This workshop will focus on mixing yellow paint and all its myriad variations found in yellow flowers, such as the sunflower and the daffodil. You will paint along with the instructor using reference photos using both drawing and direct painting as starting points. 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, FEBRUARY 7, 1:30 - 4:30PM ONLINE

Collage is both an art technique and a resulting work of art. It can also be a catalyst for further experiments in drawing or painting. Working with simple everyday tools such as scissors, glue and found materials often yields surprising and satisfying results. A brief slide presentation covers the history of collage as well as the work of many contemporary collage artists. The essential principles and elements of colour and composition form the basis of class projects. This workshop will allow you to discover how a sense of play and experimentation can lead to exciting works of art. Suitable for all levels. All supplies included SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 10AM - 4:30PM IN-PERSON

This course explores drawing from the 1960s to the present day, focusing on how contemporary artists use drawing as a tool for expression, experimentation, and conceptual exploration. Through image presentations and discussions, students will examine the work of influential artists who have expanded the boundaries of drawing in diverse and innovative ways. Weekly projects will encourage a variety of techniques and materials, from traditional to mixed and experimental media. The course concludes with a final project that reflects each student’s personal engagement with a contemporary approach or idea. This course provides an ideal way to learn about art history and drawing practice at the same time. Suitable for all levels. THURSDAYS, JAN 8 - APR 2, 10AM - 1PM ONLINE

This workshop will provide hands-on examples on how to use geometric abstraction to create exciting designs and compositions. You will be led through a series of cut paper and watercolour painting exercises to discover the possibilities of this dynamic approach to design. The workshop will include a short presentation on 20th century and contemporary artists working within the realm of geometric abstraction. Shape, colour and composition will be the focus throughout the workshop, and you will be encouraged to work at your own pace. You will leave workshop with two completed works on paper, and a series of sketches or small compositions to fuel future work. Suitable for all levels. All supplies included SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 1:30 - 4:30PM IN-PERSON

This course focuses on creating dramatic or subtle effects of light in painting. Students will explore various kinds of tonal ranges in painting by making works that focus only on dark values, others that contain only light values, as well as works that have a wide range of contrasting values of both light and dark. Students will learn how glazing can complicate effects of light and how colour can be used to affect our perception of light and shadows. An understanding of value, which includes light and shadow, leads to strong and dynamic paintings. Some painting experience recommended. TUESDAYS, JAN 6 - MAR 31, 6PM - 9PM ONLINE

In this day-long workshop you will learn about important women botanical illustrators. Focusing on Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), who was one of the first to include the life cycles of plants and insects in their scientific renditions, these illustrations offered important insights into the natural world. This workshop will be an opportunity to engage with some of these historical botanical drawings and transform them into abstract imagery. You will discover the exciting process of abstraction by analyzing plant details through pencil drawings and then learn how to use these studies for the basis of an abstract composition for a painting. Suitable for all levels. All supplies included SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 10AM - 4:30PM IN-PERSON

In this workshop, you will be introduced to the building blocks of colour: value, hue, saturation, and explore how to use them. You will learn how to match and mix colours as well as how our perception of colour is affected by surrounding colours. Suitable for all levels. See supply list. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 10AM - 1PM ONLINE

Do you see people sitting on a park bench or in a café sketching and wish you could do that too? Would you like to draw what you see around you while wandering through a city? Students will learn the basic techniques necessary to draw architecture, interiors of buildings, people, gardens and parks, and be introduced to the best materials to carry for sketching on-site, as well as how to use photography to document ideas for at-home drawing. The course will include walking around downtown as well as going to local parks and public spaces. During inclement weather, class outings will include going inside buildings such as the Atrium, the Empress Hotel and the Royal British Columbia Museum. This is a great course to take for those who will be travelling to an urban location and would like to do some drawing while there. (There will be an additional fee for museum entrance). Suitable for all levels. TUESDAYS, JAN 6 - MAR 31, 10AM - 1PM IN-PERSON

This continuation of Landscape Painting Now I focuses on contemporary landscape concepts such as constructed realities, abstracted topographies and complicated vistas. Instructor will present a selection of artists each week based on these themes including, Gillian Carnegie, Mark Tansey, Cecily Brown, Andreas Erikson, Luc Tuymans and Francis Alys to name a few. Students will select one artist per week to do further research on and make a landscape painting based on something they learned from this artist. Students can paint in a medium of their choice including watercolour, gouache, acrylic or oils. It is not necessary to have completed Landscape Painting Now I, however some painting experience is recommended. FRIDAYS, JAN 9 - APR 3, 2PM - 5PM ONLINE

Drawing Introduction II continues the focus on basic materials and techniques of drawing. In this second part of the course, the emphasis is on learning to use materials and methods to develop a personal expression in drawing. Students will explore a range of materials and approaches including using colour in drawing. As with Drawing Introduction I, subject matter includes still life, the figure, landscape, architectural space, narrative, and student supplied source material. Prerequisite: Drawing: Introduction I or some drawing experience. FRIDAYS, JAN 9 - APR 3, 10AM - 1PM IN-PERSON

This afternoon workshop is an introduction to chalk pastels with plants as the subject matter. Using inspiration from the work of Jim Dine, you will discover how to use pastels through a process-based method of working. Drawing projects will include layering pastels and conté crayon through wiping, rubbing, erasing and dusting powdered pigment on surface. You will create lively drawings of plants that will be both expressive and personal using a process-based method of working. Suitable for all levels. See supply list SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 1:30 - 4:30PM ONLINE

This art history course begins with an introduction to some of the 19th century movements that contributed to major breakthroughs and innovations in 20th century art. Starting from Romanticism, through to Realism, Impressionism, Cubism, the course will proceed to cover early 20th century Abstraction, Constructivism and Surrealism, to mid-century Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Conceptual Art to the Contemporary period starting in the 1980s. The course will also reflect on how art history is enriched by non-Western and feminist interventions. Students will be encouraged to become knowledgeable participants in the ongoing debates about what art is, who it's for, and who gets to benefit from it. Course format is based on lectures and class discussions. Suitable for all levels. THURSDAYS, JAN 8 - APR 2, 10AM - 1PM IN-PERSON