Painting & Drawing

Code: D1230-22

    • O

      Open to All

      Students of any skill and knowledge level.

The Abstract Landscape

Aug 22 - 26, 2022

9AM - 5PM

Concept

Abstraction has the ability to express narrative, and using the landscape as inspiration for abstraction can lead to an exciting visual language. Focusing on mark-making and its potential to produce flatness as well as depth, participants embark on the en plein air experience as a rigorous confrontation with image-making. This workshop encourages students to indulge their innate urge to create marks and find a voice through the immediacy of their surroundings. Through prompts, demonstrations and outdoor sessions as well as working in the studio from source imagery, students endeavor to recreate the narrative history of landscape painting.

View All Painting & Drawing Workshops

Media & Techniques

Water-based painting media, abstract painting, monochromatic, mark making, writing prompts, en plein air painting

Supply List

Faculty

Michi Meko

Michi Meko has exhibited at: Kavi Gupta, Chicago; Gallerie Myrtis, Baltimore; the Richmond Museum of Fine Art, Richmond; Chimento Contemporary, Los Angeles; Cress Gallery at the University of Chattanooga; Westobou Gallery, Augusta; and the Museum of Contemporary Art Georgia, Atlanta. He received the Atlanta Artadia Award and the Joan Mitchell Award.

Learn More

Michi Meko, Season Summer

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].

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: Course fees 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 course fees 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.

 

Painting & Drawing

Painting & Drawing Studio in Aspen / Snowmass

The Painting & Drawing Studio at Anderson Ranch Arts Center, located in Snowmass Village near Aspen, Colorado, is a professional studio environment designed to support immersive artistic practice across a wide range of media. The space provides dedicated work areas, natural light, and technical infrastructure for artists working in oil, acrylic, watercolor, mixed media, and drawing.

Interested in enrolling? Explore the full schedule of Painting & Drawing workshops at Anderson Ranch.

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.

Don’t know where to start? View the skill levels for Painting and Drawing workshops.

Anderson Ranch Arts Center is a historic, rustic campus that features gravel pathways and uneven terrain that may pose challenges for individuals using wheelchairs or other mobility devices. We strive to provide accommodations to ensure all guests can access and enjoy our programs and facilities. With advance notice, our staff can offer personalized assistance and coordinate access to studios and campus spaces. For questions or to request an accommodation, please contact us at (970) 923-3181 or [email protected].

Learn More

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.

Learn More

You Might Also Be Interested In

abstract landscape painting workshop exploring imagined environments and expressive space
  • II

    Level II

    Students have basic knowledge of 2-­D art making including form, negative space, value and line.

  • 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.

Jun 8 - 12, 2026
9 AM - 5 PM

Abstraction: The Imagined Landscape

Steven Yazzie

Tuition $1,295
Code D0204-26

This dynamic abstract painting workshop invites intermediate painters to work from their experience of the natural world as their source material. The workshop begins with creating sketches as subject matter to build upon to create paintings. Students focus on their natural inclinations and responses to their natural environment and find ways to translate them into an abstract and unique painting language. The rule of engagement for this workshop is to learn to work from instinct and memory, rather than photographic or other digital sources. Participants explore personal mark-making to archive an experience of their environment, pulling out unexpected motifs and patterns, while exploring the space between representation, abstraction, and the subconscious.

Learn More

narrative painting workshop exploring symbolism and visual storytelling
  • 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.

Jun 8 - 12, 2026
9 AM - 5 PM

Painting: The Silent Narrator

Matt Bollinger

Tuition $1,295
Code D0205-26

This rigorous acrylic painting workshop guides students through a series of process-based material explorations in order to develop narrative content with a distinct tie to a personal visual vocabulary. Chance processes and experimental games allow for stories to emerge from the painting process. We explore many strategies such as rorschaching, model-making, and reenactment as a means to translate ideas, images, and narratives into visual forms. Each participant develops an archive of sources and references. Students discover the unique ways that paintings tell stories while developing a personal language through material exploration and play.

Learn More

figure painting in oil workshop focused on anatomy and expressive form
  • I

    Level I

    Students have very limited experience or none at all. Classes usually start with a full day of basic instruction.

  • II

    Level II

    Students have basic knowledge of 2-­D art making including form, negative space, value and line.

Jun 15 - 19, 2026
9 AM - 5 PM

Painting the Figure in Oil

Julie Burleigh

Tuition $1,295
Code D0307-26

In this workshop, students engage in one of the most interesting and challenging pursuits in representational painting: working with the figure. From color mixing exercises to studies of proportion and composition, we learn to represent the figure quickly and convincingly with oil paint. Further emphasis on paint handling and brush work helps hone basic oil painting techniques. In addition to painting from a model, students are guided to create engaging and expressive self-portraits. Even with no past experience, students come away from this workshop with a heightened understanding and skill of this popular but often challenging genre.

Learn More

Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Tell us what you're interested in!