Scottsdale Artists’ School offers weekly classes and workshops for everyone from the absolute beginner to the professional artist. The School’s programs are taught by working, professional artists who are also experienced instructors.
We just wanted to remind you that we are constantly working to update our programs on a daily basis. We invite you to check back frequently so that you don't miss out on any of our exciting new workshops and catalog announcements.
Upcoming
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Painting the Dog as Fine Art
Johanne Mangi I Workshop I Oil Feb 24 - 27, 2025 A teacher’s teacher, Johanne brings innovative ways to learning with fresh ideas every year that adhere to basic principles. There are plenty of demos (as many as you like) to... Read more -
Radiant Acrylic Landscapes
Jed Dorsey | Workshop | Acrylic Feb 24 - 27, 2025 Through this workshop, you will discover how to use color and light effectively to create dynamic, well-designed paintings. Filled with practical exercises, presentations, and demonstrations, you'll be given tools to... Read more -
Drawing from Life
Juliette Aristides | Workshop | Drawing Feb 28 - Mar 2, 2025 The nude is the most enduring subject in art. When we draw the human form, we reflect on ourselves. In this workshop you will learn how beautiful figure drawings are... Read more -
The Figure in Oil: In Studio and Plein Air
Peggi Kroll Roberts | Workshop | Oil Mar 3 - 7, 2025 In this workshop, the figure will be the subject matter; however, the focus will be on improving drawing skills and seeing values and colors correctly, along with understanding their relationships... Read more
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Organizing a Dynamic Composition
Shanna Kunz I Workshop I Oil Mar 3 - 6, 2025 What do you get when you take a workshop with Shanna? In our workshop, we are going to explore compositional design and color decisions in studio painting. Some experience with... Read more -
Painting the Still Life with a Strong Light and Shadow Concept
Elizabeth Robbins I Workshop I Oil Mar 3 - 6, 2025 In this workshop, Elizabeth will discuss the concept of painting strong light and shadows, along with painting with emotion and not just copying what is seen. Elizabeth will do daily... Read more -
Deep Dive: Color
David Michael Slonim I Workshop I Oil, Acrylic or Watercolor Mar 3 - 7, 2025 This workshop unlocks secrets of color structure to enable you to paint with more freedom and confidence. “Painting from the heart” is not enough. To become a work of art,... Read more -
Painting Hands
Shana Levenson I Workshop I Oil Mar 7 - 9, 2025 Color, structure, values...so many aspects to painting a hand that can be captured to make convincing realistic hands. Come learn how to create realistic hands in Shana's hand painting workshop.... Read more
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Dramatic Wildlife Painting
Dustin Van Wechel I Workshop I Oil Mar 10 - 14, 2025 Join this intensive, five-day workshop and discover approaches and techniques for creating dynamic wildlife paintings. Beginning with an abbreviated lecture on the principles of design and composition and the fundamentals... Read more -
Paint with an Understanding of the Masters
Robert Johnson I Workshop I Oil Mar 10 - 14, 2025 Robert Johnson is an OPA Master. His workshop in oils will focus on developing an understanding of the essential elements of painting that have been passed on through the centuries... Read more -
Investigating the Modern Portrait
David Jon Kassan I Workshop I Oil Mar 10 - 14, 2025 The focus of this workshop will be investigating the underlying rhythm, expression, and emotion of the modern portrait. Students will work to develop clarity of vision essential for accurate observation;... Read more -
Painting the Old West: Tucson, Arizona
Phil Starke I Off-Site I Workshop I Oil Mar 10 - 14, 2025 Phil Starke’s focus will be on helping students simplify the landscape and mix colors that suggest light, not detail. Two of the most important aspects of painting are a strong... Read more
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Alla Prima: Painting the Portrait and Figure from Life
Romel de la Torre I Workshop I Oil or Pastel Mar 17 - 21, 2025 Romel will demonstrate every morning using Alla Prima (a style of painting where, instead of building colors up with layers or glazing over an underpainting, the painting is completed while... Read more -
Sculpting the Truth
Simon Kogan I Workshop I Water Based Clay Mar 17 - 21, 2025 During this workshop, students will go beyond the obvious and uncover the essence of the human form. Students will learn how to look, see, and understand the human form in... Read more -
Logic of Painting
Regina Lyubovnaya | Workshop | Oil Mar 24 - 28, 2025 In this five-day course, students will approach still-life and portrait painting not from the perspective of technique or dogma, but from a multiplicity of choices. Our focus will be on... Read more -
Painting the Portrait in Watercolor
Stan Miller | Workshop | Watercolor Mar 24 - 27, 2025 In this workshop the instructor will briefly demonstrate every morning. Students will primarily work from instructor handouts, moving from painting a simple portrait to more complex portrait projects, throughout the... Read more
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Power of Expressive Brushstrokes and Mark Making!
Hsin-Yao Tseng I Workshop I Oil Mar 24 - 28, 2025 This five-day workshop is particularly designed for anyone who wants to learn how to paint expressive yet energetic paintings. We will be focusing on exploring different mark making, textures, and... Read more -
The Figure and Color
Steven Assael I Workshop I Oil Mar 26 - 29, 2025 This workshop will focus on an analytical and emotive approach to painting the human figure with an emphasis on color and value relationships in a related atmosphere. The development of... Read more -
Bridging the Classical and Modern
Timothy Rees | Workshop | Oil Mar 28 - 30, 2025 Explore the future of figure painting by learning to paint classically realistic figures while learning to marry them seamlessly with abstract design. Working from a model, Timothy Rees will demonstrate... Read more -
Seeing and Capturing Your Subject
Mitch Baird I Workshop I Oil or Acrylic Mar 31 - Apr 4, 2025 What does the act of 'seeing' mean for an artist? Discover the answers in this workshop as the specifics of observing a subject, interpreting the visual elements, and executing it... Read more
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Equine Painting
Chauncey Homer | Workshop | Oil Mar 31 - Apr 4, 2025 This five-day workshop is designed to improve painting skills and help the student develop a personal style. Mr. Homer will demonstrate how to go beyond merely copying a photo by... Read more -
Think Like a Painter: Still Life/Portrait
Aimee Erickson | Workshop | Oil Mar 31 - Apr 4, 2025 In nature, light reveals color. In painting, color reveals light. Learning to understand lighting phenomena gives us more freedom in choosing how we paint what we see, rather than having... Read more -
Figurative Painting Composition
Louis Carr I Workshop I 4 Days I Oil Mar 31 - Apr 3, 2025 Join Louis, a seasoned artist, for an in-depth exploration of the art of figurative painting composition. Delve into the key principles of effective composition, including the interplay of positive and... Read more -
Color Mixing in Oil
Adrian Gottlieb | Workshop | Oil Apr 7 - 10, 2025 Portrait and figure painter Adrian Gottlieb instructs a comprehensive four day course in mixing colors in order to perfectly match any color, with emphasis on flesh tones. The goal of... Read more
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Aesthetic Tools for Landscape Design
Jill Carver | Workshop | Oil Apr 7 - 11, 2025 Jill will discuss concepts and techniques aimed to resolve and strengthen motifs and improve design, from initial ‘thought boards’ to actual planning methods. She will illustrate how unity and variety... Read more -
Secrets to Painting Edges
Tina Garrett I Workshop I Oil Apr 7 - 11, 2025 Join ARC Living Master Artist Tina Garrett for this five-day comprehensive study of edges and mark-making. Students will learn the role edges play in composition, how to create and use... Read more -
Figurative Painting I First Week
Milt Kobayashi | Workshop | Oil Apr 7 - 11, 2025 Milt Kobayashi will take students through the arc of an oil painting, dealing with the problems that will arise, embracing alternative solutions, and exploring tangential ideas as they present themselves.... Read more -
Figurative Painting I Week 1 & 2
Milt Kobayashi I Workshop I Oil Apr 7 - 18, 2025 Milt Kobayashi will take students through the arc of an oil painting, dealing with the problems that will arise, embracing alternative solutions, and exploring tangential ideas as they present themselves.... Read more
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Landscape with Mark Boedges
Mark Boedges | Workshop | Oil Apr 14 - 18, 2025 This workshop will focus primarily on giving students the tools to render authentic light by carefully using correct values and rigorously maintaining color temperature relationships between light and shadow. We... Read more -
Figurative Painting I Second Week
Milt Kobayashi I Workshop I 5 Days Apr 14 - 18, 2025 Milt Kobayashi will take students through the arc of an oil painting, dealing with the problems that will arise, embracing alternative solutions, and exploring tangential ideas as they present themselves.... Read more -
Sketches to Finished Painting
Stacy Kamin I Workshop I Watercolor & Oil Apr 14 - 17, 2025 Ever planned an overseas trip and been inspired to paint, but the thought of packing oil paints and canvases seemed daunting? Stacy Kamin has the solution. For years Stacy has... Read more -
Modeling the Horse and Other Animals
Rod Zullo I Workshop I Oil Based Clay Apr 14 - 17, 2025 Rod is known for his expressive animal sculptures based on solid proportions, but not derived from extensive measuring. Students will learn Rod’s techniques for modeling hearts and souls into their... Read more
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The Figure in its Environment
Margaret Dyer | Workshop | Pastel or Oil Apr 21 - 24, 2025 Margaret's step-by-step method will help the student simplify the complicated. Students will explore drawing, composition, anatomy, proportion, value, color and medium application. Emphasis will be on the model's relationship to... Read more -
Portrait and Figure: Drawing and Alla Prima
Robert Liberace I Workshop I Oil Apr 21 - 25, 2025 This class will explore both the organized and elegant manner of classical drawing, and the dynamic, fresh approach of contemporary Alla Prima painting. Though each style has a distinctive character,... Read more -
Luminous Paintings in Watercolor
Betty Carr I Workshop I Acrylic & Watercolor Apr 21 - 23, 2025 Capturing the beauty of light through the study of light/ shadow and value/color relationships is a goal for this workshop in watercolor. Subjects include painting a colorful floral still life... Read more -
Painting with Gouache and Acrylic Gouache
Mike Hernandez | Workshop | Gouache Apr 24 - 26, 2025 A strong understanding of natural color and lighting is an important asset to any environment artist or fine art painter. Among the challenges of outdoor painting, desert scenes with rock... Read more
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Loose Realism: Painting the Still Life
Sarah Sedwick I Workshop I Oil or Acrylic Apr 24 - 26, 2025 Paint more loosely and confidently during this workshop with Oregon artist Sarah Sedwick! Take a step-by-step approach to alla prima oil painting, from black-and-white studies to brilliant color. Build a... Read more -
Birds in Sculpture
Sandy Scott | Workshop | Oil Based Clay Apr 28 - May 2, 2025 The class begins with a discussion of bird anatomy, comparative anatomy, the principles of aerodynamics, the importance of drawing and assembling shapes, and how to achieve the illusion of movement... Read more -
Expressive Portrait Mastery
Zin Lim | Workshop I Oil and Charcoal Apr 28 - May 2, 2025 Day one and two will focus on expressive head drawing. Discover the dynamics of expression through Drawing. Dive into the world of expressive drawing with renowned artist Zin Lim, who... Read more -
Harmony and the Landscape
Cindy Baron I Workshop | Oil Apr 28 - May 1, 2025 his four-day workshop is loaded with enthusiasm and energy. The workshop is designed to show how to take a tonal painting and build layers of color and harmonize in an... Read more
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Creating Form with Color in Portrait
Victoria Kalaichi I Denis Sarazhin I Workshop I Oil Apr 28 - May 2, 2025 Have you ever wondered why certain paintings sell, while others languish in obscurity? What makes a great portrait? What does it take to capture the essence of someone and translate... Read more -
Painting Confident Watercolors!
Mike Kowalski | Workshop | Watercolor May 5 - 8, 2025 Watercolor is an alluring, elusive and difficult medium. Knowing how to effectively mix color, how to use your brush to maximum effect and make it all look so effortless requires... Read more -
Big Cat Intensive
Guy Combes | Workshop | Oil May 5 - 9, 2025 Endangered big cats of the world have always held a particular fascination for Guy Combes, and in this workshop, he returns to share his interest in painting them. Having grown... Read more -
Impressionistic Insights: Mastering Loose Oil Techniques
Jake Songer I Workshop I Oil May 5 - 8, 2025 This course invites you to explore the vibrant world of impressionistic figures, where light, shadow, and fluid brushwork come to life on canvas. Guided by a humorous and experienced instructor,... Read more
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Simple Perspective for Landscape and Cityscape Paintings
Rob Adamson | Workshop | Oil May 5 - 8, 2025 Award-winning artist and art professor, Rob Adamson, will teach a four-day workshop on the painting fundamentals needed to create stunning, vibrant day and night cityscapes and landscapes. On the first... Read more -
More Dynamic Studio and Plein Air Works
Susie Hyer I Workshop I Oil May 12 - 15, 2025 Working in the studio from photos or with still life, this class will take your painting to another level. Susie Hyer’s enthusiastic teaching style includes demos, critiques, and individual attention,... Read more -
The Business of Art
Andrew Denman I Workshop I Art Business May 12 - 14, 2025 This three-day workshop is designed to introduce you to what it takes to make a living from your art. Because of the nature of the material, this class will operate... Read more -
Painting the Head from Life
David Gray | Workshop | Oil May 12 - 16, 2025 In this workshop, David will take you through his classically inspired approach to painting the head/portrait. All four stages of his four-step process will be covered, including underdrawing, underpainting, overpainting,... Read more
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Painting the Figure from Photographs
Ted Nuttall | Workshop | Watercolor May 12 - 16, 2025 Although painting a person in watercolor may seem daunting, it is every bit as approachable as creating a still life or landscape. Ted Nuttall will demonstrate the techniques and instill... Read more -
Design: Field to Studio
David Dibble | Workshop | Oil May 15 - 17, 2025 Participants in this dynamic workshop will have the opportunity of working with and learning from celebrated landscape painter and teacher David Dibble. Through studies and visual exercises artists will get... Read more -
In-Between Realism and Abstraction in the Landscape
Chris Groves I Workshop I Oil May 19 - 23, 2025 This class will merge the knowledge of the fundamentals of classical landscape painting as a foundation, combined with the understanding of the basic principles and elements of abstraction in order... Read more -
Exploring Metals, Glass and Pattern in Painting
Nancy Chaboun I Workshop I Oil May 19 - 22, 2025 Discover ways to understand how to capture the reflective qualities of metal the translucency of glass and using pattern effectively in your painting. Perfect for all skill levels, this class... Read more
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An Approach to Figure Painting
Joseph Todorovitch | Workshop | Oil May 27 - 30, 2025 In this workshop, students will paint a figure from life over the course of four days, and discuss choices for choosing the pose, composition, color harmony, lighting, pacing, and bringing... Read more -
Plein Air Painting in Boulder, Colorado
Mark Boedges I Off-Site I Workshop I Oil Jun 23 - 27, 2025 Join Mark for a five-day intensive plein air workshop in the beautiful Rocky Mountains outside of Boulder, Colorado. Mark will take his students high into the mountains, just west of... Read more -
Plein Air Painting in Beartooth Pass, Montana
Mitch Baird | Off-Site I Workshop | Oil Jul 21 - 25, 2025 Beartooth Pass is known as the Alps of Montana because of its luscious flowering meadows, rugged rock, weathered pine and 950+ alpine lakes!! The high alpine views make for great... Read more -
Fall in the Foothills: Plein Air in Golden, Colorado
Judd Mercer | Off-site Workshop | All Mediums Sep 22 - 26, 2025 Kick off autumn in beautiful Colorado for a week of plein air across the Rocky Mountain foothills! From our starting location in charming Golden, CO, we’ll explore a different location... Read more
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Autumn Workshop in the Grand Tetons
John Hughes I Off-Site I Workshop I Oil Oct 6 - 10, 2025 THIS IS A DESTINATION WORKSHOP: Come and experience the Grand Tetons in full fall color with like-minded artists! This workshop is sure to be one of a kind with... Read more -
Making the Leap: The Fine Art of the Art Business!
Vanessa Rothe I Workshop I Art Marketing Oct 20 - 24, 2025 Do you want to 'MAKE THE LEAP' towards becoming a professional artist and to start selling your work? Are you already a professional artist who simply needs to improve your... Read more
