Join me for a chance to relax and be creative at Frederick Community College this May and June. I will be teaching noncredit courses, so there is no pressure to earn a grade or do homework, however, I teach it like a college class so you get to learn some of the critical fundamentals of art such as color, line, and value. To learn more, visit: https://www.frederick.edu/class-schedules/downloads/ilr_spring_2023_schedule.aspx. My Continuing Pastels course starts on 5/5. Sign up today to reserve your spot!
Or, if that doesn’t work with your schedule I am also teaching a mixed media course entitled, Drawing and Painting: A Mixed Media Survey on 6/15, also at Frederick Community College. You can sign up for this course at the above link.
I am currently on a break from teaching art classes at the Delaplaine, but I will be resuming teaching in February! One course is a several week’s long class on drawing animals in graphite, starting in February 2023!
The other course is a two-day workshop in which I explore color theory, painting in acrylics, and how to apply it to animal portraits! Meanwhile, I will be re-grouping and trying to re-kindle my love for art by looking at lots of art on Pinterest, trying out new mediums, and doing one of my favorite art challenges, Inktober!
The classes are Drawing Animals in Nature with Graphite, a course inspired by draftswoman extraordinaire, Lee Hammond, and, Whimsical Animals in Acrylic, inspired by another artist, Megan Wells, who wrote the book, Colorways: Acrylic Animals: Tips, Techniques, and Step-By-Step Lessons for Learning to Paint Whimsical Artwork in Vibrant Acrylic!
In the first course, we will learn all about how to draw and shade animal drawings, with a special focus on drawing supplies, such as blenders, mechanical pencils, what types of papers to use, and more! Lee Hammond specializes in making drawings that simulate old master techniques, such as gradients and smooth shading to create a realism that goes beyond your wildest dreams!
And in the two-day workshop, we will have fun with color, utilizing the color wheel to create dynamic color combinations such as complementary colors to bring new life to animal subjects. Rather than sticking to local color, we will explore how to abstract farm yard animals with color and bold, painterly brushwork to make painting a more fun experience! To learn more, visit https://delaplaine.org/.
Did you know that creativity can enhance your life in many ways? According to a Forbes article entitled, “Here’s how Creativity Improves Your Health,” by Ashley Stahl of Forbes, being creative has many benefits. These benefits include: improving your mood, reducing stress, and improving cognitive function since your right and left hemispheres to work together when you are creating.
It doesn’t matter what form creativity takes to get these benefits. Some different creative activities such as sewing, coloring in a coloring book, etc. Join me this summer in my Continuing Landscapes in Pastel to improve the quality of your life on many levels and make time for creativity in your life! To learn more, visit https://delaplaine.org/.
There are still some spots available for my upcoming, Continuing Landscapes in Pastel at the Delaplaine Art Center. If you are an oil painter or love to work in color, but would like to try out a new medium, this might be a great course for you.
Or, if you want to work in a more forgiving art medium than watercolor, pastel could be the perfect choice for you! It’s a wonderful medium that combines all the characteristics of drawing which is generally a dry media, with the painterly characteristics of color and texture, such as oil painting, but in contrast, pastels have no drying time.
Working in soft pastels also doesn’t require a full complement of art supplies, such as pallets, brushes, or water jars. Instead, you can get started with just some soft pastels, erasers, pastel pencils, and pastel paper to begin your creative journey. Easy to set up and easy to clean up. No brushes or palettes to clean! And it’s so easy to correct your mistakes, with a kneaded eraser. What could be better? Here’s a sneak peek at some of the projects we will work on colorful meadows, fall scenes, and even a mixed media garden landscape. Please visit: https://delaplaine.org/ to sign up or learn more about this wonderful course!
In my experience as an artist and teacher, I have learned how important it is to incorporate a wide range of value in my own artwork and art demonstrations. Test the truth of this insight by joining my art course, Continuing Landscapes at the Delaplaine art center this July! We will start with pastel techniques, and then work our way through the elements of art, such as value and color, etc. to build successful landscape pastel paintings. To learn more, visit https://delaplaine.org/.
Don’t miss out on a chance to take my intermediate pastel course for landscapes! Pastel is a forgiving medium and it allows you to experience the best of both worlds with drawing and painting. With pastel, you can create colorful drawings that are easy to revise and there is no drying time to wait for, as with other art media, such as watercolor, acrylic, and oil. Also, this medium can be used in conjunction with other media, such as watercolor for painterly effects! To learn more, please visit https://delaplaine.org/.
This spring I am teaching a new course called, Drawing Calm: A Survey of Mixed Media. Have you ever wondered if you can combine more than one art medium? You can, and this course might just be what you are looking for! Click here to learn more: https://delaplaine.org/class/?id=22-4-DR03.
Have you ever wondered if there is a way to combine drawing and painting into one art medium? There is, and it’s called soft pastel! This medium allows you to combine the linear effects of drawing with the brilliant color and depth you can get with oil and acrylic painting! This wonderfully flexible media was used by Impressionist artists to great effects, such as Degas, Mary Cassatt, and many others! Join me this winter at the Adams County Arts Council in Gettysburg, PA to begin or continue your creative journey! Click the link to learn more: https://www.adamsarts.org/portfolio-item/introduction-to-pastel/.
I am back to teaching after several months’ long breaks. This month I will be teaching a beginner class about soft pastels. I will guide you through the basic elements of art such as value, color, and shape to show you how all these elements form the building blocks for success in your own artwork! Class size is limited, register as soon as possible at: https://www.adamsarts.org/classes/. The course starts on: February 23rd, 2022.
Art of Schmidt 