New Fall Class at Pratt

The following class is now open for registration. Sign up soon!

Drawing and Dialogue with the Masters

Ever have a baffling visit to a museum or gallery? Get on familar terms with famous artists as you learn what to look for in their work AND how to talk about it with confidence in this hands-on art appreciation and drawing class. We interpret paintings, drawings, and sculpture from Michelangelo to Matisse using graphite, charcoal, ink, and colored pencil, then share our discoveries with one another in open discussions. Feel your confidence grow as you learn to see, use, and verbalize the concepts that build a work of art, including negative space, light and shadow, color, and composition, as well as mood, concept and viewpoint. We develop a vocabulary of art terms and practice using it in a fun and active environment. Class culminates with a visit to the Frye Art Museum.

10am - 1pm, 9/21 - 10/26
Number of Sessions: 6
Course Fee: $160

Pratt Fine Arts Center



Julia Hensley
Velazquez/Infanta Study 2
Graphite on paper
4 x 5 1/2"
2005





Diego Rodriquez de Silva y Velazquez
Maria Teresa Infanta of Spain
1561-1654
Oil on canvas
12 7/8 x 15 1/8"
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Here are answers to some questions about this class from students. Let me know if you have others.

Q: "Master artists" - does that mean I have to be an advanced student?

A: No. The master artists are the ones we will be studying. The class is open to all.

Q: If we are "interpreting" does that mean I have to already have a "style"?

A: No, though you may find the class helps you uncover and explore personal ways of working. In making our own study of a work by another artist, we first learn how the work is designed. But we break free of the original and make the work our own by learning how to make variations on the theme and use it as a creative springboard.

Q: Will this class help me in my own work?

A: Absolutely. The class is designed to strengthen your drawing and creative skills. It also aims to give you a language for analyzing other artists' work that can equally be applied to your own.