WITH NANCY McCARTHY

TUESDAYS

(every other week)

1-4:30 p.m.

February 24

March 10

March 24

April 7

April 21

May 5

May 19

June 2

2026

There are three main objectives in this ONLINE class:

• To identify aspects of your work that are distinct and personal, and to explore ways of strengthening them.

• To determine areas of your work that are weak, and to find ways to improve them.

• To establish a consistent, disciplined painting practice.

Creating more personal and powerful paintings will be addressed by considering the following issues: content, composition/format, color, and surface, as well as materials and craft. We will explore the aspects of painting that interest each person most: experimentation with materials, conceptual and technical approaches, or work from observation. Students will post new work, preliminary drawings, and work in progress on the Padlet each week. Class meetings will consist of discussion of participants’ work. Each student will develop a set of written goals, as well as a painting schedule. Attendance is important and participation is vital. Students are also required to research and identify their “relatives” — three artists whose painting shares common elements with their own, or what they aspire to. Those who want more direction will be given assignments tailored to their needs. Work takes place between class meetings. Meetings will be held on Zoom and work will be shared on Padlet, the online platform.

WITH JENNIFER MOSES

Five weekly meetings

Mondays

March 2

March 9

March 16

March 23

March 30

2026

11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. eastern time

“Drawing is the artist's most direct and spontaneous expression, a species of writing: it reveals, better than does painting, his true personality.”

— Edgar Degas

Painting is “an infinite well of water. You can just continuously draw out of it, and it always gives. It keeps you hydrated.”

— Oscar Murillo

ONLINE WORKSHOP

Drawing is the simplest and most direct visual form; it is the language of ideas. Painting is a step into a medium that is perhaps more mysterious because ideas are mediated by the substance of paint and the brush.

Over the span of the workshop, we will use drawing as a means for finding and developing an idea and pushing these initial inklings forward into a series of paintings. It is in the sketch that your ideas will be born, and from these nascent images you will organically develop your ideas into a fuller form.

We will begin with sketchbook prompts, touching on different art idioms: observation, abstraction, and imagination.

Through presentations, critique, and guided assignments together we will develop our analytical thinking about the union of form and content necessary to give a visual voice to an idea. Meetings will be held on Zoom and work will be shared on the Padlet platform.

WITH LUCY MacGILLIS

THREE MEETINGS

March 20-22, 2026

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Two meetings per day:

10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. eastern time

In this intensive ONLINE painting class, we'll create our own oil paint from Italian pigments. Once we've created our full earth color palette, we'll prepare gradient studies in order to better understand the colors we are working with. Next, we'll sketch a composition of lemons in our respective studios. Finally, we'll create a still life of lemons. Each of the three days will include group discussions based on the images uploaded by the participants, guided by Lucy MacGillis. Lectures on the color yellow in painting, the lemon in the history of painting and demos from MacGillis' studio in Italy will also be included. We will discuss our paintings of lemons in group discussions/critiques over zoom.

Prior to the class, participants will receive a kit from Zecchi in Florence containing Fabriano oil painting paper, the pigments of the earth palette, walnut oil, and a palette knife.

The cost of materials from Zecchi is included in the workshop fee.

WITH NANCY McCARTHY

Thursday – Sunday June 11-14, 2026

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. eastern time

IN PERSON AT BLACK POND. Trees have been a go-to subject for artists throughout history. They connect us to the earth and sky; the deep observation required to paint them enhances our connection with the natural world. Often considered a stand-in for the figure, they offer a diversity of lines and shapes that fuel our visual language. The Black Pond property includes an abundant variety of species – ash, oak, maple, pine, dogwood, and more. We will begin with charcoal drawing and move into work with color, using the medium of your choice. We will view images of tree paintings throughout history and discuss the issues, tools, and procedures unique to painting outdoors. This course is open to all levels and all mediums.

Lunch is provided each day.



WITH CATHERINE DRABKIN

Thursday, July 9 - Sunday, July 12, 2026

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

IN PERSON AT BLACK POND

What gets each of us working in the studio? 

How do we sustain ourselves? 

Where do we find inspiration? 

Philosophers from Ancient Greece to today have understood the value of play in creativity and in learning. Join us to explore and celebrate paint and color as we awaken a deeper playfulness in response to the seen world. We will experiment with how lighthearted approaches can lead to new insights, personal breakthroughs, and the strength to grow.  This hands-on workshop is designed for all levels of experience. Individualized instruction will complement group exploration of observed and evolving still life and interiors in a spacious studio. Analysis and discussion of masterpieces from the history of art will support the idea that play can be meaningful as we examine how great artists make meaning in often surprising ways. We will work from the potential of the seen world to unleash expression and develop robust personal artistic processes to exercise freedom with materials, forms, and subject. Our work together will suggest answers to the questions about studio practice above. Gouache will be a primary material, but oil or acrylic paint are also options. All levels are welcome.

Lunch will be provided. 

WITH LUCY MacGILLIS

August 5 and 6, 2026

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

IN PERSON AT BLACK POND

In this intensive two-day workshop, we will work from a still life setup, with handmade Italian earth paints. Lucy will share her joy of 'la materia' — the material of paint itself, and the grinding process of oil paint. The limited earth palette and use of palette knives will help participants improve their mixing of tones, and consider more carefully the relationships of colors. We will make several quick studies and one longer one; daily critiques will include art historical references. We will focus specifically on Cezanne's still life paintings in this class, sketching from his work as well as creating our own paintings. Some pigment will be supplied and lunch will be provided each day.

WITH TIM KENNEDY

Saturdays

September 19

September 26

October 3

October 10

October 17

2026

11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. eastern time

ONLINE WORKSHOP. If the eyes are a window to the soul, we might say an expressive head animates a painted figure. Using a direct, painterly, and tonal approach as advocated in the lectures of Charles Hawthorne; with the paintings of Edwin Dickinson and John Singer Sargent as touchstones, we will devote this workshop to painting heads in oil.

Most workshop participants will likely work with the head in the mirror – you are your most dependable model – plus the odd family member or friend willing to pose. In addition to live painting demonstrations, color strategies, limited palettes and mixing recipes will all be explored. The forms of the head will be examined through some discussion of anatomy and proportion as well as referring to contemporary and art historical examples. We will meet on Zoom and will share work on the Padlet platform. Our class meetings will occur weekly over a five week period. This will give us time to work on new paintings before we share them during the next Zoom meeting.

WITH CATHERINE KEHOE



Six meetings

Wednesdays

September 30

October 7

October 14

October 21

October 28

November 4

2026

11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. eastern time

ONLINE WORKSHOP

Photos of family (however you define it) — whether ancestors you can know only through photos, images from childhood, etc. — will be the sources for this workshop. Rather than copying photos, the goal will be to transform the images. Analyzing the photos in terms of linear relationships, shape, and value structure, and as designs in a rectangle, we will build drawings and paintings that stand on their own. Breaking down the pictorial elements through simplification and abstraction, we will ask: How much is enough? How much can be left out? Mediums will include graphite, acrylic and/or oil paint, and collage. Work will be done between meetings and posted on the Padlet for discussion. Meetings will be held on Zoom.

WITH DAVID HORNUNG

June 9-13, 2027

Five days

Wednesday - Sunday

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

IN PERSON AT BLACK POND. In this relaxed and supportive five-day workshop, we make small scale acrylic paintings that explore an improvisational approach to abstraction. The emphasis is on experimentation and workflow with special focus on the interplay between intention and chance in the creative process. We use various tools and both additive and subtractive processes to generate surprising visual events that can be developed into compelling abstract compositions. Studio work is complemented by slide shows and discussions that examine both historical and contemporary abstract painting. Painters at all levels of experience are welcome to participate. Workshop fee include lunches. Please bring the supplies on the materials list below.

WITH NANCY McCARTHY

THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL

Eight meetings every other week

Fridays 1 - 4:30 p.m. eastern time

September 12

September 26

October 10

October 24

November 7

November 21

December 5

December 19

There are 3 main objectives in this ONLINE class:

• To identify aspects of your work that are distinct and personal, and to explore ways of developing and fortifying those aspects.

• To determine areas of your work that are weak and/or diminish your work and finding ways to improve those areas.  

• To establish a consistent, disciplined painting practice.

The goal of creating more personal and powerful paintings will be addressed by considering the following issues: content, composition/format, color, surface as well as materials and craft. We will explore the aspects of painting that interest each student most, including experimentation with materials and conceptual and technical approaches to painting or more traditional work from observation. Classes consist of discussion, image presentations and critique. Each student will develop a set of written goals as well as a painting schedule. Students must be present and are encouraged to participate in all discussion and critiques. Students will post new work, preliminary drawings, and work in progress on the Padlet each week for discussion. Additionally, students are required to research and identify their relatives, 3 artists whose work shares common elements with their own work or the work they aspire to do. Those who want more structure and/or direction will be given assignments tailored to their particular needs. Group discussion of student work along with looking at contemporary and historical painting will enhance the class. Meetings will be held on Zoom and work will be shared on Padlet, the online platform.

WITH CATHERINE KEHOE



THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL

Tuesdays

October 14 - November 11, 2025

1-4:30 p.m. eastern time

ONLINE WORKSHOP Still life can be anything. Within this wide-open genre, we will focus on some fundamental painting principles. Participants will build and light their own inventive and personal setups, and have a week between meetings to explore a series of exercises. Time lends depth to the painted image and frees us to pare down to the essential.

The exercises include:

• Mapping the relationships between objects and the rectangle, using a specific drawing method.

• Exploring different limited palettes to discover the nature of a few paint colors at a time, in terms of opacity, transparency, and relative tinting strength.

• Shape will be central to our approach. Reducing the motif to10-15 shapes will place the focus on color mixing and accurate value structure.

The emphasis will be on observation. Metaphor or personal meaning will come in through the back door. Suggested medium: oil paint

We will meet on Zoom and share work on Padlet, an online platform.

WITH MAUREEN NATHAN AND NANCY GRUSKIN



THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL



FIVE MEETINGS

Wednesdays

October 15 - November 12, 2025

11 a.m.-2 p.m. eastern time

To play is to yield oneself to a kind of magic, and to give a lie to the inconvenient world of fact. — Eileen Agar



Much can be learned from exploring one theme through a variety of 2D and 3D processes. Prior to the start of this ONLINE workshop, participants will select a painting from the history of art. This painting will serve as the springboard for drawings, prints, collages, and sculptures. Maureen will lead a variety of drawing exercises that will expand the artists’ alphabet of marks and reinforce the drawing vocabulary unique to each artist. She will also introduce intaglio and relief printmaking using recycled materials with water-based inks. Artists will explore paper cut-outs and the medium of collage with Nancy and shift their focus to 3D processes with the construction of paper, cardboard, and papier-mâché sculptures. Our aim in this workshop will be to generate unexpected and compelling outcomes in relation to our source material. The emphasis will be on play and experimentation.



Maureen and Nancy will be participants in this workshop, as well as instructors. We will use Zoom to meet as a group and all work will be shared on Padlet. Slide presentations and demos will supplement both instructors’ exercises. A small craft press or access to an etching press is required for the printmaking exercises.

WITH LUCY MacGILLIS

THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL

Five meetings

Mondays

November 3

November 10

November 17

November 24

December 1

11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. eastern time

In this intensive ONLINE class, we will consider how Italian neorealist cinema was inspired by great art of the Renaissance, Baroque, and Novecento periods. Parallel to our in-depth studies of four great films. we will transcribe from paintings that directly relate to these films. In transcription, we will draw and paint from the masterpieces, investigating, not copying, in order to grasp what made them so important and timeless. We will focus on films directed by Visconti, De Sica, Pasolini, and Fellini and the corresponding paintings. Each week a film will be introduced, the context of Italian history in which it was created will be explained and we will sketch stills from each one. The participants' painting transcriptions and sketches will be reviewed in weekly group critiques, in order to address issues such as composition and the mixing of color.

Participants will receive a packet in the mail containing prints of the paintings we'll be transcribing from, as well as Fabriano oil painting and drawing paper to work on. 

WITH PAULA HEISEN



THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL

Saturdays

November 15

November 22

November 29 (skip: Thanksgiving week)

December 6

December 13

December 20

2025

1 - 4:30 p.m. eastern time

ONLINE WORKSHOP. This course aims to redefine how we think about the still life. Instead of “nature morte,” we will seek “nature vivante.” We’ll consider the rich tradition of still life painting, in which the fruits of the orchard, the field, the sea and the forest were heaped on tabletops. Think: Cezanne’s apples, van Gogh’s flowers, Ensor’s fish and Chardin’s rabbits. But we’ll look beyond that tradition to find new ways to bring the dynamism of nature into the studio.

What excites a painter walking through a landscape? A distant horizon, a valley that stretches to an abrupt mountain range, the vista of the sea, the closeness of trees in a forest? How to redirect the urgency of that experience into a enclosed studio? We will explore various strategies I’ve developed in my own work to bring the outside in. These include the use of windows, mirrors, lighting, objects and fabric to create visual metaphors for our personal sense of the landscape.

You’ll use your own landscape paintings and drawings, memories, photos, or reproductions of your favorite landscape artist to guide your approach. Then, we’ll work through preparatory drawings and color studies towards a finished painting. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of an emotional connection to the still life set-up. All elements of what makes a painting – point of view, composition, color and value ideas, mark-making, paint application – will be discussed in relation to this connection. Color, the structure of a color palette, and paint mixing will address the subject of all perceptual painting: color as light.

Meetings will be held on Zoom and work will be shared on Padlet, an online platform.

WITH LUCY MacGILLIS

THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL

Mondays

January 5 - February 2, 2026

11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. eastern time

In this ONLINE class, we will focus on the brilliant paintings of four female Italian painters, investigating what makes them so appealing. Using transcription, we will draw from these paintings without copying them, searching for rhythm, duality, and repetition within the geometry of these compositions. Along with studying the works of Artemisia Gentileschi, Virginia Vezzi, Orsola Maddalena Caccia, and Lavinia Fontana, we will discuss other painters working in Renaissance and Baroque Italy, as well as contemporary female painters. In each session we will explore a specific painting at length in a group discussion over Zoom. After the introduction, participants will have a week to prepare a drawing transcription, as well as a chromatic study with oil paint. Lucy MacGillis will present demos from her studio in Italy to show how she mixes the colors, using a limited earth palette and palette knife.

Prior to the course, each participant will receive a kit in the mail containing prints of the four paintings we will transcribe, drawing paper measured in proportion to the works, and primed Fabriano paper for the color oil painting studies. 

Lucy MacGillis has been living and painting in Umbria, Italy for 25 years. She enjoys interpreting Italian art history from the perspective of a painter rather than that of an art historian.

ONLINE WORKSHOP IN THREE PARTS

THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL

NANCY McCARTHY

CATHERINE KEHOE

SUSAN LICHTMAN

Nine weeks

Each artist will present a three-week segment

Wednesdays, January 14 - March 11, 2026

11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. eastern time

COMPLETE DETAILS: CLICK HERE

WITH ELIZABETH REAGH

THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL

Tuesdays

January 20

January 27

February 3

February 10

February 17

2026

1:30 - 5 p.m. eastern time

This five-week ONLINE workshop will encourage an exploratory, intuitive, and analytical approach to figurative painting, in which narrative can unfold in surprising ways. Students will take figurative images from various sources and incorporate them into paintings, creating endless possibilities and challenges. 

The class will include weekly assignments, slide shows and group discussions about works in progress. Meetings will be held on Zoom, with work shared on the Padlet platform. 

WITH LUCY MacGILLIS



THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL

Fridays

February 13

February 20

February 27

March 6

March 13

2026

11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. eastern time

Cezanne was the father of us all.

— Pablo Picasso

In this intensive five-week ONLINE class we will try to grasp what Picasso meant by that. We will study the work of Paul Cezanne using transcription — drawing and painting from his works without copying them. We will search for his use of rhythm, duality, and repetition within the geometry of these compositions. 

In weekly art historical lectures Lucy MacGillis will explain the context in which Cezanne worked, what led him to develop his work as he did, and how that was received by the people around him. Each week these transcription studies will be discussed in group critiques. Participants will receive a packet in the mail containing the images that we will focus on, as well as Fabriano drawing and painting paper for their studies.

WITH CATHERINE KEHOE



THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL

Six meetings

Thursdays

April 9

April 16

April 23

April 30

May 7

May 14 NO CLASS THIS WEEK

May 21

2026

1-4:30 p.m. eastern time

ONLINE WORKSHOP. Portraits from art history will be the point of departure for the study of pictorial structure, with a focus on the head. We will touch upon the universal proportions of the head; a simple, intuitive drawing method will be introduced to help with drawing accuracy. Mediums may include graphite, collage, gouache, acrylic and/or oil. Each participant will choose and examine one or two images from art history and generate permutations through exercises that lead to simplification and abstraction. This rigorous and wide-ranging analysis of images from our painting ancestors will feed our own work and imaginations as we engage with images that speak to us still. We will meet on Zoom and share work on the Padlet platform.

WITH JENNIFER POCHINSKI

THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL

May 14 - 18, 2026

Thursday - Monday

IN PERSON AT BLACK POND

This workshop is designed for experienced painters who want to dive deeply into painting from life in a supportive, intimate setting.

We will begin with the still life on day one, to tune into formal elements: color, shape, composition, and paint handling. The following three days will be dedicated entirely to working from the live model, with a mix of short exercises and longer poses that continue to emphasize formal elements — but also invite openness, experimentation, and personal response. Nothing is off limits. On the final day, painters will work on self-portraits.

Group discussions and critiques will take place throughout the five days. Risk-taking and exploration within the safety of a supportive class environment is encouraged. Painters will work primarily on paper, with the option to use canvas or panels as desired. There is no required palette.