Sure, it’s easy to draw a model or a tree, something static. Want a real challenge? Pick a moving target. I happen to be partial to chickens, but birds, waves, dogs, people at the beach: anything’s fair game. You’ll be training your eye to get the essentials — fast.
Rules are simple:
Color or black & white
2D or 3D
Any surface, any medium
Draw from direct observation preferred where possible.
Send your image to RNAC.Workshops@gmail.com along with the title of the piece. Deadline for Fast Sketch is July 11.
Happy Hour, by Ken KingToo Darn Hot, by Jane HivelySailing Lessons, by Shelly ChampionPounding Down the Tracks, by Jonathan Hively
1918, by Donna Caselden
John Reading and John Folding Dish Towels, by Claire WyzenbeekEllie in the Woods, by Matt Cegelis
Rockport and Gloucester, by Neta GorenHelen’s Chickens by Helen, by Helen ToryReleased, by Linda BourkeHelen’s Chickens, by Janice Brand
Phew — glad that Mineral Challenge is over (though if you have a piece to submit, you still can). This week’s Challenge is way more fun: Create a self-portrait that does NOT include your face.
The rules are simple:
Color or black & white
2D or 3D
Any surface, any medium
Draw from direct observation preferred where possible.
Send your image to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com. Send in a title or I’ll come up with my own. Deadline for Faceless Self-Portrait is July 4 (July 4th?? Already??).
In Summer, by Neta GorenPiper Jon, by Jonathan HivelySelf Portrait without a Self Portrait, by Ken KingBubbly Jane, by Jane Hively
About Face, by Ed Mowrey
Faceless Selfie, by Matt Cegelis
Some Fingers on It, by Helen Tory
Gray Hair, by Janice BrandFaceless Selfie, by Linda Bourke
Figures it would be Number 13: Mineral?? According to Encyclopedia Britannica, a mineral is “a naturally occurring homogeneoussolid with a definite chemical compositionand a highly ordered atomic arrangement; it is usually formed by inorganic processes.”
Got that? Me neither.
You can Google “mineral images”— get out the paint box!
If you played along with Animal and Vegetable, this Mineral should be part of that series—or not. Try your best!
Color (black & white if you think you can!)
2D or 3D
Any surface, any medium
Draw from direct observation preferred where possible.
Send your image to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com. Send in a title or I’ll come up with my own. Deadline for Mineral is June 28.
A Necessity for Life, by Sandy ShawThe Gift, by Ken KingCarats & Carrots Plus Sheep, by Jon HivelyRound Stone on Rock, by Helen ToryThe Eye of the Tiger in Dreamland, by Jane Hively
Portrait of a. Rock, by Ed Mowery
Across Generations: Self-Portrait in my Grandmother’s Silver Spoon, by Bruce Shaw
Beach Rock Garden, by Claire Wyzenbeek
Mock Diamond (part of the Mock Series), by Linda BourkeThree of My Favorites, by Christine BobekHimalayan Salt, by Matt Cegelis
Following last week’s Animal Challenge, this week it’s Vegetable’s turn. You did establish a theme for all your images, right (remember, next week it’s the trio’s conclusion with Mineral)? Yeah, I didn’t either. That shouldn’t stop you, though.
Simple rules:
Color or black & white
2D or 3D
Any surface, any medium
Draw from direct observation preferred where possible.
Send your image to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com. Send in a title or I’ll come up with one of my own! Deadline for Vegetable is June 21.
The Offering, by Ken KingFennel, by Jean FogleCarrot Banquet, by Jonathan HivelyPeter Piper’s Peppers, by Jane HivelyGarden Sampler, by Claire Wyzenbeek Animal + Vegetable: Cattle in a Grassy Pasture, by Bruce Shaw
A Fruit’s a Vegetable, Right?, by Helen Tory
Beets, by Ed MowreyMaize, by Matt CegelisMock Meat, by Linda Bourke
This week it’s Animal. Guess the next two weeks’ Challenges: yep, Vegetable, Mineral. The point is to choose a theme to connect your three responses over the coming weeks. Ready to get started?
***Still time to sign up for the online Portrait Workshop given by the juror of our new RNACExhibitions website inaugural show. Only $100 for all four classes for RNAC members Details here. ***
Simple rules:
Color of black & white
2D or 3D
Any surface, any medium
Drawing from direct observation preferred where possible.
I know I am but what are you, by Joyce RoesslerSheep May Safely Graze, by Jon HivelyThe Challenge, by Ken King
Panda and Friend, by Candace StellaSunlit Slumber, by Katherine CoakleyLula, by Bruce ShawClaudius—Tiger Enthroned, by Jane HivelyMixed Media: Global Warming, by Donna CaseldenGreat Blue Heron, by Ed MowreyNight, by Barbara MoodyA Threefer: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral; by Ken KingEl Toro (after Elaine de Kooning), by Ed MowreyWolf Hollow Resident, by Matt CegelisMock Moo, by Linda BourkeWild Boar (not your next dinner guest), by Janice Brand
This week we tackle Isolated Color. Adding a second color to a monotone image creates immediate and often dramatic focus. Have fun using this simple visual strategy.
Simple rules:
Monotones except for that isolated color
2D or 3D
Any surface, any medium
Drawing from direct observation preferred where possible.
Dinosaur Lookout, by Jonathan HivelyAnnisquam Light, by Janice BrandSunset Sail, by Katherine Coakley
Sea Maiden, by Donna Caselden
Ro, by Christine Bobek
Goldfinch in the Catmint, by Helen ToryRobin’s Egg, by Jane HivelyBack Door, by Paul TrefryOne in Ten, by Linda BourkeMan with Red Brush, by Paul TrefryFalling Water, by Ken KingEnvelope with Blue Tape, by Matt CegelisMantis Swan Song, by Linda Bourke
Teacher Ron Krouk returns to round out the summer outdoors with a 5-hour painting class. If you took Ron’s first workshop, you’ll know we covered a lot of ground. This class will go over some of those basics and dive a little deeper. You don’t need to have taken the first workshop to be able to jump right in here.
We’ll begin with an intro/demo about using a viewfinder, doing thumbnails, transferring the thumbnail to the canvas and blocking in an underpainting in thin dark paint (Notan). We will paint for a couple hours then take a break for a bit to see what people are doing and give group feedback as requested.
Details:
Date: October 18 (rain date October 25), 10 to 4:30 (half-hour lunch break)
Location: On Cape Ann (address given to registrants)
Cost: $100 for RNAC members; $125 for non-RNAC members
In this one-day workshop, artist Loren Doucette will lead you in an exploration of landscape drawing and painting where freedom of color, line, brushstrokes and mark making is encouraged. We will focus on the connection between realism, abstraction and the imagination. Participants will work outdoors, socially distanced, in watercolor, pastel or acrylic. There will be a morning session, a short lunch break and an afternoon session to conclude the day.
Instructor is Loren Doucette, renowned Cape Ann artist, teacher and art mentor. She received a BFA in Drawing and Painting in 2013 from Montserrat College of Art, where she was the recipient of two scholarship awards from the college. See more of Loren’s work at lorendoucetteart.com
Details
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2020
Time: 10-3, 5 hours
Location: TBD, on Cape Ann, outdoors, with room for safe social distancing
Instructor Ron Krouk (www.RonKrouk.com) leads a two-day workshop on Zoom and in person.
Day 1 is class instruction over Zoom with a live model on video as well as photographic resources. Day 2 is live, a plein-air, socially distant painting segment building on the previous day’s instruction.
Participants will practice three time-honored approaches to improving figure drawing: gesture, contour and seeing with straight lines. These can be introduced and practiced separately. They are brought together by each of us in our own ways as we do the underlying drawing for a painting.
Practice will help you temper your instincts with accurate measurement and integrate your sense of the whole with your perception of details and relationships.
In looking at the group’s work together, we’ll enlarge our understanding of the exercises and open possibilities for seeing you may not have considered.
Details:
Day 1: 4-hour Zoom class, instruction with live model on video and photographic material
Day 2: 3-hour live class, with model (the group will be broken into a morning and an afternoon session of five people each to assure distancing). One-hour Zoom class at end of day to review everyone’s work together.
Dates: August 26 & 27
Day 1: 10-2 on Zoom
Day 2: 10-1 or 2-5 plein air on Cape Ann; wrap-up for 1 hour on Zoom at 6 pm.
Cost: $200 for RNAC members; $225 for non-RNAC members for both days, and includes some written material, photos and Zoom video from Day 1 and images from Day 2 wrap-up
Materials: Oils or acrylics (specific list to be sent later)
You don’t need to have taken the first Portraits class, but some drawing experience is helpful. This is a class aimed at all levels. Instructor Amy Sudarsky (juror of the Beyond Likeness portrait show, helps us look at the human head as a solid volume consisting of planes, light and shadow, and cross contour. We’ll see examples of Old and contemporary Masters in this context and, through group critiques, receive feedback on homework assignments.
The workshop consists of five, one-hour Zoom classes on Mondays and Thursdays, 10-11 (each session might run an extra half-hour, as questions and discussion demand). Each class is recorded and available to enrolled students for review or in case you have to miss a class or part of one.
Dates: July 27, July 30, August 3, August 6, August 10
In conjunction with Beyond Likeness , Rocky Neck Art Colony’s inaugural virtual art gallery, the show’s juror Amy Sudarsky is teaching a special online Portrait Drawing Workshop. In four one-hour sessions, she’ll cover subjects from a review of famous portraits to nailing likeness and expression. Classes are via Zoom from 10 to 11 AM on June 15, June 18, June 22 and June 25 (Mondays and Thursdays). Click the link below to register today! (To be clear: It’s only $100 for all four classes for members.)
And because these are delivered via Zoom, they’ll be recorded. Have to miss a class? No problem, watch the taped version at your leisure.
We’ve reached Number 9 (“number 9, number 9” for those who remember the White Album). This week, explore colors that are side-by-side on the color wheel (see chart below).
or Color Wheel
These colors are considered analogous, and create calmer energy than complements. Use analogous colors for this week’s Art Challenge.
Colors that are analogous
2D or 3D
Any surface, any medium
Drawing from direct observation preferred where possible
Send your images to RNACworkshops@gmail.com. Include a title unless you want me to make one up for you. Deadline is May 30.
Quarry Painting #1, by Joyce RoesslerDutton, by Jonathan HivelyOrchid, by Randolph Kelts
Summer Meadow, by Ed Mowrey
Sunset, by Ken KingMirror Mirror, by Jane HivelyLilac Love, by Janice BrandAnalogous Swooshes, by Matt CegelisOriole with Oranges and Azalea, by Helen ToryLost City, by Anna StewartThe Reappearance of Ms. Mantis, by Linda Bourke
The underlying energy of an image is often determined by deliberate color choice. Complementary Colors are those that are opposite each other on the color wheel (Red and Green, Yellow and Purple, Orange and Blue). When used together, these combinations create a certain vibration or resonance within the image. For this challenge, make an image that employs this principle of color theory.
Complementary colors, please
2d or 3D
Any surface, any medium
Drawing from direct observation preferred where possible.
One-week deadline: You have until May 24, so get drawing! Send your images to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com.
Twin Lights, by Leslie HeffronDoodling in Contrasts, by Cynthia Roth
Wild Columbine, by Helen Tory
Growth, by Joyce RoesslerPraying Mantis, by Linda Bourke
The Vase, Orchid and Under the Sea, by Theresa TestaverdeStorm Warning, by Jonathan Hively
Too Much Fun, by Paul TrefryNot My Favorite Colors Together, by Candace StellaAbstract Construction, by Len BurgessRed Umbrella, by Jane HivelyComplements, by Donna CaseldenRecon 5132, by Matt Cegelis
Directions to Spring, by Jane HivelyLooking at You, by Randolph KeltsRed-Haired Girl Napping, by Claire Wyzenbeek
En Guard, by Kathleen G. Archer
Weavings, by Ken King
Old Friend, by Claire Wyzenbeek
Complements, by Kat MasellaMeadow, by Ken KingLure, by Linda Bourke
APOLOGIES TO EVERYONE FOR THE LATE POSTINGS TO THIS ONE. THEY’RE ALL GREAT!
Olive, pea, forest, parrot, spring, grass, lime. This is the moment of the year when green calls to us with limitless variety. Make an image in which green dominates.
Simple rules:
Color (well, mostly green)
2D or 3D
Any surface, any medium
Drawing from direct observation preferred where possible.
Green Hair in Motion, by Matt CegelisGreen Marine, by Judy Robinson-Cox
Forest Picnic and Timekeeper, by Judy Robinson-CoxIn Progress, by Joyce RoesslerA Time for Tea, Green or Otherwise, by Jane HivelyDay Three, by Len Burgess
Green, by Ed Mowrey
Wet Green, by Matt Cegelis
Spring is Here, by Mary Barker
Cogswell’s Grant, by Ken KingFolly Cove, by Claire WyzenbeekSummer Swiss Chard, by Ray MagnanDandylions, by Helen ToryRuby-Crowned Kinglet on a Lime, by Janice BrandOlive Ash Tray, by Linda BourkeCox Landscape, by Linda Bourke
RNAC Workshops 