Understanding Your Aesthetic (Online Course)
Ananda Fetherston
Sundays, 1 PM – 4 PM ET – please adjust for your time zone
September 22, 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27
6 weeks – Tuition: $295
Limit: 10 students
Take this class:
- To improve your compositional practice by studying key components of picture making.
- To structure the way you think about and analyze art.
- To further your exposure to both contemporary and classical art.
Is this class for me?
- This class welcomes artists of all levels.
- Some familiarity with oil painting will be helpful.
Class format notes:
- In class sessions include demos, lecture, discussion as well as critiques of student work.
- Students should plan to spend at least two-four hours outside of class each week painting.
Online tech needs:
- The class will be conducted on the Zoom platform and is a live online experience.
- Ananda’s classes are recorded and made available so students can review demos and critiques after each live session for the entirety of the class.
- This class also uses Google Classroom to distribute materials. Watch this video for more insight.
- Both of these services 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.
“This class really helped me discern my artistic preferences for my own studio practice. Ananda has a sharp analytical eye. Her insights and feedback were so well catered to each student. I found it very empowering. She helped me look deeper into what it is that I really want to do, and that help is invaluable. Also I appreciated learning about artists that I had never heard of before from the other students. The discussion was very lively and positive. I would recommend this class to any art student who is serious about their studio practice.” -Milene
Course Description
A trip to the museum can be inspiring, bewildering or sometimes discouraging. We’ve all felt the sense of awe when we encounter the works of master painters. However, confusion can set in when confronting the diversity of genre, paint application and general aesthetics. I call this the soup dilemma. You might love Rembrandt and Picasso, but how to bring two distinct flavors together is the challenge. This class is devised to methodically analyze the art that you like. With a flavor profile in hand you can now appreciate, recognize and implement trends in your taste that will keep your aesthetics on track through the creation process.
Six weeks of task specific exercises and art historical lectures will level up your paintings by way of a deeper personal insight into your aesthetic. These exercises will serve as an analysis of painting modalities like color, design, content and skill and thus pinpoint your aesthetic goals.
This class is engineered by a painter to help artists of all skill levels consider the fundamental aspects of paintings. The assignments will be quick color studies and thumbnail sketches and therefore all skill levels are welcome. Oil paint will be the recommended media and what the instructor will use but all exercises could conceivably be done digitally if you have the technical ability in that arena. Again, note, there will be no lessons on working using a digital medium.
Live class sessions last two hours with one hour lecture & demo and one hour 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.