Helen Frankenthaler (1928 – 2011) was an abstract expressionist painter who spent summers in Provincetown. Her contributions to modern art include introducing color field painting to her contemporaries and continuing to influence future generations, including ours. You will work from a model, with exercises that reveal how color, use of materials and memory can be incorporated into working from life.

This painting Intensive is about making abstractly expressive brushwork, shapes, forms, lines, and colors working from a model. The day begins with a visual presentation of Willem de Kooning and Grace Hartigan to understand the foundation of abstract expressionism through the lens of the figure as subject matter. When the model arrives, we will begin by drawing with charcoal on a 24 x 18-inch sketchpad to warm up. Then, we will alternate between two different long poses.

Students will work on two or more paintings simultaneously with a break for lunch and group critique. As the day continues, you will become more present and immediate with paint, gaining a deeper relationship to the material as well as how it is applied. A follow up online affirming and insightful critique on Zoom with Alana Barrett will complete the workshop.

Join Sam Sewell and Laura Shabott for an open life figure drawing session from the comfort of your home. There will be a group of warm up poses. Attending artists will vote on a long pose or a series of short poses. Laura will monitor and look at drawings for quick feedback during breaks for those who request it.

Master Teacher Hans Hofmann’s theory of push/pull is the catalyst for two generations of Abstract Expressionists in both New York and Provincetown from 1938 to 1957. Artists and educators Laura Shabott and Alana Barrett contemporize his theory in this course.

The 1-day workshop begins with a lecture about Hofmann and his students, moving into guided exercises with a model as our prompt. Artists will leave with a deeper understanding of how their lines, shapes, and compositions push and pull on a two-dimensional surface. A one-hour online critique in a scheduled group Zoom meeting will complete the course in an insightful and inspiring way (scheduled after the workshop).

A critique of two works each by students and former students of Laura Shabott and Alana Barrett will be held outdoors at Edgewood Farm in a guided discourse designed to enliven, elevate and engage. Up to twenty. Students in Painting in Nature will attend as part of their course.

Guggenheim Fellow Lester Johnson (1919-2010) exhibited at Provincetown’s Sun Gallery (1954-60), and created bold figurative work worth noting and unpacking in order to learn his approach to drawing and painting the human form.

Our course begins with a presentation of works from PAAM’s collection by Lester Johnson and his association with the Sun Gallery. When the model arrives online, we continue with three hours of drawing and painting exercises that embody and demonstrate the impasto and drip techniques employed by Johnson.

Guggenheim Fellow and Hofmann student Robert Beauchamp (1923-1995) approached his paintings with a highly original response to figurative expression.

His compelling, dream-like paintings curated from PAAM’s collection will be the focus of our opening presentation, where we examine the artist’s sense of composition, palette, and subject matter. When the model joins us online, we draw and paint for three hours through process-driven exercises so that you learn how to create abstracted figurative tableaus.

Hofmann’s theory of push/pull is best understood when working from life.

You will draw and paint the model through exercises that reveal how line, space, color, form, and composition move on paper or canvas. Though it sounds simple, push/pull is fundamental to understanding modern art and how to draw and paint.

Hofmann’s school created two generations of Abstract Expressionists and the Bay Area Figurative Art movement was a direct reaction and rebellion to AbEX. Our course begins with a lecture of the work of David Parks, Joan Brown, Manuel Neri, and others. Exercises with a model will show you the elements of this art movement through two and half hours of drawing and painting with a break for lunch. Each artist, no matter what your level of experience, will learn the possibility of abstracting the figure directly with the paint, a wonderful discovery and very freeing.

Matisse (1869–1954) revolutionized how we respond to the figure in paint so completely that students will see his influence in contemporary artists, and themselves. The course begins with a lecture on Matisse’s interiors of saturated color, and graphic stylization with his cutouts. We will use a series of exercises that give artists an experiential understanding of Matisse's principles.

Hofmann’s theory of pushing and pulling a composition on a two-dimensional surface is best understood when drawing from life with charcoal on paper. We will work using guided exercises that demonstrate this fundamental principle and how it is integral to understanding modern art. This course begins with a lecture on Hofmann’s push/pull theory by viewing the work of his students and continues with two and half hours of drawing with a break for lunch. Each artist, no matter what your level of experience, will leave with a deeper understanding of how you respond to the figure in your art.

In this one day virtual workshop, students will learn the basic essentials of how to stretch their own canvases and prepare them with gesso. Stretching and gessoing are essential skills to have as an artist, as it not only intimately connects you with your painting surfaces, but is also a cost effective way to paint. On Zoom, Alana will walk you step-by-step through the process of stretching and preparing your canvas, and will answer any specific questions or concerns that come up as the class is working.

Hofmann’s theory of pushing and pulling a composition on a two-dimensional surface is best understood when working from life. The course begins with a lecture on Hofmann’s push/pull theory by viewing his work and his students’ work (Search for the Real) in the PAAM collection. You will draw to warm up through guided exercise, real-time critique and affirming feedback. Each artist, no matter what their level of experience, will leave with a direct experience of the natural law of push/pull and how it shaped modern art; and, how it will shape you.

The course begins with a lecture on Matisse’s interiors of saturated color, and graphic stylization with his cutouts. We will work from a model, with exercises presented by Laura Shabott and Alana Barrett that evoke the principles used in Matisse’s work. A model will start with a series of gesture drawings, move to two longer poses and then to a final pose for the remainder of the day.

In this online course, you will learn about one of the most influential art schools/movements of the 20th century: the Bauhaus. The class will start with a lecture that explores four crucial areas of the Bauhaus: Theatre, Furniture Design, Textiles and 2D Design. Then, you will respond to the work that we studied with your own paintings and collages. You will be encouraged to borrow from the Bauhaus aesthetic, while still adding in your own personal artistic voice and style. Student work will be critiqued in an engaging and thoughtful group setting at the end of class.

What are the elements of drawing and painting that create delicacy and intimacy? Working from a model allows us to explore how a variety of lines combined with the unexpected nature of watercolor or gouache brings a new and fresh relationship to drawing and painting the figure.