I am excited to announce that I will be teaching a variety of art courses. These courses cover every art medium from acrylic painting to mixed media and even soft pastels!
There is truly something for everyone. I offer individual instruction in drawing and painting and even facilitate constructive critiques so that you can take your art to the next level. To learn more, visit: https://www.frederick.edu/class-schedules/downloads/ilr_spring_2023_schedule.aspx. It’s easy to sign up on the Frederick community college website!
The courses I am teaching include ACR187 Continuing Pastels with Landscapes, and ACR181 Drawing and Painting: A Mixed Media Survey. Below are some samples of the projects from these courses, so you can get a sneak preview!
I am teaching a cornucopia of art courses at Frederick Community College in the Institute for Learning in Retirement department. These classes are short, and art is not graded like traditional credit courses. However, I teach the basic elements of art and offer group critiques, which are a vital part of credit art courses, so you get all the benefits of a credit course, without the grade.
They are perfect for those who want a short-term art course without a long time commitment. As a student, you will receive the benefit of my extensive art expertise as a student and art teacher, and receive constructive critiques, education in the basics of art, such as value, shape, color, etc., as well as individual art instruction. My courses will empower you to self-critique your own work and that of others, so that you can have the confidence to improve the quality of your artwork on your own. I offer a variety of mediums to choose from such as soft pastels, pencils, and mixed media!
Are you a beginner artist? Do you want to learn how to draw but feel overwhelmed about which method to try? Contour drawing, blind contour drawing, drawing upside down, constructing with shapes, etc. Then my class, Drawing for the Absolute Beginner is perfect for you! I will offer you guided instruction focusing on specific drawing methods every week, such as Contour drawing, blind contour drawing, drawing upside down, etc. Trying a variety of drawing methods can help you find the one that suits you best! This course is inspired by Betty Edwards’s book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. To learn more, visit https://delaplaine.org/instruction/.
And if this class is full, try your hand at another course I am offering, Classic Drawing, and also at the Delaplaine. This course is also a great fit for beginners, or artists who are rusty in their drawing skills and want a brush-up. This course has a slightly different focus. We will be focusing here on specific elements of art, such as line, shape, form, and texture. I will alternate the class projects with step-by-step handouts and drawing from observation. The focus here will be on applying each element of art every week to your exercises and projects to build more aesthetically pleasing artwork. Whichever class you take, learning the skill of drawing, or improving your drawing skills is a fundamental tool in your artistic toolbox and will greatly improve your artwork, whatever medium you choose, whether it’s: collage, painting, sculpture, pastel, etc! I’ve been drawing and painting for many years (since about age 2) and find that drawing weekly keeps me to tackle any painting with confidence!
Day 1, an upside-down drawing from my course Drawing for the Absolute Beginner. Contour Drawing and Constructing with Shapes, an exercise from my course, Drawing for the Absolute Beginner. A project from my course, Drawing for the Absolute Beginner, Uses a toned ground and a picture plane viewfinder. A Negative Space exercise, from my Classic Drawing course. Project from my course, Drawing for the Absolute Beginner. A contour drawing exercise from my course, Classic Drawing. The final project for my course, Classic Drawing.
This summer I am teaching two great art courses at the Delaplaine Art Center in Frederick, MD! The first course begins on June 22nd, and it’s called, Drawing into Calm: A mixed media survey course. In this course, you will learn how to work in a variety of media from watercolor and pen to acrylic and pastel. We will explore which media are compatible, such as watercolor and ink pen, and gain inspiration from a variety of famous artists, such as Monet, Paul Klee, and Odilon Redon, among others! It’s a course that is perfect for beginner artists and will explore both drawing demonstrations and painting demonstrations, as well as collages. If you want to try new media or love art history, this might be the perfect course for you! Visit the Delaplaine website at: https://delaplaine.org/, to register or learn more.
The other course I am teaching is called, Continuing Landscapes in Pastel, and it’s perfect for experienced pastel artists who would like to learn more about color and value in the context of the four seasons. This course is geared toward more experienced artists who have some drawing experience. The four seasons, summer, autumn, winter, and spring will provide a context for exploring the elements of art, value, and color, such as using cool colors like blue or violet to depict snow, and warmer color palettes to illustrate fall foliage. Both courses are designed for adults. To learn more, visit https://delaplaine.org/instruction/classes-workshops/.
Harmonizing on a Line, Mixed media collage, Jodie Schmidt, 2022. Mixed Media Cow Collage, Mixed Media: torn papers, metallic wrapper, painted papers, watercolor, crayon, ink, and colored pencils, Jodie Schmidt, 2022.Odilon Redon Knock off, Pastel on paper, Jodie Schmidt, 2022. Pizza Painting, Acrylic Paint on canvas board, Jodie Schmidt, 2022. Mosaic Magazine Collage: Grand Canyon, Magazine papers, and pastel on paper, 2022, Jodie Schmidt.Child at the Beach, Pastel on paper, Jodie Schmidt after Rebecca Le Mendonca, 2022.Creating Depth, Jodie Schmidt after Marla Bagetta, Pastel on paper, Jodie Schmidt, 2022. Rocky Tor, Jodie Schmidt after Rebecca Le Mendonca, Pastel on paper, 2020.The Birches, Jodie Schmidt after Rebecca Le Mendonca, Pastel on paper, 2022.
This spring I will be teaching three courses at the Delaplaine Art Center, in Frederick, MD. Here are samplings from my Classic Drawing Course, Drawing Calm: A Mixed Media Survey, and Landscapes in Pastel. Click here to learn more: https://delaplaine.org/instruction/classes-workshops/drawing/.
Today I am blogging about an introduction to the color wheel and how artists can use it to choose an effective color combination. Since last week, I have been consulting a reference book entitled, Color is Everything, by Dan Bartges. I wanted to try out some various color schemes for my Biographical Portrait of Sting, which I posted about in last week’s Sketchbook blog post. After consulting the book about possible color schemes, I tried out two versions of a tetrad color scheme; one is described on pg. 35, and consists of oranges, reds, and greens, while the other color combination includes blue-greens, red-oranges, yellow-oranges, and blue-violets and is described on page 36. But before I get into the definition of tetrad color schemes, I would like to give a short overview of the color wheel and how it can improve an artist’s artwork.
According to the article, “Color Psychology: The Emotional Effects of Colors”, retrieved from www. art therapy blog.com, the color wheel displays the three primary colors and its secondaries, and the twelve colors which are included on the color wheel are yellow, yellow-orange, orange, red-orange, red, red-violet, violet, blue-violet, blue, blue-green, green, and yellow-green. The most important colors displayed on the color wheel are red, yellow, and blue, from which you can mix almost any color. (ibid) However, this concept should be considered in a theoretical context, because paints do not necessarily contain only one color. (ibid) In fact, paints often contain traces of other colors which can affect the final outcome of color mixtures, towards a warmer or color tone of a specific color. (ibid) Some colors that you can mix from the two primaries include: yellow + red= orange and red + blue= violet.
According to the author, Bartges, a triadic color scheme utilizes three colors which are equidistant from each other on the color wheel, and these colors create “a strong, triangular relationship.” For example, a commonly used triadic scheme for landscapes includes: green, orange and violet. And the “most visually powerful triad is red, yellow and blue, which are called the primary colors. In my upcoming courses, I will be instigating color in a variety of media such as pastel, collage, watercolor, etc. Starting in April, I will be teaching several art courses where I will be exploring the concept of color in a variety of courses, such as: Landscapes in Pastel, The Four Seasons, and Drawing into Calm: A Mixed Media Survey Course, at the Delaplaine Art Center. To learn more, visit: https://delaplaine.org/. You can register for the classes on their website by going to the instruction link, and then going to the classes and workshops link. Thanks for stopping by!
This Winter I will be teaching art classes at two different locations! I am honored to join the staff at the Adams County Arts Council in Gettysburg, PA, and will be teaching two art courses there. Beginning in February, I will be offering a beginner’s pastel course that will guide you through the basics of value, shape, and color and teach you to paint in the style of the Impressionists. To learn more about this course, visit https://www.adamsarts.org/classes/.
And in January I will be teaching a beginner’s course in drawing called, Classic Drawing at the Adams County Arts Council. If you have ever wanted to learn how to draw this is the course for you! Or, if you need a refresher in drawing fundamentals such as shading and building objects from simple shapes, this course will help you get back into the groove! Visit this link for more details: https://www.adamsarts.org/classes/.
I will also be teaching the beginner’s pastel course in February at the Delaplaine Art Center in Frederick, MD. To register or learn more about this course, visit this link: https://delaplaine.org/instruction/classes-workshops/.
Stay tuned for details about more art courses I will be offering at the Delaplaine Art Center this Spring! These courses include Pastels in Landscapes, and a mixed media course called Drawing Calm. Visit the Delaplaine Art Center website for updates!
Art of Schmidt 