- Teacher: Ruthie V.
- Course Length: 8 week session
- Start Date: Friday, February 20
- Time: 10:00 – 1:00 pm
Abstracting the Figure: No Anatomy
This course explores abstract figure painting through repetition and material response using live models. Students work without relying on anatomical structure, learning instead to organize the figure through mass, direction, weight, edge, color, and paint behavior.
Working in oil, acrylic, or pastel, students make multiple fast-paced studies from the same pose. Repeating the figure allows familiar solutions to surface and break down, opening space for more intuitive and responsive decision-making. The focus is on starting over rather than refining, and on recognizing when a painting becomes alive because it remains unresolved.
The figure is treated as a shifting problem rather than a fixed subject. Emphasis is placed on paint handling, spatial tension, and repetition as tools for developing work that is energetic, ambiguous, and responsive rather than polished or illustrative.
Prerequisites:
At least one Figure Drawing course and Beginning Painting, or equivalent studio experience.
Materials List
Medium (choose one or all):
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Oil paint
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Acrylic paint
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Pastel
Supports:
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Multiple small to medium surfaces
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Panels, canvas, paper, or pastel paper
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Plan to work on several pieces each session
- Plan to work larger as the sessions progress
Tools:
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A range of brushes or pastel sizes
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At least one tool larger or looser than your usual choice
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Optional palette knife or scraping tool
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Rags or paper towels
We will work quickly and start over often. Expect to make multiple studies rather than a single finished piece.
Artwork by Frank Auerbach
