Arts & Crafts

Paint vibrant watercolors with confidence! The emphasis for this class will be on learning the basic watercolor techniques for successful watercolor painting. The former student will have the opportunity to develop more confidence by perfecting their current skill level, while the more experienced student will explore their personal style. Class exercises include: learning about materials, color mixing, color theory, and watercolor techniques. Demonstrations, group critiques, and independent exercises will further enhance your learning experience. No prior painting experience is necessary. All skill levels are welcomed. 7 week class. No class February 19. Carolyn Wallace-Zani owns her own studio. She conducts painting and drawing classes and workshops locally and at the University of Maine Page Farm And Home Museum. Her work is widely collected and her award-winning artwork was recently chosen as part of the Art In the Capitol program at the State House in Augusta.

Do you aspire to draw like the masters or have you ever wished you could own an original piece of artwork? Unleash your talent and create your own masterpiece! Students will learn how to handle the graphite medium to create realistic, three-dimensional forms. Learn about design, values, textures, edges and composition by employing the Elements and Principles of Design. Step-by-step instruction includes a demonstration at the beginning of class followed by group exercises. Students will be working with both still life compositions and drawing the human portrait. Students will work at their own pace to develop their individual drawing style. No previous experience is necessary. Following each class, there will be a group class critique. Carolyn Wallace-Zani owns her own studio. She conducts painting and drawing classes and workshops locally and at the University of Maine Page Farm And Home Museum. Her work is widely collected and her award-winning artwork was recently chosen as part of the Art In the Capitol program at the State House in Augusta. 7 week class. No class on February 20.

Join Michael E. Vermette for a painting journey that explores painting animals in their environments using new skills and techniques in watercolor that depict boldly our beloved creature kingdom. Michael will demonstrate his method of painting in sheer enjoyment of animals in the natural and in interior environments; a place, he describes, where you can let yourself go, have fun, yet still be in control of the medium. From painting lost and found edges, to floating washes wildly to create interesting treatment, watercolor is perfectly approachable especially for the beginner. No previous experience is needed for this class and experienced artists will benefit as well with Michael’s friendly and open style of teaching. You will love how much this inspiring course will teach you about painting domestic pets or wild animals in there environment and in the watercolor painting medium. 10 week course. No class on February 19. Supply List: I recommend that you use what you have and add essentials as you can afford. I am more focused on working with you right where you are rather than imposing my personal material preferences on you. That is why the following is only what I would suggest you think about purchasing for the workshop. 1. Watercolor Paper, by sheet 22” x 30" – 7-10 sheets or a block no larger than 18"x 24" (they hold 20- sheets or so). I have used Arches, Fabriano and Gemini watercolor brands for mold made papers and Twinrocker, Indian Village and vintage Whattman for handmade watercolor papers all 140lb to 300 lb press (cold press is prefered, but you can also use hot press or rough). 2. Watercolor paints in tubes or cakes/pans- a warm and cool statement of each primary color plus secondary, grays, blacks, white for a total of no more than 14-18 colors. I use Holbein, Grumbacher, Winsor & Newton, Daniel Smith and Old Holland watercolors because I have been painting for over 45 years and love color. Only Holbin has no ox gall in the paint, just pure gum arabic as the binder. It is more affordable than other brands. I recommend the following colors: Cadmium Yellow Light Cadmium Yellow Deep Cadmium Orange Yellow Ochre Cadmium Red Light, Alizarin Crimson Chinese White Burn Sienna Viridian Green Hue Cerulean Blue Cobalt Blue Ultramarine Blue Deep Manganese Blue Prussian Blue Permanent Magenta Ivory Black Indigo 3. Studio Palette, with mixing areas separate from the wells. 4. Three watercolor brushes, I use the Balmoral Kolinsky brand, but cheaper Langnickel brushes will also do. Choose a small round no. 6, a no. 12 and a Large 1" Flat. 5. Cotton Rags or roll of paper towels. 6. Paint board or light-weight plexi-glass or formica board that is non-absorbent at least 2" larger than your paper. 7. Portfolio, large enough to fit your paper and painting board. (You can make your own out of cardboard) 8. Graphite Pencils, 6B or HB or H depending on preference and how much you want the graphite line to be seen in your work. 9. Paint Box, to hold all of your paint tubes, brushes, and miscellaneous supplies. 10. Miscellaneous Supplies: Sketch book, a roll of 1" maskin tape, a sponge (natural are the best), 2 collapsible cups for holding water or a cool whip container, kneaded eraser, ex-acto knife, and extra media to add to watercolor such as ink, liquid watercolor or watercolor pencils and pastels

Have you ever wanted to paint a thick oil painting that revealed textural expressive strokes that laid down like frosting on a cake? This fun-filled oil painting class takes you beyond the guilty pleasure of painting thick to a place where you will get quality results technically and compositionally. Using the oil painting methods of the Venetian and Italian painters, Michael will show you how to use mediums to make the paint brighter, adding a luster appearance; and improve the viscosity of the paint, that spreads on the substrate like butter. For the beginner or experienced artist, alike, participants will learn how to use different size and types of palette knives and brushes and how to load them with paint. Michael will demonstrate and put you at ease with his approachable teaching style as he reveals the painters in history who painted using the impasto oil painting method. This course inspires students to participate through in-class painting assignments that are meant to inovate, demystify and clarify the impasto oil processes. Artists will also be encouraged to participate in out-of-class assignments that give opportunities to reinterpret what was learned in class and apply those skills to personal painting ideas at home. Group critiques will be featured to offer constructive suggestions and provide the artist with a supportive opportunity to develop their powers to represent their work. Participants may choose instructor resources or their own subjects from drawings, experiences from memory, photographs or from direct observation to develop their own painting themes. The course gives technical insight through visual aid presentations of oil painting movements and artist trends that define modern impasto oil painting today. This course will give the artist a solid base from which to build oil painting experiences upon and will include at least one plein air (paint-out) field trip near the end of the course. Come and experience a new course that develops in you a new appreciation for this versatile medium. 10 week course. No class on February 20. Supply List: 1. Stretched canvas, boards, Masonite or wood panels, or stretched canvases. Recommended maximum size 8 in. x 10 in. or 11 in. x 14 in., [not much larger for in-class studies] and bring a minimum of 1 substrate surfaces per class and one for out-of-class assignments, mere size is depending on personal preference and goals. 2. Paint Box and/or Pack; preferably large enough to contain your palette as well as paints, brushes etc. 3. Bottle or small pint can of liquin or Black Oil Wax Medium (That you can buy from the instructor) and a bottle of sun thickened linseed oil. If you mostly use Black Oil Wax medium as the Venetian and Italian Masters did, you will essentially be painting solvent free. 4. Oil Paint; at least a warm and cool of each primary color and black and white. You may want to bring small 35ml tubes for compactness depending on how much paint you use. I use quality paints packed with pigment with only linseed oil as a binder. The brands I use are Willamsburg, Blockx, Old Holand, and Sennelier oils in 35 ml tubes. I recommend the following colors: Cadmium Yellow Light or Aureolin Cadmium Yellow Deep Yellow Ochre or Italian Yellow Ochre Cadmium Orange Cadmium Red Deep or Mars Red Permanent Crimson or Quinacridon Magenta Burnt Sienna Cobalt Violet Deep or manganese Violet Manganese Blue Ultramarine Blue Prussian or Phthalo Blue Viridian Green Indigo Lamp Black or Ivory Black Large tube of Titanium /Zinc White 5. Brushes; round, flat or filbert oil painting brushes from sizes no.6 to a no.12. Choose at least three (one small, medium, and large). You might also be able to use a small brush for detail or your signature. 6. Palette Knives. I like to use a very small 1 inch, a medium and large palette knife for small studies and a larger one for bigger sized paintings. 7. Palette (It can be a folding palette or a wooden studio palette, even ¼ inch glass). 8. Rags (one per painting); preferably cotton rags because they soak up paint and cleaner better than polyester. You can also use paper towels. 9. Charcoal, graphite pencils or sticks, or vine charcoal. 10.Wet canvas carrier, clips or foamboard strips. (They can be made of foamboard strips and made into a frame taped around the panel or canvas and then duck taped on to the back of the painting and stacked upon each other with a foamboard divider, stored in a small cardboard mailer box for multiple studies or even larger. 11. Miscellaneous Supplies, including: a roll of 2" duck tape, a foamboard strips 1 inch by 16 ½ inches long, (natural are the best), Sketch book and Camera. 2 cups for holding solvents or Black Oil, ex-acto knife.

Make a Handmade Book, with illustrations created using Plexiglass Drypoint Printmaking Techniques. Create a beautiful handmade book of your own prints! Participants will learn about plexiglass drypoint printmaking (intaglio printing) and will learn several techniques for adding color to their prints. A set of four images will be created that will be bound into a handmade book. Participants do not need to have any printmaking experience - the process if very direct and requires some drawing and only a few special techniques. Participants should bring : sketchbook, pencil, watercolor paints, apron. Limit: 8 participants.

To enroll in enrichment classes, participants must be at least 18 years old and not enrolled in school.

Paint your masterpiece using the versatile medium of acrylics! This class is designed for the beginner, who has been working in acrylics for less than 5 years, with an emphasis on learning the basics through practice. The former student will have the opportunity to develop more confidence by perfecting their current skill level, while the more experienced student will explore their personal style. Step-by-step instruction includes: toning the canvas, blocking-in, painting techniques, choosing materials, mediums, additives and how to design a successful composition. Demonstrations, group critiques, and independent exercises will further enhance your learning experience. No prior painting experience is necessary. Students will progress at their own pace with individualized guidance. Students must be at least 18 years old and not enrolled in high school to register. It is not a pre-requisite to have taken Part l in this course medium to register for Part ll. Sessions are taught independently. 7 week course. No class on April 20. Carolyn Wallace-Zani is the owner of Main Street Studio and maintains her studio in Brewer, Maine. She has conducted drawing and painting workshops for children and adults for over 40 years. Her original work and prints are in both private and cooperative collections. She recently completed a course of study in Natural History Illustration in conjunction with the University of New Castle, Australia.