This workshop focuses on the beautiful birds and animals that live on Vancouver Island. You will work from a range of photographic references to capture four local creatures, including the noble bald eagle and the busy marmot. Nature sketch artist, Val Lawton, will guide you through the sketching process, starting with the subject’s basic shapes, identifying the creature’s form, and then moving on to rendering the appearance of furry, feathery, or scaly textures. The workshop will begin with using a range of graphite pencils and then move on to colourful pencil crayons. Suitable for all levels. All supplies included. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 10AM - 4:30PM IN-PERSON

The inspiration for this workshop is the striation formations found on rock cliffs or underneath the surface of the earth. You will learn how to make a collage based on this theme and then use it as a source for watercolour paintings. The collage will be developed into several watercolour paintings, each one becoming a little more abstract. This workshop will give you many ideas on how to use collage to get ideas for your watercolour paintings. Suitable for all levels. See supply list. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1:30 - 4:30PM ONLINE

You will discover many playful ways to use ink while drawing and painting jellyfish in this day-long workshop. These ethereal creatures are made of 95% water, which is why the liquid quality of ink works so well to express their forms. Ink and water can be challenging to control—wanting to bleed, flow, run and drip. Learn how to use these characteristics to create interesting and surprising artworks. In this workshop you will discover new approaches to artmaking that can be applied to a variety of aquatic life. Suitable for all levels. All supplies included. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 10AM - 4:30PM IN-PERSON

This workshop invites artists to explore the art of painting within found books, using mixed media to transform existing pages into personalized visual stories. The instructor will showcase a variety of mixed-media techniques that harmonize or contrast with the imagery and text of each book, to create narrative-driven compositions. This is a great workshop for those who love to work with text and experiment with mixed media. Suitable for all levels. See supply list. SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 1:30 - 4:30PM ONLINE

Printmaking without a Press will introduce you to a painterly printing technique known as monoprinting. Monoprints get their name because you make one individual print at a time; a method that offers a lot of opportunity for experimentation through process. You will be working in both additive (adding paint) and subtractive (removing paint) methods. Techniques covered include direct tracing (drawing on the back of paper on a pre-inked surface); stencils and masking (using stencils to block sections of a print) and grattage (paper is laid over a textured surface and the ink is scraped over a surface). The final images may be augmented with additional acrylic paints or mixed media techniques. If you love experimenting with material to create surprising effects, this workshop is for you! All supplies included. SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 10AM - 4:30PM IN-PERSON

Curious about oil painting but uncertain how to get started? This one-day workshop will introduce you to fundamental materials and techniques of oil paints. You will discover why most of the painters exhibiting in New York contemporary art galleries choose to use this extremely flexible and forgiving medium. Techniques covered include creating layers with an underpainting and building up a surface with a limited colour palette. You will work on two paintings during the day: one based on a photo reference, the other, an abstraction of the composition of the first painting. You will leave the workshop with enough information to help you become a competent oil painter. Suitable for beginners. See supply list. SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 10AM - 4:30PM IN-PERSON

Image Transfer will introduce you to a range of techniques to transfer your photographs and drawings onto a prepared hardboard surface and to incorporate them into your paintings, collages or mixed media artwork. You will discover how to blend, distress and create composite images by hand (as opposed to through a digital process). Artists, photographers and anyone curious about photo-based mixed media will find this workshop of interest. All supplies included. SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 10AM - 4:30PM IN-PERSON

In this workshop you will dive into drawing people through the storytelling lens of traditional Japanese ink artists. Inspired by masters like Hokusai and Kuniyoshi, you will explore how their brushstrokes, design and style capture the stories, emotions, and moments behind each figure. Through hands-on practice, you will learn ink techniques that bring expression and narrative, from the dynamic energy of Ukiyo-e to the calm simplicity of Zen portraits. By the end of workshop, you will have new skills to create portraits that tell their own stories, blending traditional Japanese influence with your unique artistic voice. Supply list. Suitable for beginners. See supply list. SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 1:30 - 4:30PM ONLINE

Join Thomas Guerrero for this Saturday afternoon photo walk. Thomas is the writer of Sidewalking Victoria (https://www.sidewalkingvictoria.com), an informative photography blog written from a pedestrian's perspective. In this afternoon workshop, Thomas will highlight specific areas of the downtown area and focus on specific photographic themes at each stop. Examples are photographing the intersection of lines, both real and shadows, at the foot of the Johnson St Bridge; taking advantage of taking photos at different levels in Bastion Square, and capturing the reflections in windows along Fisgard St in Chinatown. You will learn ways to create a thematic approach to photography as well as discover some fascinating locations in the downtown area. Meet at the school. Suitable for all levels. See supply list. SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 1:30 - 4:30PM IN-PERSON

Cezanne is a 19th century artist known mostly for his still life and landscapes painted in oil. However, his preferred medium was watercolours which he used for drawings as well as finished paintings. His delicately rendered watercolours made ample use of the paper as part of the compositions. In this workshop you will learn to approach watercolour landscapes in the manner of Cezanne, where the focus is on breaking the landscape into a series of unique shapes and letting the space of the paper be an important component of the composition. This workshop will provide a great way to learn some art history while discovering new approaches to landscape painting. Suitable for all levels. See supply list. SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 1:30 - 4:30PM ONLINE

This workshop is the third in a series of watercolour workshops that focus on flowers and a singular primary colour. The workshop will give you the opportunity to learn how to paint a range of yellow flowers including the Day Lily, the Sunflower, the Daffodil, the Snap Dragon, the Blacked-Eye Susan and Goldenrod. You will learn to mix an array of different yellows while painting these beautiful yellow flowers. Workshop will culminate in painting a fantastical monochromatic bouquet that includes all these flowers and some greenery. This is a great workshop to learn about colour mixing and flower painting. Suitable for all levels. See supply list. SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 1:30 - 4:30PM ONLINE

Learn how you can use colour to create depth in your paintings in this workshop. You will focus on developing a colour palette and then how to use these colours to give a sense of three-dimensional space with colour. We will explore how the elements of colour: value (light/dark), hue (warm/cool), and saturation (bright/dull) affect depth in both abstract and representational paintings. Suitable for all levels. See supply list. SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 10AM - 4:30PM IN-PERSON