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Contact us at blackpondstudio@gmail.com with questions.
Workshops are listed in chronological order.
Scroll down for complete listings.
Sign up for the mailing list to be notified of new workshops.
Contact us at blackpondstudio@gmail.com with questions.
Workshops are listed in chronological order.
Scroll down for complete listings.
COLOR RULES
WITH NANCY McCARTHY
RESCHEDULED
September 11-13, 2020
Friday-Sunday
THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL. Please email blackpondstudio@gmail.com to be added to the waiting list.
Color Rules! It does, absolutely, but there are NO rules, no formulas, no tricks. There is intention, getting color to say what you want it to say. In this intensive workshop we consider basic color concepts such as value, hue, and saturation and learn how to manipulate them to energize our work. Building color relationships with gouache on paper helps up understand how color functions and to build our personal color vocabulary. This workshop is meant for anyone working with color: painters, designers, architects, etc.
RESCHEDULED
September 11-13, 2020
Friday-Sunday
THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL. Please email blackpondstudio@gmail.com to be added to the waiting list.
Color Rules! It does, absolutely, but there are NO rules, no formulas, no tricks. There is intention, getting color to say what you want it to say. In this intensive workshop we consider basic color concepts such as value, hue, and saturation and learn how to manipulate them to energize our work. Building color relationships with gouache on paper helps up understand how color functions and to build our personal color vocabulary. This workshop is meant for anyone working with color: painters, designers, architects, etc.
LINEAGE INTO PAINT
WITH CATHERINE KEHOE
RESCHEDULED
October 10-14, 2020
Saturday-Wednesday
THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL.
Please email blackpondstudio@gmail.com to be added to the wait list.
Photos of ancestors — those we have known in life and those we can know only from the images — will be the sources for this workshop. These photos might trigger a narrative, imaginary or real. We might begin with an impulse for detail and description, a desire to imagine those we can know in no other way. The ultimate goal will be reduction and a search for how much is enough. By analyzing the images as designs in a rectangle, breaking down the pictorial elements through simplification and abstraction, we will build drawings and paintings that stand on their own. Mediums will include graphite, collage, acrylic and/or oil paint.
RESCHEDULED
October 10-14, 2020
Saturday-Wednesday
THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL.
Please email blackpondstudio@gmail.com to be added to the wait list.
Photos of ancestors — those we have known in life and those we can know only from the images — will be the sources for this workshop. These photos might trigger a narrative, imaginary or real. We might begin with an impulse for detail and description, a desire to imagine those we can know in no other way. The ultimate goal will be reduction and a search for how much is enough. By analyzing the images as designs in a rectangle, breaking down the pictorial elements through simplification and abstraction, we will build drawings and paintings that stand on their own. Mediums will include graphite, collage, acrylic and/or oil paint.
WATERCOLOR: BREAK NEW GROUND
WITH ELIZABETH O'REILLY
RESCHEDULED
October 24-28, 2020
Saturday-Wednesday
THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL. Please email blackpondstudio@gmail.com to be added to the waiting list.
Expand your watercolor fluency by experimenting with value, color, mark making and scale. Through a variety of exercises and techniques including staining, texture, dry brush, wet on wet and accidents, you will become more aware of how to manipulate the medium while maintaining its fluidity. Multiple studies will be created using references from nature. Other exercises may include working large (to put our body motion into the strokes), working abstractly, and creating collages from students’ own drawings and paintings. Looking at images of contemporary watercolor will be included. Participants should have some previous experience with watercolor.
RESCHEDULED
October 24-28, 2020
Saturday-Wednesday
THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL. Please email blackpondstudio@gmail.com to be added to the waiting list.
Expand your watercolor fluency by experimenting with value, color, mark making and scale. Through a variety of exercises and techniques including staining, texture, dry brush, wet on wet and accidents, you will become more aware of how to manipulate the medium while maintaining its fluidity. Multiple studies will be created using references from nature. Other exercises may include working large (to put our body motion into the strokes), working abstractly, and creating collages from students’ own drawings and paintings. Looking at images of contemporary watercolor will be included. Participants should have some previous experience with watercolor.
PAINTING THE FIGURE WITH THE ITALIAN EARTH PALETTE
WITH LUCY MacGILLIS
July 19-21, 2020
Sunday-Tuesday
THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL.
Please email blackpondstudio@gmail.com to be added to the wait list.
In this intense three-day course, Lucy MacGillis shares her love for paint, beginning with its creation — mixing raw earth pigments from Italy with linseed oil. Working directly from observation of the model, participants learn not only how to create their own paint, but are guided in looking closely at the tones of the figure before them. By limiting the range of colors, painters use the relationships between colors to give them more force.
Using herculaneum and pozzuoli red, warm italian earth, yellow ochre, naples yellow, earth green, herculaneum blue, burnt and raw umber, roman black earth, and titanium white, participants are encouraged to paint with the palette knife via trial and error, mixing, placing the paint and scraping it off as needed — the result being a harmonious study of space, color and form.
Working directly from the observation of the nude model, participants are encouraged to simplify the figure into simple, carefully mixed planes of color.
On the each day there will be several fast studies as well as longer poses. Each day ends in a group critique including art historical examples, referring back to the Italian tradition of figure painting.
July 19-21, 2020
Sunday-Tuesday
THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL.
Please email blackpondstudio@gmail.com to be added to the wait list.
In this intense three-day course, Lucy MacGillis shares her love for paint, beginning with its creation — mixing raw earth pigments from Italy with linseed oil. Working directly from observation of the model, participants learn not only how to create their own paint, but are guided in looking closely at the tones of the figure before them. By limiting the range of colors, painters use the relationships between colors to give them more force.
Using herculaneum and pozzuoli red, warm italian earth, yellow ochre, naples yellow, earth green, herculaneum blue, burnt and raw umber, roman black earth, and titanium white, participants are encouraged to paint with the palette knife via trial and error, mixing, placing the paint and scraping it off as needed — the result being a harmonious study of space, color and form.
Working directly from the observation of the nude model, participants are encouraged to simplify the figure into simple, carefully mixed planes of color.
On the each day there will be several fast studies as well as longer poses. Each day ends in a group critique including art historical examples, referring back to the Italian tradition of figure painting.
BREAKING BARRIERS 1
WITH JENNIFER POCHINSKI
August 17-21, 2020
Monday-Friday
THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL.
Please email blackpondstudio@gmail.com to be added to the wait list.
Every time I walk into my studio and open the door, I am hoping I am a different person. I am hoping something different will happen.— Charles Garabedian
The workshops will be based on short exercises done on fugitive supports such as kraft paper/newsprint or paper for oils or primed cardboards. The time together will not be a ‘how to’ thing but more of a space to fail. Shorter exercises can lead us to hit on something new or find new courage — pushing past habits.
The goals: to learn to trust first instincts; to hone skills by painting what is directly observed — but without overthinking or second-guessing, rendering or decorating. It will be a week of unfiltered mark making, maybe some stretching into new territory which each painter can carry into their own practice. The week will start out painting objects/ still lifes but it is intended largely for figurative painters. We will be working from a model and photos. There will be lots group discussions and demos.
August 17-21, 2020
Monday-Friday
THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL.
Please email blackpondstudio@gmail.com to be added to the wait list.
Every time I walk into my studio and open the door, I am hoping I am a different person. I am hoping something different will happen.— Charles Garabedian
The workshops will be based on short exercises done on fugitive supports such as kraft paper/newsprint or paper for oils or primed cardboards. The time together will not be a ‘how to’ thing but more of a space to fail. Shorter exercises can lead us to hit on something new or find new courage — pushing past habits.
The goals: to learn to trust first instincts; to hone skills by painting what is directly observed — but without overthinking or second-guessing, rendering or decorating. It will be a week of unfiltered mark making, maybe some stretching into new territory which each painter can carry into their own practice. The week will start out painting objects/ still lifes but it is intended largely for figurative painters. We will be working from a model and photos. There will be lots group discussions and demos.
BREAKING BARRIERS 2
WITH JENNIFER POCHINSKI
August 24-28, 2020
Monday-Friday
THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL.
Please email blackpondstudio@gmail.com to be added to the wait list.
Every time I walk into my studio and open the door, I am hoping I am a different person. I am hoping something different will happen.— Charles Garabedian
The workshops will be based on short exercises done on fugitive supports such as kraft paper/newsprint or paper for oils or primed cardboards. The time together will not be a ‘how to’ thing but more of a space to fail. Shorter exercises can lead us to hit on something new or find new courage — pushing past habits.
The goals: to learn to trust first instincts; to hone skills by painting what is directly observed — but without overthinking or second-guessing, rendering or decorating. It will be a week of unfiltered mark making, maybe some stretching into new territory which each painter can carry into their own practice. The week will start out painting objects/ still lifes but it is intended largely for figurative painters. We will be working from a model and photos. There will be lots group discussions and demos.
August 24-28, 2020
Monday-Friday
THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL.
Please email blackpondstudio@gmail.com to be added to the wait list.
Every time I walk into my studio and open the door, I am hoping I am a different person. I am hoping something different will happen.— Charles Garabedian
The workshops will be based on short exercises done on fugitive supports such as kraft paper/newsprint or paper for oils or primed cardboards. The time together will not be a ‘how to’ thing but more of a space to fail. Shorter exercises can lead us to hit on something new or find new courage — pushing past habits.
The goals: to learn to trust first instincts; to hone skills by painting what is directly observed — but without overthinking or second-guessing, rendering or decorating. It will be a week of unfiltered mark making, maybe some stretching into new territory which each painter can carry into their own practice. The week will start out painting objects/ still lifes but it is intended largely for figurative painters. We will be working from a model and photos. There will be lots group discussions and demos.
THE LANGUAGE OF ABSTRACTION
WITH DEBORAH ZLOTSKY
November 9-11, 2020
Monday-Wednesday
Through an integrative, critical, and sequential process, participants will create a series of new works through the development of distinctive and individualized abstract languages. Varied drawing experiences will help participants build vocabulary, create space and structure, and investigate what’s possible. The 3-day drawing workshop will become an experimental lab to generate new work informed by presentations, discussions, visual strategizing, and intensive studio exploration.
November 9-11, 2020
Monday-Wednesday
Through an integrative, critical, and sequential process, participants will create a series of new works through the development of distinctive and individualized abstract languages. Varied drawing experiences will help participants build vocabulary, create space and structure, and investigate what’s possible. The 3-day drawing workshop will become an experimental lab to generate new work informed by presentations, discussions, visual strategizing, and intensive studio exploration.
THE OBJECT AS ACTOR
WITH NANCY GRUSKIN
March 6-8, 2021
Saturday-Monday
“A good actor can have a part in ten different plays; an object can play a role in ten different pictures.” Henri Matisse
In this three-day workshop, we will make drawings, collages, and paintings of still life objects. These objects will serve as a springboard for experimentation and individual expression. Exercises will focus on playing with form, color and composition, as we see how far we can push our work’s relationship to reality. As we become more acquainted with these objects during the course of the workshop, we will take more liberties with their depiction, incorporating invented imagery and outside source material. Artists will be working in collage and with drawing materials, and water-based and/or oil paint. Slide shows of the work of modern and contemporary artists will supplement the exercises. This workshop is intended to invigorate the practice of newer and more experienced artists alike.
March 6-8, 2021
Saturday-Monday
“A good actor can have a part in ten different plays; an object can play a role in ten different pictures.” Henri Matisse
In this three-day workshop, we will make drawings, collages, and paintings of still life objects. These objects will serve as a springboard for experimentation and individual expression. Exercises will focus on playing with form, color and composition, as we see how far we can push our work’s relationship to reality. As we become more acquainted with these objects during the course of the workshop, we will take more liberties with their depiction, incorporating invented imagery and outside source material. Artists will be working in collage and with drawing materials, and water-based and/or oil paint. Slide shows of the work of modern and contemporary artists will supplement the exercises. This workshop is intended to invigorate the practice of newer and more experienced artists alike.
DRAWING MARATHON
WITH GWEN STRAHLE
MARCH 27-30, 2021
Saturday-Tuesday
Drawing can be painterly, whether using charcoal, pencil or ink. This workshop will stimulate and maintain a continuous flow of drawing energy and examination. We will work from a still-life set-up that includes the model, using various materials and approaches. Exercises will be woven into the structure, including drawing from memory, gestures, drawing from other members of the studio. We will build abstractly to serve observation — drawing, re-drawing, re-thinking, re-seeing, re-working, to pull the drawing out from the inside, through process. Let’s make changes in order to dig deeper into the drawing experience, and provide opportunity for new invention. And, of course, it’s a marathon, so non-stop drawing...
Price includes model fee.
MARCH 27-30, 2021
Saturday-Tuesday
Drawing can be painterly, whether using charcoal, pencil or ink. This workshop will stimulate and maintain a continuous flow of drawing energy and examination. We will work from a still-life set-up that includes the model, using various materials and approaches. Exercises will be woven into the structure, including drawing from memory, gestures, drawing from other members of the studio. We will build abstractly to serve observation — drawing, re-drawing, re-thinking, re-seeing, re-working, to pull the drawing out from the inside, through process. Let’s make changes in order to dig deeper into the drawing experience, and provide opportunity for new invention. And, of course, it’s a marathon, so non-stop drawing...
Price includes model fee.
COLLAGE AFTER MASTERS
WITH ROTEM AMIZUR
May 1-4, 2021
Saturday-Tuesday
We will begin by painting papers with colors that excite us. Then, looking at old masters’ paintings, we will choose hues that create a sensation equivalent to what is evoked by them. Working only with our pre-painted papers helps us find unexpected color combinations. We look for relationships that feel good as opposed to "mixing the colors out there." Once colors are chosen and satisfying to us, we can dive into the continuous cycle of building, overlapping, changing and moving the cutout shapes — thus experiencing painting, drawing, observation, and invention as inseparable.
We will work small, with foam board and pins, pinning the cut-out shapes as we go along. Pinning as opposed to immediately gluing gives us a chance to constantly move shapes around. Making a variation, then another and another... Each new combination of colors leads us to see the reproduction in a new way — memory and familiarity making the game even more exciting and giving us the courage to make decisions we wouldn’t have dreamed of in the beginning. We are using the masters as our source but creating something distinctly personal and our own.
May 1-4, 2021
Saturday-Tuesday
We will begin by painting papers with colors that excite us. Then, looking at old masters’ paintings, we will choose hues that create a sensation equivalent to what is evoked by them. Working only with our pre-painted papers helps us find unexpected color combinations. We look for relationships that feel good as opposed to "mixing the colors out there." Once colors are chosen and satisfying to us, we can dive into the continuous cycle of building, overlapping, changing and moving the cutout shapes — thus experiencing painting, drawing, observation, and invention as inseparable.
We will work small, with foam board and pins, pinning the cut-out shapes as we go along. Pinning as opposed to immediately gluing gives us a chance to constantly move shapes around. Making a variation, then another and another... Each new combination of colors leads us to see the reproduction in a new way — memory and familiarity making the game even more exciting and giving us the courage to make decisions we wouldn’t have dreamed of in the beginning. We are using the masters as our source but creating something distinctly personal and our own.