Matt DeProspero leads a series of 3 hour painting demonstrations and discussions exploring the essential building blocks that make a successful painting. (See individual Demo descriptions below for more details)

Sessions are Wednesdays from 1:00pm to 4:00pm

Week 1, March 27: Focus on Color 

Week 2, April 3: Focus on Values & Edges

Week 3, April 10: Focus on Design & Composition

Week 4, April 17: Focus on Materials & Techniques

Week 5, April 24: Focus on Portraits: Achieving a Likeness

Small class size allows for open discussion and participation from students. Painting reference photos will be shared so that students may work on their own version and receive personalized feedback after the session.

Focus on Color: A live painting demonstration exploring the various ways of using color to bring a sense of light and atmosphere to your paintings!

Color is one of the basic elements in art but can also be one of its most complex, considering the vast array of pigments available to painters today. Some artists become overwhelmed with the endless color choices and have a hard time knowing how or where to start. We will examine various limited color palettes and mixing techniques to give your paintings more complexity and depth. We'll discuss utilizing warm and cool color relationships, as well as using complementary pigments to tone down and mute colors without simply adding black or earth tones, which can take the life out of a painting. If you've ever wanted to achieve a sense of light and atmosphere in your paintings without getting muddy or chalky colors, then this workshop is for you.

Focus on Values & Edges: A live painting demonstration exploring the importance of using Values & Edges to help create a sense of depth and focus in your paintings!

They say that color in a painting gets all the credit while values do all the work. In this demo we will explore why value is so important to creating a sense of realism within your painting. If you're having trouble achieving depth and atmosphere in your work then learning to control your tonal values and edges is essential.

Focus on Design & Composition: A live painting demonstration exploring the use of Design & Composition to help you create impact and interest in your paintings!

Design is probably the most important aspect of a good painting. Regardless of the subject matter, whether abstract or representational, if a painting does not have a solid foundation in compostition and design it will probably not be successful. Learn the essential guidelines for starting off your painting with good design.

Focus on Materials & Techniques: A live demonstration exploring the use of various paint application tools and techniques to help bring complexity and nuance to your paintings!

Oil paint is such a versatile medium that many painters only ever scratch the surface of its capabilities and possibilties. This demo will explore different tools and techniques for applying and manipulating the paint in order to create interesting effects and textures. Add spontaneity and a little bit of unpredictability to your paintings to achieve a more layered and nuanced effect.

Focus on Portraits: A live painting demonstration exploring the essential portrait techniques that will help you capture a likeness and convey emotion in your paintings!

Painting faces can seem like a daunting and intimidating endeavor but it really isn't any different than painting a flower or piece of fruit, but accurate drawing is the key achieving a likeness from your subject. This demo will show you how to choose the proper portrait reference image and help get your proportions and facial features right from the beginning to ensure a successful painting. We will look at some of the essential "rules" of constructing the head in paint and work with different limited color palettes and lighting configurations to create varied moods within the portrait.