Art Zoller Wagner
Realist Painting: About the Artist

Visual Arts Workshops & Classes

Some of the workshops and classes I have taught for college students and adults are described below. Each course is tailored to the specific needs of the students. Please contact me if you'd like to talk about the possibilities.

Drawing for Nincompoops

If you've always wished you could draw, but have been frustrated with your efforts, treat yourself to this class! You'll learn basic techniques used by artists to draw realistically. If you can hold a pencil and find your way to class, you can learn to draw!

Life Drawing

Drawing from a live model is the way artists have traditionally learned to draw. In this course you will learn basic drawing techniques. You will go on to explore volume, tone, and the intuitive and expressive side of drawing. Although you might find it easier to take Drawing for Nincompoops first, those who are impulsive or don't enjoy working with detail may find this course more comfortable.

Touch, graphite on paper

Touch
graphite on paper

Exploring Drawing Media and Techniques

In this class you will explore a variety of drawing materials and techniques as you build your drawing ability and confidence. Charcoal, pencil, and ink with pen and brush will be the dominant media as you delve into outline, volume, light and shadow, and the expressive potential of drawing.

Squish, Splat, Scratch, and Splot!

Access your creativity by doing "kid art," the kinds of things that we did in grade school. We'll play at finger painting, coloring, collage, scratch drawing, and painting with big brushes and bright colors. These fun kids' projects will bring back your innate joy in discovering and creating, in a warm, supportive atmosphere.

Painting for Nincompoops

If you've always wanted to learn how to paint, or if you're frustrated with the results you've been getting on your own, try this class. Beginners will learn about basic color theory, color mixing, art safety, and the materials and tools used in painting. Advanced students may join the beginners or work on their own projects.

Your painting skills will expand as you exercise your artistic eye and learn how to develop color harmonies and contrasts. You will learn how to evaluate your own work in a positive, helpful way and how to break through the thoughts that block your creative efforts. Most important, though, you'll learn by actually painting.

Levantar La Perisana, oil on canvas

Levantar La Persiana
oil on canvas

Realism and Beyond: Oil Painting

This class is for intermediate or advanced painters who are interested in understanding the different ways of developing a realistic painting. Using your own photographs or still-life objects, you will practice a variety of techniques for making a painted object, scene, or figure look "real." You will learn how to to enliven your painting by going beyond the limited information of the photograph. In addition, you'll become familiar with methods professional artists use to get a preliminary drawing onto the canvas.

Relief Printing

A relief print uses a design cut in wood, linoleum, Styrofoam, or other materials to produce many copies of the same image. Learn how easy and enjoyable it is to create your own multicolored relief prints. Whether you want to make fine art prints or create your own holiday cards, this hands-on class will get you started.

Color Workshop

Are you frustrated by color? You're not alone. Many non-professional painters have trouble with color. There are two fundamental reasons. First, using the red-blue-yellow color wheel we were taught in school guarantees that you'll mix muddy colors. Second, most people paint what they expect to see, what they remember seeing, or what they imagine the subject to look like. In painting realistically, the key is to paint what the eye actually sees. This workshop will teach you how to accurately observe, identify, mix, match, and paint the colors you see.

Art Appreciation

In this course students will explore the realm of visual art from several different perspectives. As a result of their studies, students will recognize the major periods and artists in art history, become familiar with many of the techniques and materials used in creating art, and learn to make informed judgments on fundamental aesthetic questions.