop DescriptionsThe Figure in Expressive Composition (by visiting artist Wartofsky)Our Visiting and Guest Artist Series is funded in part by a grant from the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities.
Instructor: Gerry Wartofsky, Visiting Artist
Thursday and Friday, January 23 and 24, 10am-4pm
$215
Join visiting artist and professor of art Gerry Wartofsky for a 2-day workshop to accompany his exhibition of drawings, paintings and pastels at WSS.  Working from the figure with a variety of drawing materials, students will use their own class studies to organize figure groupings into sustained compositions.  During the 2 days students will attempt to realize different modes from expressionistic to atmospheric to structured and serene.  Students will work in black and white the first day, and introduce color into the drawings during the second day.Anything Goes! A Dialogue in Drawing (2 sessions) – REGISTER NOW!Instructors:  Deborah Kahn and Susan Yanero
Tuesday and Wednesday, January 14 and 15, 11am-5pm
$215
This collaborative class between longtime teaching and painting colleagues Susan Yanero and Deborah Kahn and their students will be both a conversation and a studio class.  Students are each to bring a drawing with them, a dialogue will ensue, and assignments will evolve out of the conversation.  The workshop will address problems in drawing, leading to deeper issues of perception.Rapid Notation: The Quick Response in Paint (2 sessions) – REGISTER NOW!Instructor: Milena Spasic
Thursday, January 16 and 23, 7–10pm
$110
Quick studies in paint are valuable to the student in so many ways.  By doing multiple quick studies from a variety of still lifes, students in this fun and fast-paced workshop will learn to edit what is inconsequential and superfluous detail.  They will gain an understanding of what elements are important to them by capturing the critical elements that express their emotional response to the subject. They will reach a greater understanding of the broad relationships between light (value), color and form, and they will learn to simplify and strengthen compositions.NEW! Layering: Gouache and Pastel (1 session) – REGISTER NOW!Instructor: Brian Kelley
Wednesday, January 22, 10am–5pm
$130
Contemporary artists use mixed media in increasingly experimental ways. This 1-day workshop explores the interaction and layering of a water-based wet medium (gouache) and a dry medium (pastel.)  Using still life and interior space as subject, students will work perceptually to build an image with these materials in combination.Approaching Acrylic (2 sessions) – REGISTER NOW!Instructor: Maya Weber
Saturdays, January 11 and 18, 10am–2pm [please note that on the flyer, the dates are Jan 12 and 19, but the day of week is Saturday]
$145
In this introduction to the medium, students will be encouraged to exploit the fast-drying properties of the paint to enhance their color exploration. Working from a still life over two sessions, we will investigate basics of handling the medium and experiment with shifting color choices.Figure Drawing (3 sessions) – REGISTER NOW!Instructor: Diane Wilson
Wednesdays, January 8, 15 and 22, 7–10pm
$165
Drawing from the model, this workshop will focus on the structure, movement and expressive qualities of the figure. Line, gesture, proportion, volume and placement are all considered as we work from this most enduring subject.Learning to See: Drawing (3 sessions) – REGISTER NOW!Instructor: Mary Freedman
Mondays,  January 6, 13, and 20, 7-10pm
$165
This workshop will provide an introduction to the foundations of observational drawing. Students will learn the basics of contour, shape, value, gesture, negative/positive space, proportion, and the use of basic drawing materials as we look carefully at still life and other natural objects. This course is designed for beginning students. Supplies:  Basic drawing supplies (see website)Learning to See: Painting (4 sessions) – CANCELLEDInstructor: Joren Lindholm
Saturdays, January 4, 11, 18, 25, 10am-1pm
$215
This workshop introduces students new to painting to some basic concepts and skills.  Topics covered will include materials and surfaces, value relationships, shape relationships, placement, mark, color, pattern and composition.  Students will work from still life and interior space.The Painter’s Secret Geometry (by visiting artist) – Part 2: FULL. Please ask to be on the wait list. Part 1: Lecture, Feb 8 is open. Please register.Our Visiting and Guest Artist Series is funded in part by a grant from the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities.
Instructor: Maggie Siner, Visiting Artist
Part 1: Lecture – Saturday, February 8, 3pm (time to be confirmed)
Part 2: Class – Sunday, February 9, 10am-5pm
$190 (includes lecture)
Lecture only, $15
Artist Maggie Siner returns to WSS for a lecture and workshop! Great painting is built on great structure.  Discover the secret geometry that underlies pictorial composition as artist and teacher Maggie Siner guides us on an amazing journey through the shapes of a Rembrandt self-portrait, revealing its beautiful and sophisticated hidden meaning. Then, in the studio, learn to apply and develop these ideas through painting and drawing by continued analysis of paintings and hands-on experience in using the hidden geometry in one’s own painting.
Part 1: Lecture: Rembrandt and the Painter’s Hidden Geometry. This lecture is fascinating for both painters and non-painters.
Part 2: Painting and Drawing WorkshopDigital Photography & iPad DrawingIntro to Digital PhotoInstructor: Alexander Vasiljev
Mondays, January 27, February 3 and 10 (7-10pm)
Saturday, February 8 (10am-1pm) for a field trip
$215
First, second and fourth sessions are in a class setting and the third session is a field trip to a local park to take photos. This workshop will teach you the basics of digital photography. Through hands-on instruction, you will learn your camera’s functions, exposure, the difference between aperture and shutter speed, selecting ISO, depth of field, exposure compensation, and more. You will learn how to avoid common mistakes through discussion and professional critique. After completion of the workshop you will better understand your equipment and be able to take the photographs you desire with more confidence.
What to bring: DSLR or point-and-shoot camera with MANUAL capabilities, lenses, charged battery, memory card, camera’s manual, paper, pen.i-Pad Sketch (1 session, 2 day/time options)Instructor: Alexander Vasiljev
Thursday, February 6, 6-10pm
or
Saturday, February 22, 10am-2pm
$70
Many prominent artists are beginning to use the iPad in lieu of a sketchbook to make visual notations and quick sketches on location that they then take back to the studio to develop into paintings.  This one-day workshop will introduce you to a variety of drawing apps and their capabilities for sketching with a stylus or your finger and literally having color at your fingertips.  Students will learn about the apps, download what they are interested in, and then have the opportunity to do a digital sketch (most likely from still life.)2013 Fall WorkshopsClick here for 10-week Fall Term class offeringsWSS is offering a number of workshops in September and October to kick off the school year. The 10-week term begins September 30 with our array of outstanding classes in drawing, painting and sculpture and some short classes and workshops embedded into the term. iPad Drawing — Using the iPad as a Sketchbook (1 session)Saturday September 28, 10am–2pm
Instructor:  Alexander (Sasha) Vasiljev
$70
Many prominent artists are beginning to use the iPad in lieu of a sketchbook to make visual notations and quick sketches on location that they then take back to the studio to develop into paintings.  This one-day workshop will introduce you to a variety of drawing apps and their capabilities for sketching with a stylus or your finger and literally having color at your fingertips.  Students will learn about the apps, download what they are interested in, and then have the opportunity to do a digital sketch (possibly outdoors, weather permitting.)Introduction to Digital Photography (4 sessions)Tues Oct 1, 8, 15 (7-10pm) and Sun, Oct 13 (10am-1pm, field trip)
Instructor:  Alexander (Sasha) Vasiljev
$215
First, second and fourth sessions are in a class setting and the third session is a field trip. This workshop will teach you the basics of digital photography. Through hands-on instruction, you will learn your camera’s functions, exposure, the difference between aperture and shutter speed, selecting ISO, depth of field, exposure compensation, and more. You will learn how to avoid common mistakes through discussion and professional critique. After completion of the workshop you will better understand your equipment and be able to take the photographs you desire with more confidence.What to bring: DSLR or point-and-shoot camera with MANUAL capabilities, lenses, charged battery, memory card, camera’s manual, paper, pen.Learning to See: Drawing (4 sessions)Thursdays September 5, 12, 19, 26, 7-10pm
Instructor: Joren Lindholm
$215
This workshop will provide an introduction to the foundations of observational drawing. Students will learn the basics of contour, shape, value, gesture, negative/positive space, proportion, and the use of basic drawing materials as we look carefully at still life and other natural objects. This course is designed for beginning students.
Supplies:  Basic drawing supplies (see website)The Magical World of a Sketchbook (2 sessions)Tuesdays September 17 and 24, 11am–4pm
Instructor:  Susan Yanero
$180
In many ways the artist’s sketchbook is akin to a collection – a place to collect thoughts, images and references. Ideas become tangible in a sketchbook through drawing, scrawling, writing, sticking, trying out – connections are made and deeper thinking takes place.  And often, sketchbooks are works of art in themselves.  One should never be without a sketchbook, and this fun and fast-paced workshop will give you guidance in creating and using sketchbooks to help you articulate, externalize and explore ideas.  The workshop takes place on two consecutive Tuesdays with the expectation that you will work to develop your sketchbook in the days between.  Expect to emerge with something close to an artist’s book!Self-Portrait (3 sessions)Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, September 18, 19, 20, 10am–3pm
Instructor: Tania Karpowitz
$270
What does it mean to use the self that you know so well as model rather than the stranger who is often the classroom muse? What is the role of memory in the self-portrait? How do we respond and manipulate when we are both model and painter in ways that are different from when we paint someone else? All this will be explored in this workshop. Students may decide individually if this will be a drawing or a painting project and bring supplies accordingly.  Personal props may also be brought to class.Drawing at the Museum (4 sessions, also listed under Drawing)“Opening the Box: Spatial Illusions inside the Picture”
Sunday 1-5pm, October 6, 13, 20, 27
Instructor: Juliana Netschert
$240 (SPACE AVAILABLE)
4 sessions at The National Gallery of Art / both wings, each session focuses on either a specific artist or period in western painting.The perception of space on a 2 dimensional surface is contradictory, and like all illusions, magical. Obviously, the surface itself is two dimensional, but through the function of our eyes and brain, we begin to perceive depth. The basic rectangle of the picture becomes a window. The picture surface becomes the transparent front of a box into which we can see sides, floor, ceiling and the back, which is parallel to the front.  Parts of this 3 dimensional illusion are often ignored, but the picture surface itself always depth. Through drawing, the experience of deep dimensional space created on what is a flat surface can be better understood and enjoyed.In this class, issues of how deep or how flat will be explored. Concepts of picture plane, directional lines, edges, near/far, overlapping, push/pull, ambiguity and light will be included.  Some drawing experience is recommended.Materials: paper, support for working (sketchbook is fine), dry drawing media (student’s choice: pencil, charcoal, ball point, marker).For each session meet first in the main rotunda, mall side, and then the instructor will take you to a selected area in the museum.  Drawings will be discussed and shared each session.Color Focus – Painting (6 sessions, also listed under Painting)Tuesday 7-10pm, October 15 to November 19
Instructor:  Carol Rubin
$270 (SPACE AVAILABLE)
This short class will teach students about the important issues of color through ideas of temperature, intensity, and value. There will be a series of exercises to connect these ideas with the practice of painting. This class is for painters of all levels. Beginning to intermediate students will deepen their understanding of color relationships, while more advanced students will hone their skills using color.Wax Figure Sculpture Series (3 Fri/Sat sessions, also listed under Sculpture)Fri 1-5pm and Sat 10am-2pm, Oct 4-5 / Nov 8-9 / Dec 6-7
Instructor: Garcia
$455 plus $30 each month for supplies paid directly to instructor Garcia (cash preferred).
Materials Provided: Microcrystaline Wax #503, Acadia wood tool 8”, Copper Wire #12, 10 x 10” wood board
Please bring: vaseline or any hand cream available at home, small round edge knife (butter knife), metal spoon, charcoals, sketchbook, hair dryer.Sculpting in Wax from the Model is a class designed for students of all levels, from the complete beginner who needs to learn the basics of traditional sculpture making to more experienced students looking to practice their skill set. We start with building an armature and will explore handling the wax with a variety techniques and tools. Our focus is to interpret the anatomy of the figure by understanding it as a form in space. Sculpting from the figure is a three dimensional drawing exercise, one that reveals the planes, proportions, balance and composition of the pose.Oscar Garcia is a Peruvian Sculptor, born from a long line of Sculptors and Foundry Artisans. He grew up assisting the master artists’ public commissions. He studied at the Fine Arts School of Lima. There he received a six-year sculpture specialization MFA. During these years he also became one of the master artists for public commissions, by the Church, government and military. In 2003 Oscar Garcia came to New York. His extensive knowledge in foundry work as well as carving wood and stone, modeling with clay and wax both figurative and abstract, has made Garcia’s Sculpting in Wax series popular at the Art Students League of New York and Washington Studio School in DC.1-Day Urban Drawing Marathonwith Visiting Artist Stuart Shils
REFRAMING THE ORDINARY: DRAWING ON THE STREETS WITH A CRITICAL VISUAL EYE
Saturday, October 12, 9:30am-5:00pm
$215 (FULL. Request to be on the wait list.)

Washington Studio School welcomes renowned painter Stuart Shils for his all-day urban drawing workshop, Saturday October 12 and an artist’s talk open to the public, Thursday evening October 10 at 7pm, “Reframing the Ordinary“.  Workshops given by Shils around the country are in great demand, and this class will fill quickly!  Class size is limited to 12 students. Act fast! You don’t want to miss this opportunity.

This one-day class will introduce and cultivate the perceptual tools of rapid visual summation and notation, both in terms of how to understand what you see and how to remake that into clear and intelligent graphic formats on paper. Working in very ordinary places, we will focus on noticing how everyday architectural space and natural form is really extraordinary visually and then, with how to translate that awareness into drawing.

This is an intimate class for mid range to advanced painters, designers, photographers or architects, in which there will be focus on each participants work. Using pencils and litho crayons in sketchbooks, we’ll investigate issues of how to recognize and understand the interior structure of the “perceptual moment” through drawing. We’ll also casually use the digital camera as a viewfinder and photographic tool to examine and identify what camera vision does to our seeing and how camera informs and enhances direct perception. This is not a class for learning how to “render” or how to make “pretty photographs.

2013 Summer Marathons, July & August

As part of our visiting artist series, WSS is pleased to welcome back guest artist Ken Kewley and Maggis Siner, and bring you visiting artist Reem Bassous.  In July, students will have two unique opportunities with Ken Kewley – enroll in our 3-day workshop and attend Kewley’s talk on Braque prefaced with a visit to The Phillips Collection.  Local artist Siner comes in August for a workshop on Color and Perception and Bassous, Master Teacher, joins us over Labor Day weekend in a 2-Day Drawing Marathon. Details below.

Our Guest and Visiting Artist Series is made possible through a grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. We greatly appreciate their support!

3-Day Marathon with guest artist Ken Kewley

FROM THE LITERAL TO THE POETIC:

THE STILL LIFE

Still Life on Table, Kewley

Drawing, Painting, Collage and Sculpture

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: July 12, 13, 14
10am-5pm. $500 (FULL. Request to be on the wait list.)

Register soon for this 3-day workshop. Kewley’s workshop this past January filled quickly! Sorry, now FULL. Please ask to be placed on the wait list. You may still join in other Kewley events. Details below.

Taking our inspiration from Braque, who turned away from the model to get closer to reality, we will look but we will not copy. No more boring still lifes of boring objects sitting on a shelf. No more trying to breathe life into dead objects. Creating our own still lifes with corrugated cardboard we are going to see how many ways we can take them apart and reassemble them in the search for the most exciting composition. Placing objects together to paint is working abstractly. Somewhere between observation and invention we will draw, paint, collage and sculpt, on a path away from copying or rendering, towards composing and towards a still life that is alive.

Vase, Palette and Mandolin, Georges Braque

Ken Kewley Talk:  Drawing from Braque

at Washington Studio School, FREE and open to the public
July 11, Thursday, 7:00pm

Visit to The Phillips, 3:30-5pm:  Before the slide talk, join Kewley at The Phillips to view the Braque exhibit: “Georges Braque – The Cubist Still Life 1928-1945.” Meet at front entrance of the museum. RSVP kindly appreciated.

Washington Studio School is conveniently situated three short blocks from The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st Street, NW.  Entrance fee to the museum for non-members, $12.

Siner Workshop: Color and Perception

What is Color & How Does It Happen

Twins, 2009, Siner

Friday: August 23
10am-5pm. $175. (FULL. Request to be on the wait list.)

In this one-day painting workshop (working from still-life) we will begin by understanding the phenomenon of light, (the source of color) and the basics of visual perception (the arrival of color).  We will develop a vocabulary for clearer color thinking, and then work through and manage the profound relativity and malleability of colors as they change and react to each other. Color is a perceptual event.  It is a sensation, not a theory.

A painting is a collection of colors in relationship to each other, and a successful painting balances the nuances of these relationships.

How then does a painter make sense of color and learn to use it, not only as a decorative and expressive tool but as a convincing transformation of live visual experience recorded into the medium of paint?  How does a painter become a colorist?

It is not a question of using bright colors but of handling nuances and color relationships.  When a painter becomes sensitive to the perceptual realities of color, and applies them to the palette and handling of paint, then a painter can command the finest mastery of color.

Color relativity is the most basic fact of our perceptual system. Color is a phenomenon that must be understood as ‘in motion’.

Labor Day Weekend

2-Day Drawing Marathon with Reem Bassous

Visiting artist and master teacher

Green Line, mixed media on paper, Bassous

Saturday and Sunday:  August 31 and September 1
9am-5pm.  $300 (FULL. Request to be on the wait list.)

Reem’s marathons in DC and Honolulu have been met with the highest acclaim. This marathon at WSS is designed to push you into places you can’t even imagine! It will be an incredible experience and journey.  Reem is the “master instructor.”

Workshops, Spring 2013

Carolyn Reece-Tomlin and Deborah Kahn

WSS welcomes back two extraordinary instructors to teach related workshops on two consecutive Thursdays.

Pushing Your Drawing

The workshops in this two-part exploration into drawing will complement each other in subject matter, scale and materials. Take both on consecutive Thursdays, or take one!

Part 1.  Large Scale Figure Drawing

Thursday,  April 25 from 10am–5pm
Instructor:  Carolyn Reece-Tomlin
$135
Students draw the figure with an emphasis on maintaining energy in a large format drawing.  The importance of process, change and experimentation is explored in resolving each student’s individual compositional and spatial issues.

Part 2.  A Day of Drawing:  Exploring a Motif

Thursday, May 2 from 10am–5pm
Instructor:  Deborah Kahn
$135
Working from a large, complex, and changeable still life in the morning, and then adding a figure to the set-up in the afternoon, students will discover the inherent possibilities of pattern, light, rhythm, movement and space that arise from careful seeing and exploration.

Fundamentals of Color through Painting (Short class)

W/Th/F – May 29, 30, 31 from 10am–4pm
Instructor: Tania Karpowitz
$270
This class will teach students about the important issues of color through ideas of temperature, intensity, and value. There will be a series of exercises to connect these ideas with the practice of painting. This class is for painters of all levels. Beginning to intermediate students will deepen their understanding of color relationships, while more advanced students will hone their skills using color.

Developing an Idea (Short class)

W/Th/F – June 5, 6, 7 from 10am–2pm
Instructor: Tania Karpowitz
$180
As students progress, the need to move in a more personal direction becomes important. In this class, students work independently but are provided with a series of exercises to help them translate their own ideas into the visual. Students may determine individually if their project is to be a drawing or a painting one.

iPhone Photography

Wednesday, April 17 from 6–10pm
Instructor:  Alexander (Sasha) Vasiljev
$75
You can produce gallery quality photos with your iPhone!
The workshop will start with learning the basics of digital photography, how to choose the light, composition, and tips on improving your iPhone™ photography. You will learn about the best camera and photo editing apps, their differences, applications and functions. During this workshop you will be able to practice iPhone photography through hands-on instruction in the field.

What to bring: iPhone™ with charged battery, charger, pen, writing pad. The approximate cost of the apps you will learn about is $12.

Intro to Digital Photography Workshop with emphasis on photographing artwork

Wednesday April 24, May 1, 8 @ 7-10PM (field Saturday May 4, 10am-1PM)
Instructor:  Alexander (Sasha) Vasiljev
$215
First, second and fourth sessions are in a class setting with the third session in the field. This 4-session workshop will teach you the basics of digital photography. Through hands-on instruction, you will learn your camera’s functions, exposure, the difference between aperture and shutter speed, understanding ISO, depth of field, exposure compensation, and more. After learning the basics, we will focus on the specifics of photographing artwork. You will learn how to avoid common mistakes through instruction and discussion. After completion of the workshop you will better understand your equipment and be able to take the photographs you desire, including your artwork, with more confidence. What to bring: DSLR or point-and-shoot camera with MANUAL capabilities, lenses, charged battery, memory card, camera’s manual, paper, pen.

Color Correcting Your Artwork Photographs:

Wednesday, May 15 from 7-10pm
Instructor:  Alexander (Sasha) Vasiljev
$55
Designed especially for those learning to photograph their artwork, this one time session will focus on how to achieve a truthful color representation in your photographs.  Students will learn about white balance, color spaces, calibration and available software. You will learn the necessary workflow steps, from photographing to correcting your photo in software. After completion of this workshop you will be able to present your artwork images in print or digital form with color accuracy that you control. What to bring: DSLR or point-and-shoot camera with MANUAL capabilities, lenses, charged battery, memory card, camera’s manual, laptop, paper, pen. Important: Intro to Digital Workshop OR knowledge of your camera and its manual setting is a prerequisite for this class

TEST.