Mastering the Canvas: Intermediate and Advanced Painting
Mastering the Canvas: Intermediate and Advanced Painting Studio
For artists ready to deepen their skills, explore their style, and grow within a creative community.
Thursday mornings from 9:00AM-11:AM or Saturdays from 11:00AM-1:00PM
Drop-In Style. Sign up for individual classes at your convenience. Only 8 spots per class.
Welcome to Mastering the Canvas, a thoughtfully designed painting course for artists who have completed Painting 101 or have in-depth experience with oil, acrylic, or mixed media. This class is perfect for those who want to move beyond the basics and truly evolve as painters—developing technique, expanding creative vocabulary, and refining their personal artistic style.
What to Expect
Each class session begins with a short presentation and demonstration featuring a new technique, genre, artistic principle, or master artist inspiration. You might explore:
How to layer color for depth and luminosity
The expressive power of brushwork and palette knife techniques
Mixing a cohesive color palette from limited hues
How to critique and refine composition
Creating mood through value and contrast
Incorporating abstraction into representational work
Experimenting with unconventional tools and materials
After the demonstration, you’ll have the opportunity to try the technique through a guided exercise or artistic challenge, or you can work on your own independent painting project, applying the concepts to your personal body of work.
The studio environment encourages freedom and flexibility. You’ll receive personalized guidance from the instructor as you need it—whether you’re building a new series, exploring new media, or stuck in the “muddy middle” of a painting.
A Studio, A Classroom, A Community
More than just a class, this is a creative studio space—a place to explore, experiment, and connect. You’ll be surrounded by other passionate painters who are also walking the path of artistic growth. Expect encouragement, constructive critique, shared inspiration, and the kind of camaraderie that only happens when artists create side by side.
Who This Class Is For
This class is ideal for:
Artists who have completed Painting 101 or have equivalent experience
Oil, acrylic, and mixed media painters
Creatives who want to develop a cohesive style or series
Artists looking to stay inspired and challenged each week
Anyone wanting to break through a creative plateau or explore new directions
Painters seeking accountability, critique, and community
What to Bring
Your preferred painting supplies (oil, acrylic, or mixed media)
Suggested paint colors for exercises: Warm and cool yellow: Cadmium Yellow Light (Lemon) and Cadmium Yellow Medium. Warm and cool blue: Ultramarine and either Cerulean/Phthalo. Warm and cool red: Cadmium Red Medium and either Alizarin Crimson/Permanent Rose
Works-in-progress
A willingness to explore and push your boundaries
Join Us
Mastering the Canvas is your next step as a painter—an ongoing space to grow, refine, and enjoy the painting process in a supportive environment. Whether you come to be challenged, to connect, or to continue building your body of work, we can’t wait to paint with you.
Let’s take your painting practice further—together.
Fall Semester–14 Thursday sessions available, 13 Saturday sessions available. Sign up is drop-in style.