Painting & Drawing
Code: D1532-24
-
II
Level II
Students have basic knowledge of 2-D art making including form, negative space, value and line.
Watercolor: Abstract Leaves
Sep 9 - 13, 2024
9AM - 5PM
Concept
This workshop invites students to find the balance between spontaneity and control within the watercolor medium. Students explore the evolution of abstract form from the observed reality of a singular leaf or a group of leaves. Each student completes a series of work that explores one central subject, focusing on the line, color, structure, and form of leaves. Various experimental techniques and tools that can be utilized to create a finished painting are demonstrated. Activities include presentations of visual images, discussions of abstract painting, and student-instructor consultations.
Media & Techniques
Watercolor, drawing, abstractions, color mixing, design, composition
Supply ListFaculty
Jan Heaton
Jan Heaton is a professional watercolor artist. Her paintings celebrate nature, and then abstractly reach beyond the obvious. Art dealers and galleries in Austin, San Francisco, San Antonio, and Atlanta represent her work. In the classroom, Heaton believes all students are individuals with their own story and library of inspiration. Her teaching methods are formed by her belief that everyone learns and makes art in their own way.
Jan Heaton, Magnolia Leaves
Join Waitlist for Watercolor: Abstract Leaves
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].
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.
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.
Jun 23 - 27, 2025
9AM-5PM
Master Class: Inquiries into Subject Matter, Narrative and Formal Concerns
Becky Suss
Tuition $1,415
Code D0409-25
In this master class workshop for advanced painters, participants come prepared to work on paintings of their choice. If they are unsure of what subject matter they would like to tackle, they may bring a personal object, writing, or photograph as a point of departure to explore their own personal narrative. There are several optional readings that range from fiction to science writing along with an image lecture and a short screening. The majority of class time is spent as studio time along with several group discussions, critiques, and individual meetings with the instructor.
-
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 23 - 27, 2025
9AM-5PM
Accessing the Abstract
Rema Ghuloum
Tuition $1,415
Code D0408-25
In this rigorous and productive painting course, we explore the generative elements of our individual and shared visual language as it relates to abstract painting. Through daily assignments, prompts, and a series of one-on-one and group critiques, we focus on how to access our inherent intentions in regards to mark making, brushwork, and color and build on our ideas. Students interested in exploring the emotive qualities of paint and/or the desire to delve into abstraction in their paintings are also welcome to use meditation as a tool. With these exercises, we cultivate our work alongside each other and hone our language to constructively conceive of and discuss our varying artistic processes—and what inspires our work to develop.
-
O
Open to All
Students of any skill and knowledge level.
Jun 30 - Jul 4, 2025
9AM-5PM
From Plein-Air to the Studio: Landscape and Figure
Esteban Cabeza de Baca & Heidi Howard
Tuition $1,415
Code D0511-25
Explore today’s challenges in painting through observational exploration merged with abstract gestures and material experimentation. This exciting workshop takes place both outside and in the painting classroom. Students focus on smaller works outdoors, then enter the studio to translate them into larger works as they incorporate abstraction and color theory as well as various acrylic painting techniques. Students also get the chance to explore the figure and its place within the pictorial landscape by working from a live model. The focus is primarily live observation, with an exploratory approach to the practice of painting through material experimentation and dyeing of canvas as ways to build space and richness.