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This 5 session workshop series begins with Robert doing a demonstration painting as a visual warm-up and guide for students. Robert then spends the remainder of the workshop evenings assisting students in the creation of their own works of art.

Using either oils or acrylics painting kits, weʼll be learning about the facial anatomy of dogs and cats, how to paint fur, with a little bit of colour theory thrown in to make the paintings come to life. I cant think of a better way to celebrate a fuzzy friend!

Great workshop for beginners and experienced painters.

Two-day Workshop:

• Saturday May 25, 9-4pm
• Sunday May 26, 9-3pm

$200

Have you ever had to do a "barnecktomy" in the middle of a painting? You know - when after two or three days of painting you decide you want the barn in a different spot. If you're in that far it's a little too late. Most problems in a painting occur in the first five minutes of a painting and persist until it's too late to fix them. Start with a well thought out sketch and see how truly fun painting can be. Learn simple but powerful techniques for better design that lead to dynamic paintings...

This workshop is as simple and fun as the material we will be using. CLAY (wet clay) most commonly known for its use in Ceramics. We will discuss different ways to transform clay into art as you explore the properties of this simplest of materials. There will be two elementary sculpture making methods to choose from but if you are a quick learner you can try both. Two types of sculture: 3D modular composition using geometric or organic shape. Low relief, make a mask or abstract composition.

Expect to get yuck under your fingernails and to have as much fun as the last time you played in  mud.

Two-day Workshop:

• Saturday June 8, 9-4pm
• Sunday June 9, 9-4pm

$200

There is a surprise, excitement and joy in almost everyone that tries encaustic painting. It is a very versatile medium that allows even the complete beginner a flexibility to be completely creative because it's easy to create a wide variety of beautiful surfaces using many different techniques.

The technique for painting in encaustic is laying pigmented bees wax which contains damar resin crystals and fusing each layer with heat by one of the following:  hot iron hot gun or propane torch.  Damar is the crystallized sap of a fir tree native to Indonesia/Malaysia.  Each time a layer is fused it becomes bonded and permanent to the previous layer.  Encaustic is an exciting medium and has endless possibilities for use and technique.

Using one of the most simple and elegant of all drawing materials, charcoal, you will learn to draw a portrait in a time honored approach to portraiture. 

Learn how to accomplish the most intricate of traditional facial views in this 4th workshop in the series of Charcoal Drawing Workshops. Probably the most common of views used by the old masters it requires a different series of measurements on top of what we have previously covered. But - not to worry beginners - there will be an overview of the basics before we begin in earnest. We will again be using our simple elegant forgiving charcoal removal technique. A 3/4 view is one in which the face is see slightly from the side, as if turning away from you, and where you see the nose touch the edge of the cheek.

This is no normal afternoon soap opera. This is a class to embrace the fear of the bold, be dazzled by the beautiful and doing it all with a big brush! Piddly, little, scratchy brush marks be gone!! Learn how to use the dexterity of your hands and the bristles in your brush. One brush can be more expressive then a whole arsenal of your teeny-weenie’s. Bring confidence into your work because you have the knowledge of how to use your tools of your trade…. Your Brushes!

Create your art using your own Personal Art & Design Device

Join us this summer for an exciting look into the future of art! We're going to jump into the digital age of art & design with a series on drawing and painting on one of the more popular tools of technical wizardry in the world today! Would you like to have full command of what your iPad is capable of doing for you? What if you could take these skills back to your classroom and share a few helpful tips with your friends from this class in drawing, painting, and general design? If you are an artist and have been looking for an opportunity to learn how to create your own work, improve upon your existing skills, and generate a fantastic portfolio that will win you applause at the party, and a possible career path in the future then you'll want to participate in this series of drawing & painting classes.

‘A well-composed painting is half done’
Pierre Bonnard

Having a good design is truly what makes or breaks a work of art. The first initial stages of planning the painting are the most important and usually the most rushed through because, hey who wants to draw and think it out when the fun stuff is really in the painting… right? Trust me when I tell you spending a bit of time in the initial stages will save you hours of problem solving in the long run. Streamline the design and composition phase so you know what to look for and then get to the fun stuff of making beautiful art! Please bring multiple photo references that you would like to try and paint so we can discuss them and work through the composition stages.

Three-evenings Workshop:

• Monday July 15, 6pm-9pm
• Tuesday July 16, 6pm-9pm
• Thursday July 18, 6pm-9pm

$180

Drawing people from life can be intimidating but once you know a few secrets it gets much easier. Working from a live nude model, gain a better understanding of the elements that make up the human figure and how to artistically portray them. From simple gestural sketches with fast playful lines followed by slightly longer poses will allow you to develop your style. We will explore different kinds of line and try out various shading techniques. Beginners welcome!

Learn the trade secrets to making your faces, and most importantly your features, look realistic. With a breakdown of face and feature alignments and detailed description of drawing eyes, noses and mouths, you will get the proportion in your portraits you need with minimal effort. Top off with a few masculine and feminine traits secrets and your portraits will be full of pizzazz!

Got a tablet? Love making art? Tablet technology is not just for content consumption. You can create with it too! Sketch, paint, doodle, design...

Bring your Ipad or tablet to life. You'll have a blast drawing the likeness of yourself or your friends. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to bring your iPad or tablet, a stylus, your favourite sketchbook, eraser and pencils to the studio for a fantastic time drawing caricatures using the latest and greatest apps. (We will download a few different apps and use them to trick out your drawings.)

In this two hour, weeklong class, students will get a hands on experience of painting in the style of Van Gogh! Earlier in the week students will be creating pieces of art similar to Van Gogh's famous Starry Starry Night. Then using this brand new knowledge and confidence, students may branch out to paint whatever landscape they choose in the same style! Upon completion of this workshop students will have 2 canvases ready for framing and displaying!

Sick of mixing huge vats of the wrong colour? Tired of spending most of your time mixing smurge on the palette instead of putting fresh colour on to the canvas? Applied color mixing to the rescue! Armed with a palette knife and tubes of paint, you will learn the defences passed down from ancient, battling, masters of art. Start painting from the offence not the trenches filled with mud. Open to oil, acrylic and watercolour and now available in one weekend!

While you're having creative fun you will be secretly improving your drawing skills! You'll have a ton of fun trying different dry media learning cool tricks and techniques while building your drawing ability and confidence. With Sue's sneak attack methods you'll never even notice you're learning boat loads of skills that will help you build awesome 2 and 3-D art!

An easy to follow breakdown of how to mix proper skin colours! Learn Holly’s tried and true system of identifying and creating lush, beautiful skin in your work. Learn the properties that make skin believable. Open to acrylic and oil.

Open to acrylic and oil artists.

"Ready to become an art genius?"

Choose your technique. We will cover it ALL and take over the studio in the process! Drawing, painting, print-making, sculpture, mixed media and more in the super creative art setting of Swinton’s studios! Every day, we’ll learn about another of our world’s ART GENIUSES and make art like they did, discovering cool art tips and tricks as we go. We will learn from past to present - how their work was created and how we can do it too using the different styles and methods of these art greats! We will reveal their secrets and tricks and lead you to become your own art genius.

"Paint What You Really Want to Paint"

If you can imagine it, you can paint it... Realist? Impressionist? Red Painter? Figure Painter? Blue Painter? Don't know what to paint? This class uses an interesting method to “dig deep” and mine your subconscious for your true taste. Your aesthetic is evident in everything you do, from the clothes you wear to the colours you paint the house. We'll be “clarifying your personal aesthetic” so your paintings will feel like “you”. Erica will guide you through the process of a structured exercise, and analyze your findings on the first night. The art that you'll create in the second class will have the “new look”. It's a tool you can use for years to come. Open to all painters of any medium.

"Travel Light, with NO MORE DUDS!"

There now exists a paintbrush stylus for the tablet! Let's learn how to use it! Erica will show you how to use your tablet to correct unfinished/stuck paintings and explore new techniques before you touch the actual canvas. It's magic! No more “duds”! We will also complete a painting on the tablet and have a print made on canvas. (optional) Multiple paintings can be created and saved to print later – great for trips.

"Paint Big. REAL BIG!"

You know you've always wanted to try it! Seize the day! We'll be painting 30x40 or larger with no excuses. Sail through all the phases of painting a large painting with Erica, worry free! This workshop is open to painters of any level, working in oil or acrylic.

Don't cut off your ear. Lend it to us!

In this three hour, week long class, students will get a hands on experience of painting in the style of Van Gogh! The beginning of the week we will be focusing on painting techniques to recreate Van Gogh's Sunflower painting, as well as create their own painting of their favourite flower, foliage or landscape. The latter part of this workshop will focus on creating a self portrait in the style of Van Gogh, focusing on having a funky drawing and exploring colour to create their very own masterpiece! Upon completion of this course students will have 3 canvases ready for framing and displaying!