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Drawing and Painting from the Live Model

Drawing and Painting from the Live Model

WINTER 2025 UPDATE

We are NOT currently offering this class.

If you have any questions, please call us (651) 699-1573.

Thank you for your interest.


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Michelangelo, Figure Study
"O painter skilled in anatomy, beware lest the undue prominence of the bones, sinews and muscles cause you to become a wooden painter from the desire to make your nude figures reveal all."
-Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)

The basis of traditional Western Art education centers upon learning how to draw the figure well, and that is the focus of these classes. Lectures are given on subjects including – recommended reading, materials, anatomy, aesthetics, indirect versus direct painting methods, and a reasonable breakdown of drawing and painting stages to complete finished work based on historic precedence.

The course stresses the importance of a Sensible Start and clarifies how to balance Unity and Variety throughout the complex Middle Stage of a picture, yet also emphasizes the significance of a Unified Finish to create a poetic, artistic statement. Repeat the class to learn how to combine studies and memory work so much of your extended figure can be completed away from the model.

Students in all classes are encouraged to solve challenging drawing passages by executing smaller, quicker studies. Others may focus on portrait drawing and painting.

Throughout the course, artists will be encouraged to construct solid drawings investigating anatomy, structure, weight and line quality before progressing to use value to build volume. Painters may choose to follow the traditional indirect method presented by the instructor or explore more direct methods – both approaches will receive frequent, positive critiques from an experienced painter. Lectures on traditional methods and materials and how they apply to working from life will be supplemented with informed demonstrations.

The course will conclude with a constructive critique of accumulated classroom work.

Pierre Paul Prud'hon, Male Nude
Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (1758-1823)
Male Nude
Charcoal and White Chalk on Toned Paper
Hubert James Draper, Charcoal Study
Hubert James Draper (1863-1920)
Study for The Lament For Icarus
Charcoal and White Chalk on Toned Paper
Jacques Louis David, Male Nude known as Patroclus
Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825)
Patroclus, Oil on Linen

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