sculpting for painters

Saturdays 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

6 classes: $550 (all supplies included)

Starts May 23rd, 2026

Instructor:

Kaelin Palcu

Register

Class Description:


This 6-week course introduces painters and drafts-people to figurative sculpture as a tool to deepen their understanding of form, functional artistic anatomy, and gesture. By building the body, students have the opportunity to deeply understand the structure and movement of the body—skills that directly strengthen and inform their two-dimensional practice.

Students may choose to focus on Sculpting the Portrait, Sculpting the Torso, or combine both across the six weeks. Working from the same model over all six sessions, students have an opportunity to develop a resolved portrait, a torso study, or a small-scale study of both.

All materials and armatures are provided. The clay work is clean and simple, with minimal mess, making it approachable even for those who have never sculpted before.

What You’ll Learn

  • How sculpting enhances your ability to see and understand form for painting and drawing

  • Building a clear sculptural block-in (comparable to a painter’s under-drawing)

  • Understanding and simplifying anatomy for accuracy and expression

  • The role of light and shadow in describing form

  • Gesture, balance, and weight distribution in the human body

  • Working at small scales to improve observation and decision-making

Level: Painters and drafts-people of all levels (no prior sculpting experience required)