Exploring Mediums & Styles: Create 100 Figures in 10 Weeks with Charlene Collins Freeman

Online using Zoom.

Mondays 11am - 1pm (Pacific Time) on June 23 - August 25

Classes are recorded so if you can’t attend during class sessions, you won’t miss a thing! The recordings will be available for one month after the workshop ends.

$175

Come join Charlene Collins Freeman in a goal to create 100 figures in 10 weeks. Not only because this is a great way to practice drawing and painting figures but it will also push us to explore techniques, mediums, and styles. It will guide us towards finding our preferences and originality. It will help everyone develop a habit of pursuing a creative goal for 10 weeks while we share our ideas and inspiration with each other.

Each week, Charlene will share information about creating figures, we will share our work, and watch videos on various styles, techniques, or mediums. You will be encouraged to share your figures with the class as we learn and laugh our way through the challenge of creating 100 figures in 10 weeks.

Your work doesn’t need to be based on the information shared during our time together. You can use whatever mediums you prefer (and hopefully you’ll be inspired to use a wide variety - graphite, charcoal, ink, watercolor, gouache, pastel, acrylic, collage, digital art, fiber, mixed mediums, and whatever you want to explore). You can experiment with different surfaces: mixed media paper, canvas, watercolor paper, sanded paper, mat board, fabric, colored papers, wood, sand, anything goes!

You can create the work from reference photos I provide each week, or from your own photos, from your imagination, from people who are willing to pose for you or from people who might not realize you are drawing them, or you can draw inspiration from work by the masters.

Some of the figures may come together in 5 minutes, some might take hours, or days to complete. It’s completely up to you. The idea is to keep creating!

As our workshop progress from week to week, you will find that you are making marks more confidently, and having more fun, and learning from each other. You might find that your proportions are getting more accurate, your figures more believable, or you might find that your approach gets looser, more abstract. You will find which mediums and styles you love.

We will have time in class to work on our figures and the only homework will be to create as many figures as you can each week. Come join me!

NOTE: We will be using professional nude reference photos specifically created for artists for some lessons.

Weekly lessons and supplies

Most exercises can be done in a sketchbook. Charlene recommends Stillman & Birn Alpha series sketchbook, no smaller than 8 x 10. Choose between wirebound (https://amzn.to/3SZuinr), hardbound (https://amzn.to/4jxAVs1), or softbound (https://amzn.to/45xapeQ).

Week 1
Contour & Gesture Drawing Supplies
Drawing paper (sketchbook, drawing paper, mixed media or even copier paper), dark pencil (a 3B, 4B, or 5B).

Week 2
Charcoal Drawing Supplies
Sketchbook or if you want to go bigger (which I really recommend) use newsprint paper (https://amzn.to/4dpQ0u6)
Set of charcoal supplies Such as this Lyra Rembrandt Charcoal Set https://amzn.to/4dpckEc
Baby wipes to clean your hands.

Week 3
Watercolor Silhouettes Supplies
Watercolor paper, watercolor paints, watercolor brushes, pencil, eraser

Week 4
Watercolor People Supplies
Watercolor paper, watercolor paints, watercolor brushes, pencil, eraser

Week 5
Acrylic Figures Painting Supplies
Acrylic paints, canvas or (or canvas panel or sheet from a canvas pad), brushes, baby wipes to keep your hands clean. Cover your table. This can get messy!

Week 6
Values: Mapping Lights & Darks Supplies
Drawing paper (sketchbook, drawing paper, mixed media), pencil, eraser, and markers (you could use pencils but the markers I recommend make quick work of establishing values and the values stay consistent). I recommend the Tombow 56171 Dual Brush Pen Art Markers, Grayscale, 10-Pack. Blendable, Brush and Fine Tip Markers for shading. Here is a link: https://amzn.to/3YN4hbx

Week 7
Articulated Paper Dolls Supplies
To build the paper dolls you will need: copier paper or loose drawing paper, cardboard (such as cereal boxes), brads (https://amzn.to/48tF6jx), scissors, pencil, a thumbtack. To decorate the doll you can use gouache, acrylic, oil pastels, colored pencil, markers, or collage paper.

Week 8
Sketching People Supplies
Watercolor paper or mixed media paper an ink pen (Micron pen or a fountain pen like my favorite Platinum Fountain Pen (https://amzn.to/3Z60Qj9), watercolors, gouache, colored markers, or colored pencils.

Week 9
Proportions & Measurements Drawing Supplies
Drawing paper (sketchbook, drawing paper, mixed media or even copier paper), drawing pencils (a variety of grades, kneaded eraser

Week 10
Assemblage Art Doll Supplies
Corrugated cardboard, buttons, old keys, paper clips, broken jewelry, junk drawer finds, old hardware pieces, buckle, old doll parts, acrylic paints, colorful paper (could be origami paper, gift wrap paper, paper you’ve painted, old magazines, scraps of vintage paper, found imagery, various materials with a sense of nostalgia, maps, postcards, greeting cards, sewing patterns, food labels, old books, children’s books, dictionaries, catalogs) scraps of fabric, ribbons, stamps, bottle caps, wire, glue, scissors, xacto, cutting mat, ruler, needle and thread, brads (https://amzn.to/48tF6jx), pencil, eraser, Neutral pH glue (https://amzn.to/3Z6z71Y), cheap brush to apply glue, epoxy glue, sandpaper, acrylic paint and brushes. Baby wipes to keep hands clean as you work.

For more information and to register, click here.