This workshop will cover traditional and contemporary Chinese brush painting techniques including how to properly load water, ink, and colour onto the brush, and how to create a range of different brushstrokes. You will learn about the composition and aesthetic principles of Chinese painting. In addition, you will discover ways to create experimental textures using non- traditional methods on rice paper. The first part of the workshop will focus on flower painting; for the second part, you will be guided through traditional and contemporary approaches to landscape painting. The workshop will include demonstrations, lectures, PowerPoint presentations, and plenty of guided one-on-one instruction. Some painting experience is helpful but not required. Relax, let your brush flow with ink and colour on rice paper, and discover your own personal style. Suitable for all levels. All supplies included in tuition fee. SATURDAY & SUNDAY, AUG 08 & AUG 09, 10AM - 4:30PM(PDT) IN-PERSON

In Paint Like an Artist II, you will be introduced to a 21st century painter each week. We will review their specific approaches to subject matter as well as application of paint and process. There will be a weekly painting project based on this discussion. This is a great course for those who are curious to learn how early mid 20th century artists have influenced many contemporary painters. The course will also provide an excellent opportunity to push your painting practice in new directions. Participants can use oil, acrylic, gouache or watercolour. This course can be taken as a follow-up to Paint Like an Artist I, but it is not necessary to have taken the first one to enrol in the second part. New artists will be discussed so feel free to re-take this course. No class Aug 14, last class on August 21. Previous painting experience recommended. FRIDAYS, JUL 10 - AUG 21, 2PM - 5PM(PDT) ONLINE

This workshop uses the pastel flower drawings of Odilon Redon as a source of inspiration. You will learn to make dream-like, ethereal flowers that merge into a coloured background. The focus is on using pastel techniques to draw flowers and to connect these flowers to a dynamic and interesting surrounding area. The emphasis will be learning to see shapes and colour as well as positive and negative space. Participants will enjoy learning some art history and applying these ideas to their work. The projects will include both representational and abstract approaches. You will be working from real flowers, artists reproductions, and collage compositions. The beauty and excitement of soft pastels is their immediacy of use and the purity of the colours as they are almost pure pigment. Suitable for all levels. See supply list. SATURDAY & SUNDAY, JULY 18 & JULY 19, 1:30 - 4:30PM(PDT) IN-PERSON

In this course, students will explore different ways of depicting the city through drawing. Students will use a range of drawing materials including graphite pencils, charcoal, conté crayon, watersoluable graphite and pastels. Students will learn the use of linear and atmospheric perspective, ways of depicting movement, and fragmented points-of-view. Source material includes student-supplied photographs, found online images, film stills, as well as memory and imagined spaces. An emphasis will also be on a range of formats from small to large scale as well as long or wide surfaces. This course will encourage students to see their everyday urban environment in a new way. Suitable for all levels. THURSDAYS, JAN 8 - APR 2, 2PM - 5PM 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

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

In this drawing workshop, you will learn the theory behind one-, two-, and three-point perspective and then how to adapt these ideas to two-dimensional depictions of the three-dimensional world. The focus of the drawing projects will be on the urban environment so you will learn a range of drawing techniques and materials to depict buildings, streets, and interiors. This workshop will be helpful for those wanting to do quick urban sketches as well as those who would like to make drawings that focus on architecture, both outside and inside. Suitable for all levels. See supply list. SATURDAY & SUNDAY, JULY 04 & JULY 05, 10AM - 4:30PM(PDT) IN-PERSON

This workshop focuses on a Japanese design concept known as "notan." Notan is the Japanese word for the interaction between dark and light (positive and negative or object and ground). In composition, notan recognizes the separate but equally important identity of a shape and its background. A good notan design is therefore the key to a strong painting; without it, shape, line, and colour fail to reach their full impact. This workshop will begin with focus on black and white design and then move onto colour shapes inspired by the brilliant compositions of Henri Matisse. Participants will discover how these powerful design principles exist in painting and learn how notan can become an integral part of planning and developing a work of art. Suitable for all levels. See supply list. SATURDAY & SUNDAY, JUNE 27 & JUNE 28, 1:30 - 4:30PM(PDT) IN-PERSON

The design or composition of an artwork is the first thing that catches the viewer's attention. In this course, you will discover how to create dynamic abstract compositions using drawing, painting, and collage. The focus will be on small-scale exercises and experimentation. Basic design principles such as negative space, contrast, rhythm, and balance will structure the assignments. This course will improve your paintings whether you prefer to work representationally or abstractly. Your confidence will increase with design knowledge and your work will be more exciting by what you learn in this course. Suitable for all levels. TUESDAYS, JUL 07 - AUG 11, 10AM - 1PM(PDT) IN-PERSON

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

Drawing as Meditation offers a gentle exploration of drawing to guide awareness, quiet the mind, and connect with the present moment. Over six weeks, we will draw inspiration from the poetry of David Whyte and Mary Oliver to calm our bodies, move through creative blocks, and nurture habits that sustain artistic practice. Participants will learn basic drawing techniques through a range of exercises—from mark-making to music to mindful observation of nature. Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way will serve as a guide for weekly reflection as we practice honing our attention and gratitude. This course offers time and space for slowing down, reflecting, and restoring ourselves through the practice of drawing. Discover how a relaxed mind is a creative mind. No drawing experience necessary. Suitable for all levels. TUESDAYS, MAY 19 - JUN 23, 6PM - 9PM(PDT) IN-PERSON

This workshop will focus on expressive abstraction where you will use organic shapes and dynamic mark-making to build up a composition. You will experiment with abstracting images from photographs, as well from your own imagination and memory. Through a series of drawing and watercolour exercises you will explore line, colour, and mark making, while learning how to combine them in new ways to create strong compositions. Workshop will include a short presentation on 20th century and contemporary artists who use expressive abstraction as a way of picture-making. Day one will focus on experimentation and idea generation, while day two will focus on developing a realized piece. This workshop will provide a great way to develop ideas for future paintings. Suitable for all levels. See supply list. SATURDAY & SUNDAY, JUNE 20 & JUNE 21, 1:30 - 4:30PM(PDT) IN-PERSON