Drawing for the Painter (Online Course)
Ananda St. Barry
Wednesdays, 1 PM – 3 PM ET- please adjust for your timezone
April 7, 14, 21, 28, May 5, 12, 2027
6 weeks- Tuition: $315
Limit: 10 students
Class format notes:
- In class sessions last three hours with lecture, demo, and critiques
- On average, the curious student can expect to spend 2-4 hours outside of class on assignments each week.
- The invested or dedicated students can push the exercises further and thereby spend more time weekly on each assignment.
Is this class for me?
- This class is engineered by a painter to help students of all skill levels consider the practice of drawing as it applies to painting.
- If you are a complete beginner, taking GCA’s Orientation Seminar is recommended.
Class Format Notes:
- 1.5 hour live critiques each class.
- Approximately 1.5 hours of lecture/demo each class.
- Students work on their weekly assignment outside of class time, working during class is completely optional.
- Every online class is recorded.
- Critiques are only given during the live class time.
- Attendance at every live class isn’t mandatory.
- Absentee students can still submit their work at least 15 minutes before the live class starts and the instructor will critique the work during the class. The critique will then be viewable in the recording.
- Students receive access to the class recording within 24 hours of the class finishing. The recording gets posted into the google classroom.
- Access to the recordings is available for the duration of the class plus an additional 30 days. There are no extensions.
Class Tech Needs:
- The class will be conducted on the Zoom platform and is a live online experience.
- This class also uses Google Classroom to share resources. Watch this video for more insight.
- All of these services/platforms are free but require registration.
- It will be necessary for students to have access to a computer, tablet or smartphone. The recommended device is a laptop or desktop.
Course Description
Learn to think like a painter and bridge the seemingly separate skill sets of drawing and painting. This class accommodates all styles of painting with exercises devised to strengthen techniques applicable to alla prima painting (single day painting), long form direct painting, and indirect painting. Drawing for the Painter is designed to be adaptable to all experience levels. Artists can work entirely in graphite, charcoal, or paint, or a combination thereof.
A six week investigation of practical exercises and demonstrations in the craft of picture making will guide the student in making more confident, intentional and informed drawings and therefore, better paintings. These exercises include, but are not limited to, strategies for blocking-in quicker, compositional thumbnails, learning to observe and reproduce convincing shadows, considering resolution as a function of brush stroke size, and maintaining consistent scale and proportion.
If you have never painted before, this class will change the way you think about drawing in anticipation of the painting experience. And if you’ve painted for months or years, this class will bring you back to your drawing practice in a more strategic way.
In class sessions last three hours including demo and critiques. On average, the curious student can expect to spend 2-4 hours outside of class on assignments each week. The invested or dedicated students can push the exercises further and thereby spend more time weekly on each assignment.