Understanding Your Aesthetic II (Online Course)
Ananda St. Barry
Wednesdays 1 PM – 4 PM ET – please adjust for your timezone
Jan 20, 27, Feb 17, 24, March 3, 10, 2027
6 weeks- Tuition $315
Limit: 10 students
Students must have completed Understanding Your Aesthetic I. Contact Admin to enroll.
Take this class:
- To improve your painting practice by studying key components of picture making.
- To structure the way you think about and analyze art and use that structure to devise a compositional practice that suits your goals.
- To create paintings that represent your unique style and taste.
Is this class for me?
- This class is open only to artists who have completed Understanding Your Aesthetics I. There are no exceptions.
- Some familiarity with oil painting will be incredibly helpful.
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.
“This class [Understanding Your Aesthetic] 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
Part One of Understanding Your Aesthetic has clarified for the participants what to do if an artist loves Rembrandt and Picasso and wants to bring two distinct flavors together in a way that is unique to them. The class methodically analyzed the art that each artist was drawn to in order to create an aesthetic profile. With this profile in hand, participants can now recognize and implement trends in their taste and keep their aesthetics aligned as they engage in the creation process. More importantly, the artist can now learn to construct and actualize a method of working that suits their goals from concept to creation.
The goal of Part Two is to construct one painting from start to finish that represents their aesthetic profile as closely as possible. Each artist’s formula for creation will vary depending on their aesthetic goals and thus the personalized recommendations from the instructor will be invaluable in constructing a plan tailored to each student. The process includes quick color studies and thumbnail sketches and progresses through all the planning and preparatory phases fundamental to executing a painting efficiently that also captures the artists’ vision.
On average, the curious student can expect to spend at least 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.