Scottsdale Artists' School

04/23/2025

Art History Lecture Series with Anne Connor: Biographies

May 6

The in-person and online lecture on the biography of Paul Cézanne will take place 10am - 11:30.

Admission $10

04/21/2025

Watercolor Portraits from Life

Annette Smith

May 21 - 23

In this three-day class Annette will share with students her method of painting expressive watercolor portraits from a live model. Each morning will begin with a demo starting with the drawing and a brief review of basic head construction. After the drawing, Annette will develop the painting explaining her use of color, mixing flesh-tones, value, expressive brushwork and controlling edges. The class will focus on painting in stages, beginning with a block-in wash and slowly building form and light with successive watercolor glazes bringing the painting to completion. There will be plenty of individual instruction and practice time for students. This class is geared towards sharpening drawing skills, coloring outside the lines, and painting expressively in watercolor.

Register: https://www.scottsdaleartschool.org/events/274/

04/18/2025

Our Youth Academy and Sister Cities is proud to present:

Young Artist & Author Showcase 2025

“Friendship: The Heartbeat of Global Peace”

Scottsdale Public Library- Civic Center Branch Auditorium 📍
April 19 🗓️
1:30 - 3:00pm 🕧

Photo #1: “Reflection” Acrylic on Fabric and Canvas, by Aisha Aliniazee

Photo #2: “Sisters Born Under Different Stars” by Harper Helfman is made of Felted Unspun Fibers

Join us for this memorable, fun-filled event!

04/17/2025

Art History Lectures by Anne Connor will continue, Tuesday April 22nd

Visit our website to view the entire schedule. Classes available in person and online 💻

04/15/2025

Join us for Mike Garcia’s Strategies for Figure Painting workshop Friday through Saturday (April 25 - 26)

Scholarships available ✅

Register: https://www.scottsdaleartschool.org/events/40/

04/11/2025

Youth Academy: Paint Studio

Ages: 12 - 17

April 16 - May 14

Explore the fun and fabulous Spring Season with wonderful watercolors, bold gouaches, and amazing acrylics! We will practice drawing and design skills and deep dive into color palettes, color mixing, values and tones.

Register: https://www.scottsdaleartschool.org/events/300/

Scholarships available ✅

04/09/2025

New Youth Academy Class Announcement 🖌️

Drawing Studio | Ages: 9 - 14 April 16 - May 14 Explore the fun and fabulous Spring Season with colorful drawing mediums: pastel, oil pastel, color pencil and pencil. We will practice drawing and design skills and deep dive into color palettes, contrast, values and tones.

04/09/2025

Doing our part to contribute beauty to our community:

We partnered with Scottsdale Sister Cities and Scottsdale Garden Club for the Mustang Library’s art competition 🎨🖌️

The Art themes revolved around the eight sister cities of Scottsdale and we are grateful to have received acknowledgement for our help with the logo design (by Cindy) and “Flowers of Sister Cities” posters design (Sandy). Our educational display “Planting seeds for Global Friendships” Interactive Game received an audience participation award and the garden club extended their deepest appreciation by planning to visit our school as a group next year.

04/09/2025

Need a May-cation?

May I suggest a scholarship opportunity for the following workshops next month?

Big Cat Intensive
Guy Combes
May 5 - 9

The Business of Art
Andrew Denman
May 12 - 14

Simple Perspective for Landscape and Cityscape Paintings
Rob Adamson
May 12 - 15

Apply today: https://www.scottsdaleartschool.org/about/apply/

04/08/2025

Simplifying the Figurative Subject

Robert Lemler

ONLINE on ZOOM | 3 Mondays May 12, 19, 26 2025 10am - 1pm Arizona Time (MST) | recording will be available after the class for two months

Painting and drawing the figurative subject from life is a challenging and rewarding practice. Thru lectures and demonstrations, I will share principles, concepts and suggestions regarding procedures when painting or drawing from life. While my demonstrations will be painted in oil, the information applies to all mediums.
DAY ONE - SHAPE AND TONE VALUES
I will share a simplified concept of figurative anatomy, emphasizing proportion and gesture. Considerations regarding the organization of tonal values and shadow edge relationships will be addressed. I will also share my enthusiasm for gesture drawing and discuss its value when working from life. I will be working from photographic references of the standing n**e figure.

Register: https://www.scottsdaleartschool.org/events/192/

04/07/2025

https://posts.gle/3pd8kg

New Yourh Academy Class 🤩

Scholarships available ✅

Art Adventure | Ages: 7 -11 April 15 - May 13 Program Description Think outside the paper box and discover methods, mediums & styles in this hands-on, creative adventure class! Learn how to fuse natural, found, and recycled objects with traditional techniques to express your artistic style. Projects...

04/07/2025

When a surprise guest model appears during Milt Kobayashi’s demo of Ellie and falls asleep on the job 🐾🎨🖌

04/07/2025

Our latest newsletter is about the contrasts between painting outdoors and in the studio. Learn how each environment influences color perception and artistic expression. By understanding these dynamics, artists can enhance their skills and deepen their connection to nature's palette. Join us in making a positive impact through art and collaboration.

https://conta.cc/4ljvYVJ

Email from Scottsdale Artists' School Read our latest Newsletter and register for one of our upcoming workshops ARTFUL NEWSLETTER & UPCOMING EVENTS   Painting Natural Colors Outdoors Versus In the Stu

04/04/2025

Painting Methods for Photorealism

John Schieffer

ONLINE on Zoom | 3 Wednesdays - May 7,14,21 2025 | 10am-1pm Arizona Time | recording will be available for 2 months

In this class I will be teaching some of my painting methods I have found essential over the years. Covered topics will include board surface prep, drawing techniques and materials, importance of values and color, designing a still life and composing with light, and painting techniques.
The first class will focus on board preparation, gesso, designing your image, and how to use graphite and white charcoal to create a full gradation drawing to paint on top of.
Second class will be order of operations in painting. Tools I use and techniques.
Third class will be finishing up and final touches and discussing varnish. At the end of each class will be a critique for those who want it.

Register: https://www.scottsdaleartschool.org/events/184/

04/02/2025

Designing a Portrait

Vadim Suvorov

May 6 - 20

ONLINE on Zoom | 3 Tuesdays – May 6, 13, 20 | 10am-1pm Arizona Time | recording available for 2 months
Camille Pissarro said: “Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing. Everything is beautiful, all that matters is to be able to interpret. “
One central feature of the aesthetic experience is the ability to arouse emotions in the viewer: joy, pleasure, awe, etc. In other words, good art should not leave us cold. When we connect with a painting, we often experience complex, valuable, and intense feelings.
This class, by renowned artist Vadim Suvorov, shows art students how to make these deep connections by combining the artist’s emotions and conceptual associations with their technical knowledge: mastery of compositional constructions, drawing and knowledge of painting principles.
On our first meeting we will discuss composition, Vadim will demonstrate using tablet how he plans and composes a painting. Second week will focus on creating a drawing and anatomical structure of a human face and the final week – painting.

Register: https://www.scottsdaleartschool.org/events/191/

04/01/2025

Ink,Brush, Paper

Simon Kogan

May 4 - 18

Online on Zoom | 3 Sundays May 4th, 11th and 18th 2025 | 10am-1pm Arizona Time | recording available for 2 months after the class

For thousands of years, the Chinese developed three interdependent ingredients: ink, brush, and paper.
This class is not about Chinese painting or calligraphy.
I will share the principles and my experience of learning and using the triad as a tool, not an imitation of Chinese examples.
How do Chinese brushes differ from European brushes?
What is unique about Chinese papers?
What makes Chinese ink distinctive?
How are the three ingredients interdependent?

Register: https://www.scottsdaleartschool.org/events/86/

03/31/2025

Fundamentals of a Portrait

Remelle Tanhueco

May 9 - 10

This class will go over the fundamentals of painting with emphasis on portrait. Students will learn how to paint form and capture the essence of the sitter. The focus will be on simplification by minimal use of values and using a variety of edges to create form. The methods used in the class can also be used in painting most subject matter. Personalized and individual critiques will take place while the model is posing, to ensure feedback. Remelle will go over techniques and methods on how to paint from life.

Register: https://www.scottsdaleartschool.org/events/373/