Arts & Crafts

Zentangle is an art technique that uses simple patterns to create beautiful artwork.   In this class, I will teach a teach patterns that may be used in holiday ornaments and cards. Introduction to Zentangle class is helpful, but not required for this class.  All materials are provided. Come and join us for a creative, fun evening. For more information about Zentangle, check out Zentangle.com.

Carolyn Dorfman, CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher)

This painting class emphasizes the technical skills for the beginner or advanced painter to achieve winning results in painting flowers in watercolor. These lessons are based on seven techniques most often used by famous artists presently and in art history. The instructor will demonstrate these techniques each week through in-class assignments and give an out-of-class assignment for the student to put into practice their newly acquired skills.  

Students may choose their own floral subjects from their drawing experiences using their own photographs or from direct observation. This course gives technical insight through visual aids of watercolor movements and artist trends that have elevated floral watercolor painting as a major medium today’s market. The demonstrations and presentations are intended to provide the student with a solid base to build their own painting experiences upon. Group critiques will be featured each week to provide the student with an opportunity to develop their powers to talk about their work in a supportive environment. This course is perfect for beginners and anyone who desires to acquire technical control in watercolor painting skills while balancing a healthy desire to play with the floral subject.

SUGGESTED ART MATERIALS FOR WATERCOLOR PAINTERS

1. 10 sheets of 140 lb cold press Watercolor Paper, 22” x 30. I prefer Gemini watercolor brand because it allows for lifting, 140 lb (cold press is what I prefer but Arches is also good to use).

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 watercolors because I love color and there is 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:

Permanent Yellow Lemon         Permanent Yellow Deep        Cadmium Orange         Yellow Ochre         Permanent Red    

Permanent Alizarin Crimson          Brilliant Pink         Opera         Burn Sienna         Viridian Green         Hooker’s Green         Cerulean Blue         Cobalt Blue         Ultramarine Blue Deep         Peacock Blue         Manganese Blue         Royal Blue         Permanent Magenta

3. Palette, a studio palette with separate mixing areas and at least 16 wells to hold paint.

4. Three watercolor brushes, I use the Balmoral Kolinsky brand, 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 24 x 32 inches.

7. Portfolio, waterproof and large enough to fit your paperand painting board.

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 journal, a roll of 1" maskin or white artist tape, a sponge (natural are the best), 2 cups for holding water, kneaded eraser, ex-acto knife, and extra media to add to watercolor such as ink, liquid watercolor or watercolor pencils and pastels.

Quilling is a craft that uses long thin strips of paper that are rolled and folded into a variety of shapes that can then assembled into flowers and snowflakes.  In this class we will make beautiful filigree snowflakes.  I will demonstrate use of tools that can be purchased locally if you wish to continue with this craft.  All materials are provided for this class. In addition, you will be provided with directions to make a variety of snowflakes.

This course is designed for individuals who have been painting and drawing for two years or more and want to learn more about composition, color mixing, new techniques, and other related art issues. This class will focus on specific art interests and expand knowledge about painting and drawing. Participants will work in the medium of their choice: watercolor, acrylic, pastel or charcoal/graphite. Instruction will be individualized to meet specific needs. A group critique of art work will follow at the end of each class.

Have you ever wanted to paint an thick oil, laying down the paint like buttery frosting on a cake? How about the need to paint direct expressive marks that reveal your very soul, as opposed to hiding how you make every mark? 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 oil paint and mediums to make your colors brighter, adding a luster to the appearance; and improve the viscosity of the paint. For the beginner or experienced artist alike, participants will learn how to paint directly using different sizes and types of palette knives and brushes. They will learn how to paint with a “loaded brush or palette knife” to get amazing impasto results that add texture and depth to their subjects. Michael will demonstrate and put you at ease with his approachable teaching style as he reveals the painters in history who painted using impasto oil painting methods. He will help students apply these painterly principals through in-class painting assignments that are meant to demystify the impasto oil process. Artists will also be encouraged to participate in weekly out-of-class assignments that gives participants the opportunities to reinforce 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 talk about 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 take place in a safe studio classroom environment. Come and experience a course that develops in you a new appreciation for this versatile medium.

SUGESTED ART MATERIALS FOR OIL PAINTERS

 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, size is depended 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 taped at the edges).

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.

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.

Zentangle is an art technique that uses simple patterns to create beautiful artwork.   In this class, I will teach a number of flower and leaf tangles.  Using these tangles you can design a lovely garden. Introduction to Zentangle class is helpful, but not required for this class.  All materials are provided. Come and join us for a creative, fun evening.  For more information about Zentangle, check out Zentangle.com.

Carolyn Dorfman, CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher)