Intuitive Watercolor

Intuitive Watercolor: Expression and Perception

Five Wednesdays Oct 8—Nov 5, 6:30-9:00pm

Cost: $200-$275 sliding scale* plus materials (see supplies list below)

Imagine actively harnessing your creativity through play while also learning the techniques to hone your skill. In this new watercolor class with Paige Quinn-Vasic, you’ll paint imaginatively and create in conversation with your expressive subject instead of against it. Instead of trying to reproduce the beauty of our subject in exactly the same way, we will exercise creative choice and liberties with the unique properties of watercolor. While you will be learning techniques in watercolor such as building washes, working wet into wet and dry, and color theory, you’ll also grow to appreciate the meditative nature of the medium itself. There is a quality to watercolor unlike any other medium that allows for moments of serendipity, happy accidents, and bold expression. Use these occurrences to your advantage to render dreamscape atmospheres or whimsical textures that transition from one subject to the next. You’ll create 2-3 paintings throughout the course with tailored guidance from the instructor. 

To register, please email programs@nohoarts.org with your name, address, phone number, and which session you are registering for. Payment can be made via PayPal here, or by mailing a check made out to NCFA to PO Box 366, Northampton, MA 01061.

*Payments on the upper end of the sliding scale help support our continued commitment to accessibility, including sliding scale models and the NCFA Community Fund.

Paige Quinn-Vasic is a local working artist who is trained in many creative mediums such as painting, printmaking, ceramics, and more. She completed her bachelors in fine arts and art education at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which drove her to explore an interdisciplinary practice. Her medium of choice in the last few years has been collage with painted paper, but recently got back into oil painting. The feeling of manipulating color is meditative in a way that other processes feel more removed from the quality of direct play. Her practice tends to hop between mediums as she follows the whims of her creative inner child, exploring whimsy, peculiar curiosities, and microaggressions. Since moving to Northampton in 2023, she has earned a LCC grant for her community project, Noho Art Club, and dove into teaching workshops. You can see more of her work at www.paigesquinn.com or @paigesquinn and @nohoartclub on Instagram

WATERCOLOR SUPPLY LIST

The instructor will have some paint tubes to share small amounts of paint and paper you can buy by the sheet as you go, but do not rely on them to provide full palettes ready for students.

PAPER:

1 full sheet (22 x 30) hot press watercolor paper

2 full sheets (22 x 30) rough watercolor paper

Brands: Arches, Fabriano, Canson, Waterford, Whatman, Strathmore (budget)

A small (at least 8 x 10) spiral watercolor pad

BOARD

To hold 15 x 22 size paper so should be a few inches larger in both directions.

Masonite is best though corrugated cardboard and foamcore will do in a pinch

PAINTS:

Please avoid cheap sets like Reeves, Maries, Sakura etc. They will create poor paintings. Tube paints only and please bring all the tubes to class Stick to quality brands like Winsor Newton Cotman or Professional, Grumbacher Academy, Da Vinci, Holbein, Schminke, and Van Gogh. The catalogue stores/online like Dick Blick and Cheap Joe’s (American Journey) have their own brand which is very good and cheaper. Colors: any white, any black, ultramarine blue, pthalo blue, alizarin crimson, cadmium red (or hue), cadmium yellow (or hue), yellow ochre Additional colors if you want to add more are cadmium orange, dioxazine purple, lemon yellow, and permanent rose.

BRUSHES: Good brushes – a combo of synthetic and natural- are essential. Poor brushes lose many hairs and flatten out when used which will frustrate the painter. So stay away from cheap sets. Sizes: Rounds # 4, 8, 12. Also, a Japanese Hake brush at least 1 ½” wide as well as a small stiff bristle brush (used for oil painting)

PALETTE: large rectangular palette around 10 x 14, like a John Pike palette, with wells for paint all around and large mixing area in the middle. Again, the online art companies sell their version of this palette for half the price of the other brands. Please don’t get the small round ones with a small area for mixing in the middle. They won’t do.

MISCELLANEOUS:

Small color wheel

Blue painters tape (like masking tape) from hardware store

Liquid mask (sometimes called frisket) non-permanent

White vinyl eraser

#2 pencil

Rubber cement pick-up

Black fine permanent marker (micron is good)

2 Water containers (deli containers, big yogurt container)

Small portfolio to carry artwork home – not mandatory.

Paper towels

Machine Sewing with Confidence

Machine Sewing with Confidence

Session One—Sewing Machine 101: Three Sundays, Sept 14-28, 4-6pm

Session Two—Make and Mend: Three Sundays, Oct 5-19, 4-6pm

Cost:$100-$175 sliding scale* per session, plus supplies (below)

Do you have a sewing machine that’s gathering dust? Do you want to feel more confident with your sewing?Brush it off and untangle the challenges of machine sewing! Session One is for you if you want to learn your machine inside and out with personalized support. Discover what you can do with all of those stitches, from basic to advanced.  We will cover machine set up, basic stitches and their applications, and more advanced skills like buttonholes and zippers. Session Two is a great place to level up your machine sewing skills. Are you not well served by fashion sizing? Do you want to learn how to customize thrifted clothing to fit your body and your personal expression? This class is perfect for folks who completed “Sewing Machine 101” or for home sewists who are already confident with their  machines  but want to expand their expertise. We will focus on building and/or improving wearable items, and making simple alterations. Unlock the life changing magic of adding pockets to any garment you want! 

For questions or to register, please email programs@nohoarts.org. If registering, please include your full name, mailing address, and phone number. Payment may be made in advance via PayPal here or by check to “NCFA” mailed to the Northampton Center for the Arts, PO Box 366, Northampton MA 01061.

*Payments on the upper end of the sliding scale help support our ongoing commitment to accessibility and sliding scale models. If financial assistance is needed, participants may apply for Community Fund support

Michelle Sullivan is a lifelong home sewist with a special interest in garment history, engineering, design and construction. Michelle holds a BA in Theater from UMass Amherst, and continues to enjoy a 29 year career as an educator in Hampshire and Hamden counties.

Materials

Materials (please scroll down for complete list)

For both sessions:

Sewing machine 

Fabric scissors

A spool of good quality, all purpose thread (example, Gutermann or Coates and Clark)

An empty bobbin spool

Seam ripper

Straight pins 

For session 1:

Practice fabric-

At least 1/2 a yard or two “fat quarters” of mid weight, non-stretch fabric, (quilting cotton is fine) 

At least 1/4 yard of stretch fabric (a stretchy tee shirt is fine) 

For session two:

Materials are dependent on what you want to make.  We will discuss personalized project plans during the first class and determine exactly what you need then. You can also bring in clothing that you wish to modify- things that need hemming, mending, size adjustments, or pockets added. 

Gelli Plate Printing

Gelli Plate Printing with Paige Quinn-Vasic

Four Tuesdays, Sept 9-30, 10:30am-12:30pm

Cost: $150-$250 sliding scale* plus $20 materials fee paid to the instructor the first day of class

Gelli Printing is a one-off monoprinting technique that uses the petroleum surface of the plate to temporarily hold acrylic paint while its surface is manipulated with any combination of stamps, images, or tools. Your printing paper is then pressed onto the paint surface in order to capture the image, which is peeled off with the paper. In this four-week session with Paige Quinn-Vasic, you will explore infinite possibilities such as printing with nature, photo transfers, stencils and patterns, and painting layers backwards. Some of these techniques require some trial and error, but this kind of printmaking is accessible for all creatives, including beginners, because of its quick set up, clean up, low cost,  and ease of material use. Students will walk away with stacks of colorful collage material, 20 hand printed cards with natural floral impressions and patterning, personalized photo transfer prints of a pet or loved one with a colorful background.

Students will be supplied with a 5x7 gelli plate, a variety of stencils and materials for creative printing impressions, as well as a variety of acrylic paint colors. If you want to bring specific colors and materials be sure they are acrylic paints and objects that are not sharp since the gelli plate is delicate.

In preparation for the class, collect high contrast pictures that look good in black and white. These need to be printed with a laser printer, not an inkjet printer. If you don't have access to a laser printer with toner (not many people do) you can email them to the instructor to be printed for class. You can also collect magazines with interesting high contrast imagery. Their compatibility with this technique will have to be tested.

To register, please email programs@nohoarts.org with your name, address, phone number, and which session you are registering for. Payment can be made via PayPal here, or by mailing a check made out to NCFA to PO Box 366, Northampton, MA 01061.

*Payments on the upper end of the sliding scale help support our continued commitment to accessibility, including sliding scale models and the NCFA Community Fund.

Paige Quinn-Vasic is a local working artist who is trained in many creative mediums such as painting, printmaking, ceramics, and more. She completed her bachelors in fine arts and art education at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which drove her to explore an interdisciplinary practice. Her medium of choice in the last few years has been collage with painted paper, but recently got back into oil painting. The feeling of manipulating color is meditative in a way that other processes feel more removed from the quality of direct play. Her practice tends to hop between mediums as she follows the whims of her creative inner child, exploring whimsy, peculiar curiosities, and microaggressions. Since moving to Northampton in 2023, she has earned a LCC grant for her community project, Noho Art Club, and dove into teaching workshops. You can see more of her work at www.paigesquinn.com or @paigesquinn and @nohoartclub on Instagram

Figure Drawing and Anatomy with Don Smith

Figure Drawing and Anatomy

Six Mondays, Sept 15—Oct 27, 1:00-3:30pm (NO CLASS ON 10/13)

Cost: $250-$350 sliding scale,* plus supplies (Tuition covers the live model fee)

Learn how to capture the human form in this comprehensive "Figure Drawing and Anatomy" course taught by Don Smith. This class is designed for both beginners and experienced artists looking to refine their skills in creating realistic and accurate life drawings. Along with learning about the specifics of understanding human anatomy for artists, students will also better understand the fundamentals of drawing that are necessary to more accurately draw the human figure.

Key Focus Areas:

  • Anatomy: Learn how to build the human figure from basic shapes and how to recognize and apply anatomical (skeletal and muscular) benchmarks and construction lines to “build” figures.

  • Basic Drawing Processes: Develop a strong foundation in page composition, exploring how to arrange elements for balanced and dynamic drawings.

  • Measuring Techniques: Learn measuring techniques to capture accurate proportions and perspectives, ensuring lifelike representations of the human figure.

  • Volumetric Shapes: Understand how light, dark, and shadows interact to create volume and to describe solid anatomical forms for more realistic figures.

  • Foreshortening, Depth, and Perspective: Develop skills in foreshortening to accurately depict the human form in dynamic poses and create perspective in a three-dimensional space.

  • Lessons from the Masters: Study drawings and traditional drawing principles to gain insights into time-honored techniques and approaches to figure drawing.

  • Media: Discover drawing media options, including pencils, charcoal, and conte’ crayons to to effectively enhance your artwork, and develop your own individual style.

Throughout the course, students will draw from various models and lengths of poses, in an encouraging, supportive and collaborative learning environment. By the end of the course, you will have developed the confidence and technical skills needed to create anatomically accurate figure drawings.

For questions or to register, please email programs@nohoarts.org. If registering, please include your full name, mailing address, and phone number. Payment may be made in advance via PayPal here or by check to “NCFA” mailed to the Northampton Center for the Arts, PO Box 366, Northampton MA 01061.

*Payments on the upper end of the sliding scale help support our ongoing commitment to accessibility and sliding scale models. If financial assistance is needed, participants may apply for Community Fund support

Supplies:

Materials will be discussed in detail during the first class. For the first session, please bring a pad of drawing paper (newsprint not recommended) at least 16 x 20 or larger, a set of pencils, eraser, and a portable easel if you have one (optional). The cost for supplies need not exceed $20.

About the instructor: Local art students are familiar with Don Smith’s fine art courses offered throughout New England for nearly 20 years. His first class, and one he currently offers is “Drawing from the Classics”, an anatomy class conducted at the Springfield Museum of Art in their plaster casting gallery. He has taught various academic-based painting and drawing courses at the Springfield Museum School, and currently teaches painting and drawing courses at the Hill Institute in Northampton MA, as well as on-line classes, and annual workshops throughout New England. In additional to being a full-time artist and teacher, Don recently joined a non-profit in Willington CT as their new Managing Director to expand visual art education into northeast CT. Don earned a fine art degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and the Hoffberger School of Painting in Baltimore MD.

En Plein Air Painting

EN PLEIN AIR PAINTING in acrylic or water colors

Taught by Jeffrey Gatrall

Five Saturdays, September 6 through October 4, 10:00am-1:00pm

Cost: $200-$275 sliding scale*, plus materials

Over the course of five weeks, we will discuss various techniques for painting outdoors. Classes will include demonstrations on how to achieve different painterly effects, as well as practical suggestions on painting material and gear. You will become adept at choosing your composition, identifying major shapes, and blocking in colors, so that you can capture the essence of a landscape while dealing with the constantly shifting light and shadows. 

Classes will be held in two different outdoor locations, which will be shared with registrants prior to the start of the course. Locations include some grassy, uneven terrain and bathrooms are located a short walk away, which may include stairs. If a class is unable to be held due to weather, it will be made up the following Sunday at the same time.

“For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment.” —Claude Monet 

For questions or to register, please email programs@nohoarts.org. If registering, please include your full name, mailing address, and phone number. Payment may be made in advance via PayPal here or by check to “NCFA” mailed to the Northampton Center for the Arts, PO Box 366, Northampton MA 01061.

*Payments on the upper end of the sliding scale help support our ongoing commitment to accessibility and sliding scale models. If financial assistance is needed, participants may apply for Community Fund support.

Jeffrey Gatrall received his BFA in painting from Rhode Island School of Design, and spent his senior year abroad in Rome as part of the school’s European Honors Program. The following year he completed the Scottish Post Diploma at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee, where he studied painting under Alberto Morrocco, and print making under Sheila Macfarlane. After deciding to enter the realm of commercial art, he had a thirty-five year career, primarily in animation, where he worked for Warner Bros., Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Universal, and Atari, among others. For the last fifteen years Jeffrey has been devoting his time to painting. He participated in NCFA’s En Plein Air Festival during the time the Center had no physical location, and he’s shown work at Historic Northampton. Jeffrey maintains a studio in Easthampton.

SUPPLY LIST:

The following is a list of supplies and equipment, intended to help you set up quickly and get started. My idea is to suggest economical and portable materials - small enough to fit in a backpack - and easy to use, so that all your time can be spent painting… before the light changes. —JG

NOTE: This list contains supplies for both watercolors and acrylics. Most students will choose one medium to work in, and you only need the supplies listed for that medium.

For art supplies, please visit Guild Art Supply or Valley Art Supplies, both located on Cottage Street in Easthampton (we love local!). Other options include Michael’s in Hadley, Staples in Hadley (limited choice of supplies), and Blick Art Materials on-line.

PAINTS:

This list of paints will do for either water colors or acrylics. By all means, get a small, inexpensive starter set of colors, just to get going. You can always buy the colors individually in tubes later, once you know what you are comfortable using. The starter sets will have most, if not all, of the colors on the list.

•Alizarin Crimson

• Cadmium Red Medium

• Cadmium Yellow Medium 

• Hansa Yellow

• Cerulean Blue

•Ultramarine Blue 

• Burnt Sienna

•Titanium White 

•Ivory Black

Additional, but not necessary, colors.

•Yellow Ochre 

•Raw Umber

•Phthalo Green

•Dioxazine Purple

PAPER:

WATER COLOR PAPER comes in either Hot Press (smooth) or Cold Press (textured) varieties. Traditional watercolors are usually done on Cold Press paper, but for purposes of learning either will do. Just be aware that the Cold Press paper will hold the water more easily because of it’s texture, but the Hot Press paper will allow the water to run off.

We will be using 9 X 12 paper or slightly larger, because the size will allow you to complete your work more quickly, and will make it easier to handle and carry.

•Water color paper comes in all sizes, in either BLOCKS or PADS.

CANVASES:

STRETCHED CANVASES and CANVAS COVERED PANELS for acrylic painting also come in various sizes and are sold in packs. 9 X 12 or slightly larger would be the most convenient size. Depending on your preference, they can be used as is, or you can apply one or two coats of Gesso, sanding lightly between coats, to get a smoother finish. 

BRUSHES:

For WATER COLORS you should get three round brushes, small, medium, and large. To this you can add a one inch wide flat brush for doing washes.

For ACRYLICS, you should get three flat brushes, also small, medium, and large, to which you can add a couple of round brushes of different sizes for putting in details.

Both water color and acrylic brushes should be SYNTHETIC - there is no need to buy expensive brushes that might get lost outdoors. Inexpensive brushes are sold in packets. NOTE - very often water color brushes and acrylic brushes are interchangeable - they can be used in either medium. Be sure to read the label.

OTHER MATERIALS and EQUIPMENT:

PAPER TOWELS for blotting up water or paint from your painting, and for general clean up. You will need a plastic bag to dispose of your towels, if there isn’t a trash bin nearby.

A MIXING TRAY for water colors.

A PALETTE or STA-WET PALETTE for acrylics. Some people use an old ceramic plate or an aluminum pie pan for either water colors or acrylics.

PALETTE KNIFE, mostly used in acrylic painting for scraping off an unwanted section of your work - although, if you are doing water colors on a block of paper, you can use a palette knife to slit the sheet off the block to expose a fresh sheet of paper.

A PLASTIC JAR with a LID that you will fill with water, for washing out brushes. The jar should be fairly big, like a large size peanut butter jar.

PENCILS - should be erasable. They are useful for quick sketches and for writing down notes or ideas.

A PORTABLE PENCIL SHARPENER

A KNEADED ERASER - to avoid getting red eraser marks on your paper or canvas.

A SMALL SKETCH BOOK or NOTEBOOK for trying out ideas, making quick sketches, or writing notes.

A LIGHT, PORTABLE BACKING BOARD

OR DRAWING BOARD - if you want to have a more firm surface to work on. It should fit comfortably in your lap.

MASKING TAPE - for holding down the edges of water color paper, if you are painting on individual sheets on a backing board.

A FOLDING CHAIR or STOOL - you will need something to sit on that is comfortable and portable.

EASELS  for Plein Air come in different sizes and price ranges. The two chief varieties are the French kind, that fold up into a box, and the aluminum collapsible kind. If you GOOGLE “plein air easels for sale” you will see all the different choices. Buy one of these ONLY if you feel you have to stand up.

We will work small - 9 X 12 or so - to avoid having to work on an easel. We can work sitting down, and will have less equipment to carry in and out of sites.

Some other suggestions, for your comfort and wellbeing:

• A WATER BOTTLE - for drinking water

• A HAT - that keeps the sun off your neck and ears.

• SUN BLOCK

• BUG SPRAY

• UMBRELLA - for sun or unexpected rain

For art supplies, please visit Valley Art Supplies (we love local!), Michael’s, or Staples (limited options), or Blick’s online.

Mobile Watercolor Techniques

Mobile Watercolor Techniques

August 4, 6, 11, and 13 from 6:30-9pm

(Please hold August 18 for a rain date)

Cost: $160-$225 sliding scale*, plus supply list (below)

Take advantage of the creative magic that happens during late summer on this explorative traveling watercolor adventure. Explore the quiet and bustling spaces of our quaint town with your on-the-go palette set up. Be inspired by the many seasonal offerings from the blossoming daylilies and lush summer foliage to the active city streets full of market goers. This art class is on the move!

This mobile watercolor class will put into action the very techniques exploring shadow, light, and form that are essential to building up a watercolor practice that flows with ease. Learn how to harness your essential color palette with guided lessons or explore alternative and exciting ones with metallics or neons. Once you are able to apply the color theory concepts, these style pivots can be thrilling and bring an extra sparkle to painting outside. Students will start with simple washes and planes then move on to more complex city scapes. 

Class will be held outdoors in and around 33 Hawley until the sun sets, and finish up indoors, so make sure you bring a phone with a camera to document your subject.

To register, please email programs@nohoarts.org with your name, address, and phone number. Payment can be made via PayPal here, or by mailing a check made out to NCFA to PO Box 366, Northampton, MA 01061.

*Payments on the upper end of the sliding scale help support our continued commitment to accessibility, including sliding scale models and the NCFA Community Fund.

Paige Quinn-Vasic is a local working artist who is trained in many creative mediums such as painting, printmaking, ceramics, and more. She completed her bachelors in fine arts and art education at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which drove her to explore an interdisciplinary practice. Her medium of choice in the last few years has been collage with painted paper, but recently got back into oil painting. The feeling of manipulating color is meditative in a way that other processes feel more removed from the quality of direct play. Her practice tends to hop between mediums as she follows the whims of her creative inner child, exploring whimsy, peculiar curiosities, and microaggressions. Since moving to Northampton in 2023, she has earned a LCC grant for her community project, Noho Art Club, and dove into teaching workshops. You can see more of her work at www.paigesquinn.com or @paigesquinn and @nohoartclub on Instagram

SUPPLY LIST

Small watercolor notebook with spiral or glued binding. Sizes vary from 3 ½x 5 ½ to 5x 8 give or take an inch or two. Moleskine watercolor notebook is high end , Strathmore 400 series watercolor art journal is mid-end, and Canson on the cheaper end are examples. There are many kinds to choose from. Please don’t go bigger than 6x 8 for this. And make sure it’s for watercolor or mixed media. Sketch book paper is too thin and your paintings will cause the paper to buckle.

Small travel watercolor paint set either with tube paints or pan or a combo of both. You can cobble together your own set using a very small palette and basic colors. Or, you can use a white/clear daily pill case and put the 7 colors (no white) in each compartment. The lids are used as a palette. Portability is what’s important. If you bring your own colors, please include cadmium yellow, pthalo blue or Prussian blue, ultramarine blue or cobalt blue, alizarin crimson, cadmium red, any black.

Brushes: only a few: #2 or #3 round, #5 or #6 round, #9 or #10 round. You can bring more if you want. A small to medium flat brush can be great for capturing shapes in architecture quickly.

Pens: Black permanent markers. Fine point - .03 or .05.

Small water container (like individual yogurt cup or applesauce cup)

Small rag

2 Binder clips for keeping your sketchbook open. Paper clips will cover your paper

A tote bag or carrying case for all the supplies

Intro to Mural Painting and Spray Paint

Intro to Mural Painting and Spray Paint with Ramiro Davaro-Comas

***POSTPONED TO FALL — STAY TUNED!***

Cost: $200-$350 sliding scale*

Intro to Mural Painting and Spray Paint is an exciting new workshop with artist Ramiro Davaro-Comas! Come learn about the history of mural painting and graffiti and experiment with spray paint through developing your own tag and/or character.

The first part of the workshop will focus on learning about the background and career of artist Ramiro Davaro-Comas. Ramiro will talk about the history of American muralism, graffiti and street art while introducing students to all aspects of painting murals. The mural component will touch on different lifts for accessing walls, how to approach different surfaces for painting, and a variety of methods to get images onto a wall. Students will then make letters and characters in different graffiti styles by mixing, matching, and evolving, as they see fit, characters from established alphabetic styles. Students will be introduced to the common tools of graffiti art— stencils, spray paint, caps—and examine the work of the artists that have used them. In the afternoon, the class will walk to downtown Northampton and discuss the mural on the back of the R. Michelson Galleries, as well as others in the area. After returning to 33 Hawley, students will work on spray-painting techniques outside, and each complete an original art piece on large 4’x4’ wooden panels.

Wood panels, spray paint, caps, and gloves will be provided. Students should wear clothes that can get messy and are strongly encouraged to bring a painting respirator, an n95 mask, or a face covering. 

To register, please email programs@nohoarts.org with your name, address, and phone number. Payment can be made via PayPal here, or by mailing a check made out to NCFA to PO Box 366, Northampton, MA 01061.

*Payments on the upper end of the sliding scale help support our continued commitment to accessibility, including sliding scale models and the NCFA Community Fund.

Ramiro Davaro-Comas is an Argentine/American artist with a background in public art and artist residency management. His passions for painting, storytelling, and community work have pushed him to travel throughout his career, collaborating with artists around the world. Davaro-Comas’ art career began in Northampton and he has been creating in the area since 2009 by showing at local galleries and painting large scale murals. Most notably he painted the Children's Book mural with artist Kim Carlino behind the Michelson galleries, the Ninja Turtles Mural on Center Street, the American Farmland Trust Mural on Short Street and a mural with students at the Leeds Elementary School. He has painted over 300 murals and managed another 150 mural installations for other artists.

Davaro-Comas is currently co-directing Super-Stories, an organization he launched with artist Grace Lang that focuses on arts education and large scale mural projects. Their motto is “If you know something, teach it!” His public art practice with Super-Stories focuses on centering the students and community members in every aspect of the work. He has painted 33 murals in the past 3 years with over 10,000 students, community members and teachers. He is passionate about creating murals that are based on student artwork that he obtains from brainstorming and drawing workshops.

Additionally, Ramiro is consulting on public art projects, painting private commissioned murals, and creating work for gallery exhibitions. When he isn’t making art, Ramiro spends his time building things, skateboarding and raising his son Otis.

Links to Ramiro Davaro-Comas’ work:

https://www.ramirostudios.com/

https://www.super-stories.org/murals

https://www.drippedontheroad.com/

Drawing Explorations: Mixed Media Drawing Fun! with Lisa Bastoni

Drawing Explorations: Mixed Media Drawing Fun! with Lisa Bastoni

TUESDAYS: June 3, 10, 17, and 24

TIME: 6 to 7:30 PM

Location: Northampton Center for the Arts @ 33 Hawley Street, Eli’s Room

Cost: $120-$160 sliding scale, all materials provided

To Register and for more info: please email lisabastoni@gmail.com

What happens when we cross Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain with exercises from Lynda Barry's comics workshops, and a dash of inventive drawing experiments from elementary art education? A playful yet powerful approach to image-making, combining elements of writing/journaling as well as drawing, painting, collage, and more.

Using simple, accessible materials, we will explore a variety of approaches to drawing from observation, memory, and imagination. Emphasis will be on process over product, and generating some joy/building community through creativity. 

Class size is limited to 12, and all materials will be provided. Write to lisabastoni@gmail.com for more info and to register!

Instructor Lisa Bastoni (she/her) is a working artist, songwriter, and elementary school art teacher. (lisabastoni.com)

Center for the Arts Drawing Group

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Wednesday mornings, 9:45am to 12:45pm, $15/session ($10/session if the month is paid in advance)

The Northampton Center for the Arts Wednesday Morning Figure Drawing Group is looking for artists to join us. Please email Steve at artfromsteve@gmail.com if you're interested in joining us.

Each Wednesday morning session begins with a nude model assuming a series of short poses that increase in length from 2 minutes to 30 minutes.  There are no requirements other than a desire to draw, so bring your paper and pencil, water colors, crayons…whatever medium you choose.  Beginners and experts and all in between are welcome.  No critique or instructions, just drawing. Tables, chairs, and easels are provided.  

Don’t be late!

Please, no fixatives sprays or other materials with noxious odors.

The Drawing Group will begin meeting in Eli’s Room at 33 Hawley.

Noho Art Club with Paige Quinn-Vasic

Noho Art Club

Friday 11/8, 5:00-8:00pm

Friday 12/13, 5:00-8:00pm

FREE!

Paige Quinn-Vasic brings her popular Noho Art Club to NCFA during Arts Night Out! Check out the new exhibits at 33 Hawley, then head downstairs to Eli’s Room for a Noho Art Club meet-up! Come play with collage and gelli plate printing, and and check out Paige’s felt sushi demo, an original wet felting technique that she’ll be offering through the Center soon!

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