Pathways are directional marks and shapes for our eyes to follow across a 2 dimensional artwork. They are a powerful compositional tool to keep the viewer’s eyes engaged and moving around a composition. They’re also great for artists to practice, because they emphasize that if we’re to think compositionally, each part must play a role …
Contemporary Painting
- Teacher: Charity Baker
- Class Length: 8 sessions
- Class Days: Weekly on Tuesdays, beginning July 21
- Time: 6:00PM – 9:00PM (PDT)
CONTEMPORARY PAINTING
This online Contemporary Painting course invites students to discover and strengthen their unique artistic voices, exploring what makes an image truly powerful. Through a focused curriculum of life study, art history, color theory, and diverse painting techniques, you’ll learn to balance technical skill with personal expression.
Discussions and practice are rooted in the foundations of representational art while embracing the innovations and concepts of contemporary practice. By bridging classical methods with modern approaches, students gain a broad, inspiring perspective—cultivating a dynamic, versatile, and thoughtful approach to contemporary painting.
MATERIALS:
PAINT
Artist’s choice: Oil or acrylic paints
Recommended economical brands in oil are: Gamblin, M.Graham Co., RGH Paints, Utrecht.
- titanium white
- titanium buff
- cad yellow light
- cad red light
- yellow ochre
- magenta
- ultramarine blue
- terra verte (green earth)
- caput mortuum (Violet Oxide, or Spanish Earth)
- Raw Umber
- Ivory Black
PAINTING SURFACES For each class we will work on one or two paintings in a suggested small or
medium size. Below is a choice of three different approaches to making painting surfaces including a
very economical choice of using paper. I will always encourage you to choose the size you want to use
per project, so that you can enjoy the experience to the fullest.
1. Gessoed Paper (optional: with a Gloss Medium coating) is an economic option
2. Stretched Canvases: suggested sizes
(4) 11×15; or 9” x 12”
(4) 18×24; or 20” x 24”
(2) 30X30”, OR 24×30”
3. Roll of primed canvas: Dick Blick Cotton Canvas By the Yard – 12 oz, Acrylic Primed (64-1/2'' W x
6 yd) in which you can cut to size as you go.
TOOLS AND OTHER
- selection of brushes, large, med and small in round shape only
- Palette (choose one of the following)
- Handheld wooden
- Paper, disposable
- Glass, resting on white surface
- Paint rags (can be old t-shirts) or-/ Good quality paper towels
- Palette knife
- Solvent (odorless mineral spirits)
- Baby oil or Mineral oil to clean brushes
- if using acrylics, containers for paint and water
- an easel, wall, or board upon which to attach the canvas
DRAWING SUPPLIES
- small to medium sized sketchbook (recommended)
- pencils/charcoal, eraser
Most of the time when people draw something such as a still life, they draw the objects and then neglect everything around the objects, like the table holding it up, and the wall behind it. A drawing like this shows us a thing floating in nothing instead of an interaction of depth, volume, and surfaces …
We use the Zoom platform for online classes. Login codes are sent prior to the first class only. Some email systems such as Hotmail block our emails to you. Please check your junk folders, and if you have have not received your class info, please contact us (contact@seattleartistleague.com) 15-30 minutes before your class begins so we can reply with the login codes. We will get you into your class.
Drawing into Painting:
Reconfigure the Figure
- Teacher: Fran O’Neill
- Course Length: 8 Week Class Session
- Start Date: Wednesdays, begins September 23
- Time: 6:00 – 9:00 pm PDT
Think about how the setting can completely change the mood and story of a figure. What happens when you take a figure out of its usual context and place it in an entirely different environment—say, a historical scene or an imagined space? This is where the art of storytelling through painting happens, and it’s used by many great painters from Manet to Frida Kahlo. Learning to re-contextualize figures not only enhances your ability to convey narrative and emotion in your work but it also challenges your creativity, pushing you to think beyond the obvious.
In this “Drawing into Painting: Reconfigure” course, you’ll spend 8 weeks exploring how to place life model figures in various spaces—whether real, imagined, or historical—through drawing and painting.
We start with drawing and collage in the first two weeks. You’ll use historical artworks and zoom models to create new poses and compositions, experimenting with shapes, lines, and mark-making to deconstruct and rebuild your images.
In weeks three and four, the focus shifts to painting. You’ll take your drawings further, developing them into more dynamic and unexpected images. The idea is to see how one image can evolve into the next, making the process of creating art an ongoing exploration.
Weeks five and six challenge you to translate your own photos into paintings, addressing the complexities that come with this process. You’ll work on rethinking and recreating your work to discover new ways of expressing your ideas.
The final two weeks are dedicated to personal development. You’ll have the opportunity to explore your own ideas and imagery, using the techniques you’ve learned to create final compositions that reflect your individual style. This course is suitable for anyone interested in art, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist looking for new perspectives.
There will be one:one discussion of the work throughout class, as well as group critiques.
Materials and supplies
Don’t sweat it! Whatever you have on hand is great!
- Smart phone or camera
- Brushes: A large selection of rounds from small sable to large house painting rounds
- Drawing paper, pencils and charcoal
- Scissors
Drawing Materials
Charcoal
Grey lead pencils
Colored pencils << elective
Erasers — hard
Sketch book approx 16×20″
Paper — 3-5 sheets that are 22×30″
Canvases
All sizes are suggestions, not requirements for this class. Whatever you have on hand is great.
- 2-3 small canvases/surfaces – roughly 14” x 18” or 18” x 24”
- 1-2 medium canvas’ – roughly 28”x 34” or 30” x 48”-
Paints
Artist’s Choice: Oil, Acrylic, or Watercolor paints
Suggested Paint Colors
All colors are suggested, but are not requirements for this class. Whatever you have on hand is great. Suggested colors are listed in order of placement around the palette:
- Flake (or zinc) White
Titanium White - Lemon Yellow
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Yellow Ochre
Cadmium Red Light OR Medium
Alizarin Crimson
Quinacridone Magenta
Caput Mortem Violet OR Indian Red
Windsor Violet (W&N) (Dioxazine Violet)
Ultramarine Blue
Cobalt Blue
Cerulean Blue
Viridian
Cadmium Green Deep
Terre Verde
Raw Umber
Ivory Black
Peach Black
Student works shown above
- Teacher: Lendy
- Oil Painting Kit sold separately
- Course Length: 8 weeks
- Start Date: Thursday, starting October 8 (NO CLASS 11/26)
- Time: 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Beginning Oil Painting Part 2
Ready for the next step? Beginning Oil Painting Part 2 is designed for students who have completed Beginning Oil Painting (or have equivalent experience) and are ready to move beyond the basics.
In this class, you’ll learn how to build stronger paintings by drawing with paint, organizing composition, using value and color intentionally, and developing confidence in revising your work. You’ll practice seeing relationships, making thoughtful decisions, and discovering how a painting grows through observation, experimentation, and change.
Through demonstrations, discussions, and plenty of individual instruction, you’ll continue building the skills and confidence needed for a sustained painting practice.
Materials:
We’ve put together materials kits for our students — no trips to the store needed! You can easily buy them online with just a click. This convenient option saves you time, hassle, and money. Check out the kits and order yours today at this link: Oil Painting Kit. It’s our way of making your learning experience smoother and more affordable.
- Beginning Oil Painting Kit available at the first class. Buy the Oil Painting Kit here.
- Viva paper towels
- Glass Jar with a well-fitting lid