- Teacher: Ruthie
- Course Length: 4 sessions
- Start Date: Sunday, January 11
- Time: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
- Teacher: Ruthie
- Course Length: 4 sessions
Art Appreciation; Drawing from Paintings
The Secrets of Painting Design
4 Weeks. All Levels
Every great painting hides a secret architecture—lines of force, repeating shapes, and invisible hierarchies that make it feel alive. This class reveals what most viewers never see. Each week we’ll uncover how painters – historic and contemporary – quietly organize movement, weight, and attention to create coherence and power.
We’ll study works by Vermeer, Velázquez, Ingres, Wyeth, Gwen John, Hammershøi, Hopper, and Porter, alongside contemporary artists who use similarly concealed structures: Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Jennifer Packer, Kerry James Marshall, Peter Doig, and Justin Mortimer. Through guided discussion, tracing, diagramming, and drawing, you’ll learn to see the hidden systems of shape, rhythm, and balance that hold these paintings together.
No drawing skill required – just curiosity. Your drawings will serve as notes and maps rather than copies. Optional homework will be to respond through quick sketches of your surroundings, applying what you’ve learned about flow, proportion, and visual tension to everyday scenes.
This class builds perceptual skill and a language for seeing—how to recognize the design decisions that make art work.
Pairs naturally with No-Tears Critique for those developing stronger eyes, clearer thinking, and articulate insight into visual structure.
Materials list:
- Drawing paper or sketch pad, minimum 8.5 x 11 in (larger is great)
- Graphite pencils — a range of hard and soft (e.g., 2H–6B)
- Small set of colored pencils, conte, or similar for color studies
- Roll of SARAL Wax-Free Transfer Paper — choose a color that shows clearly on your paper (blue, red, and gray are most visible)
- Plastic eraser (e.g., Staedtler or similar)
All levels welcome.
