Painting & Drawing
Code: D1225-25
-
III
Level III
Students have formal training in critical issues of 2-D art making, experience with public critiques and a solid portfolio of their artwork.
-
IV
Level IV
Students have advanced skill and knowledge of painting and drawing. Students are highly motivated and self-directed, have a minimum of five years experience in their field and have multiple portfolios of their artwork. Portfolio review is required for admittance to some Level IV classes.
Abstraction: Sources in Nature
Aug 18 - 22, 2025
9AM-5PM
Tuition: $1,415.00
Studio Fee: $125.00
Registration Fee: $45.00
NEW: Tuition includes the welcome dinner and daily lunch
Registration Information
Concept
Crack the nut of abstraction while infusing art with the vigor of visual experience. In this workshop, students use natural objects, landscape, and historical, 20th-century, and contemporary art to glean strategies for the studio. Prompts include a menu of classic and innovative approaches for creating abstractions and semi-abstract landscapes in drawing and painting. With an emphasis on color, form, composition, and surface inspired by fresh sources, students investigate new terrain, gain hands-on skill, and formulate new avenues of research. * This workshop is a program that includes joint critiques and discussions with Linda Geary’s workshop, “Painting: Making and Dialogue.” The two faculty are teaching separate workshops but coordinating larger discussions and critiques between the two classes.
Media & Techniques
Choice of painting medium (e.g. oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, etc.), drawing
Faculty
Holly Hughes
Holly Hughes is a frequent Ranch faculty member and professor emeritus of painting at Rhode Island School of Design. Having exhibited nationally and internationally, Hughes’ painting has been greatly influenced by both ceramic and printmaking practice and research. She loves “Salon Style” installations—the mixing of these genres on the wall—such as BLAZON created for the Dorsky Museum. Her most recent exhibit was “Salad Days” at Pamela Salisbury Gallery in 2024.
Holly Hughes, Kinship
Tuition: $1,415.00
Studio Fee: $125.00
Registration Fee: $45.00
NEW: Tuition includes the welcome dinner and daily lunch
Registration Information
Join Waitlist for Abstraction: Sources in Nature
Thank you for your interest in the waitlist. When space in a workshop or program becomes available, registration will open on the website. Everyone on the waitlist will be emailed to alert them of the opening. This ensures that everyone has an equal opportunity to register for the workshop or program.
Painting & Drawing
Make, reflect, consider, engage—these are all critical elements of the Painting and Drawing workshops at Anderson Ranch. Our exceptional workshops combine focused, hands-on art making with critical feedback for artists of all levels. Painting and Drawing guest faculty are phenomenal artists and educators with experience supporting students by offering technical knowledge and encouragement.
The bright, natural light of the Wyly Painting and Drawing Building provides an inspiring environment where students can explore and expand their artistic practice. Our facilities are equipped with individual worktables, wall space, easels, rolling palettes, odorless solvents, a wide range of hand tools, computer access with Adobe software, wifi, printing, scanning, and projection capabilities. Spend a week here— or several—and engage in a variety of activities that will fuel your practice throughout the year.
Workshop Details
Workshop Supplies
For general information about studio access, shipping, and more, please visit our info page.
If you have any questions regarding your supplies for your workshop, please contact Lindsey Yeager, [email protected].
Provided by Anderson Ranch
Equipment
- Butcher paper
- Containers
- Cordless drills and impact drivers
- Cutting mats**
- Drawing boards
- Easels
- Gamsol (OMS)**
- Gloves
- Glues**
- Hand tools: hammers, screwdrivers, pliers, clamps
- Laser printer
- Palette knives**
- Palette-topped utility carts
- Presentation projector
- Push pins
- Rags
- Rulers**
- Scanner
- Scissors
- Spray bottles**
- Staple guns
- Stools
- Tape**
- Work tables
What you need to bring
Required Tools and Supplies
- All materials needed to make your work (paint, brushes, surfaces, etc.)**
- Prohibited supplies: power tools, torches, spray paint, encaustic, turpentine, resin, plastisol, any solvent that isn’t low VOC
Optional Tools and Supplies
- White (or light colored) t-shirt for screen printing**
* Available for purchase in the studio.
** Available to purchase at the Anderson Ranch ArtWorks Store for 10% off. The store aims to stock comparable items, though specific products from the supply list may vary based on inventory.
Learn more about shipping supplies and artwork to and from the Ranch in the Student Handbook.
Lodging & Meals
Housing is limited and includes shared and private lodging options. Reservations will be managed on a first-come, first-served basis. The earlier you reserve housing, the better your chance of receiving your preferred option. Please note: Workshop costs do not include accommodations.
NEW: Tuition includes a welcome dinner and lunches. In our effort to foster a stronger sense of community and accessibility at Anderson Ranch, we include the welcome dinner and all lunches as part of the tuition for summer workshop students. Our hope is that this adjustment will encourage all students to come together to share meals and engage in meaningful conversations. The Ranch Café Meal Plan, which is included with Room and Board fees, strives to provide healthy, creative meals that will nourish your artistic creativity. Learn more.
We have established a Business Safety Plan with added layers of precaution that prioritize the health and safety of our staff, students, faculty and guests while continuing to provide you with the Anderson Ranch experience that you know and enjoy.
Related Events
Scholarships, College Credit & Discounts
Making Art Accessible
Applications for scholarship support are encouraged. Specific scholarships are funded by Ranch supporters, either through endowed funds or special gifts.
Many colleges and universities offer college credit for workshops taken at Anderson Ranch. Discounts are available for students and teachers.
You Might Also Be Interested In
-
III
Level III
Students have formal training in critical issues of 2-D art making, experience with public critiques and a solid portfolio of their artwork.
-
IV
Level IV
Students have advanced skill and knowledge of painting and drawing. Students are highly motivated and self-directed, have a minimum of five years experience in their field and have multiple portfolios of their artwork. Portfolio review is required for admittance to some Level IV classes.
Aug 18 - 22, 2025
9AM-5PM
Painting: Making and Dialogue
Linda Geary
Tuition $1,480
Code D1226-25
This advanced painting workshop is for students working in any painting medium, and is designed to be a catalyst for making art within a broadly-defined painting language. Students work on individual projects while digging into experimental processes that boost the forward momentum of their work. Presentations, prompts, and critiques support purposeful discussions addressing how the work is communicating. Questions and topics covered include: How can time be captured through color? What is tactile knowledge? Who are your art ancestors and what is their role in the building of your visual language? What and how does your work communicate within the context of contemporary art? * This workshop is a program that includes joint critiques and discussions with Holly Hughes’ workshop, “Abstractions in Nature.” The two faculty are teaching separate workshops, but coordinating larger discussions and critiques between the two classes.
-
O
Open to All
Students of any skill and knowledge level.
Aug 18 - 22, 2025
9AM-5PM
Reinventing the Still Life
Karen Lederer
Tuition $1,415
Code D1227-25
Discover how to take ordinary still-life paintings to the next level. In this mixed-media painting class, we learn about contemporary artists whose exciting work fits into the still-life genre for inspiration. We then set up our own compositions, and learn techniques to fill our paintings with meaning, wonder, pattern, form, color relationships, and dynamic compositions. The class focuses on experimenting with abstract mark-making as well as representational imagery. We discover different ways of using acrylic and delve into techniques such as collage, pochoir, stencils, and trace monotype to create new and surprising marks.
-
O
Open to All
Students of any skill and knowledge level.
Aug 25 - 29, 2025
9AM-5PM
All the Layers! Merging Image and Texture Through Collage
Genevieve Lowe
Tuition $1,415
Code D1329-25
This class expands on the traditional methods of collage and explores new ways to visually express ideas. Using mixed-media—paper, photos and photo transfers, found materials, and fabrics—and an introduction to press-free printmaking techniques including stencils, pochoir, and basic transfer processes, we investigate ways to build up imagery and textures that elevate mixed-media materials. Students experiment with new techniques demonstrated daily in class and explore forms of expression that may challenge their previous working methods and expectations. Students work on quick studies as well as multi-day, deliberate projects that produce a personal visual vocabulary and strive toward more advanced, completed work.