Workshops in Austin

Atelier Dojo is proud to offer summer workshops with world-renown artists. We offer full day (6 hours per day) workshops that range from 3-4 days and are typically scheduled over weekends. Study with living masters in an intimate and welcoming environment in Austin. Explore our upcoming workshops below and register today! 

Have any questions about our classes? Get in touch with us for more information!

Pedro Cardoso

Composition Fundamentals

pedrohcardoso.com

July 12-13, 2025

9:30 AM - 4:30 PM

2 DAYS: $375

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The understanding of foundational elements behind picture making is a powerful tool. It underlies every decision we make as artists, and has the potential to immediately improve our work, regardless of technical skills. This workshop will present you with ideas and techniques that will clarify what it means to create a composition, and give you the tools necessary to create work that is compelling and intentional.
We will break down composition in two major elements: Line and Value. Line is the basis of every composition, and can be used not only to describe shapes, but also to create rhythms throughout your composition. Value enhances the impact your composition will have at a glance, at the same time that it defines the focal point of your image. During the course of the workshop we will study from masters works and then apply what we learn into our own compositions. Reference images will be provided, but you are welcome to bring your own reference material to work with in class.

Day 1 - Composing with Line:

Morning

An instructor demo will introduce you to basic language and theory behind Line as a compositional tool. Students will then do a series of thumbnail master copies from the provided reference material.

Afternoon

After a demo on how to use reference materials and create various iterations from the same image, you’ll begin working on our own compositions from either your reference or the provided materials.

Day 2 - Composing with Value:

Morning

Instructor will do a demonstration on different ways to approach value, and how master painters use value in their work. Students will work on thumbnail exercises using the provided reference material.

Afternoon

After a demo on how to manipulate and use value to your advantage, students will begin to work on their own composition thumbnails based on either their own or the provided reference materials.

Supply List:

• Strathmore 400 Series 18”x24” Sketch Pad - White

• Strathmore 400 Series 19"x24" Toned Sketch Paper - Tan

• General’s Charcoal Pencil 2B and HB. Two to three of each.

• Willow Charcoal, boxes of 3 or more.

• Sepia pastel pencils or sticks.

• Koh-I-noor brand is recommended. 1-2 of each.

• White Chalk pencil or sticks.

• Koh-I-Noor Gioconda pencil recommended. 1-2 of each.

• Kneaded Eraser

• Paper Stumps

• Exacto Knife or Box Cutter knife. Box Cutter recommended.

Portrait Drawing with Danny Grant

dannygrantfineart.com

July 18-20, 2025

9:30 AM - 4:30 PM

3 DAYS: $500

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Learn a form-based, academic approach to portrait drawing. During the initial block-in phase, students will use comparative measuring techniques and learn to see the face as a series of inter-locking 2-D shapes to achieve accurate proportions and likeness.

In the next phase of the drawing students will model three-dimensional form through subtle modulations of value based on the way the light source is striking the planes of the face. Students will have the option to use graphite on drawing paper or graphite and white chalk on toned drawing paper.

Day 1

Morning: Block-in demonstration, students practice block-in

Afternoon: New Pose, students continue to practice block-in

Day 2

Morning: New pose, begin block-in

Afternoon: Continue drawing from the morning and bring to fully modeled finished drawing

Day 3

Morning: New pose, begin block-in

Afternoon: Continue drawing from the morning and bring to fully modeled finished drawing

Supply List

• Graphite pencils: 4B, 2B, B, HB, H

• Generals white charcoal (optional)

• Strathmore 400 Drawing paper – 11x14 or larger

• Strathmore Toned Drawing paper 11x14 (optional)

• Exacto knife

• Kneaded eraser

• Sandpaper pad

• Drawing clipboard

JARED BRADY

Expressive Alla Prima Still Life & Floral Painting

www.jaredbrady.com

AUGUST 8-10, 2025

9:30 AM - 4:30 PM

3 DAYS: $500

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Explore bold alla prima still life techniques while strengthening fundamental skills.

SCHEDULE 

Day 1: Floral Painting

Morning - Introduction and floral painting demo.

Afternoon - Students will paint a floral setup from life with guidance.

Day 2: Still Life Painting

Morning - Block-in exercises for students to focus on fundamentals and decision making.

Afternoon - Students will pick a still life setup and paint from life with guidance.

Day 3: Demo & Final Painting

Morning - Still life painting demo.

Afternoon - Students will continue with previous painting or choose a new still life to paint. We will end the workshop with a group discussion and Q&A if there is time.

My goal with this class is to introduce you into the wonderful world of alla prima still life painting. I know it can feel intimidating at first, but don’t worry! The concepts I’ll teach in this workshop will solidify fundamental knowledge and help you create bold, expressive artwork.

Supply List:

Canvas panels
Bring 4-5 panels in a variety of sizes ranging from 8x10 to 11x14 inches. Oil-primed or acrylic-primed linen is ideal. (Centurion OP DLX is a great panel option)

Brushes

Synthetic Long Flats & Long Filberts: (Various sizes: 2, 4, 6, 8) – Rosemary & Co Ivory or Trekell Opal are recommended. These are great all-around brushes for all stages in the painting. I recommend getting a couple different sizes if you can.

Bristle Filberts & Rounds: (Various sizes: 6, 8) – Robert Simmons Signet or equivalent bristle brush is recommended. They are nice for massing in/scrubbing during the block in.

Small Rounds: Rosemary & Co Michael Klein Synthetic Pointed Rounds or equivalent small pointed rounds are recommended. It comes in handy to have one or two of these. They are great for refining smaller forms and precise shapes.

Large Long Flat Blender: Rosemary & Co Eclipse Comber or Trekell Legion Long Grainer is recommended. This is a great medium to large brush for losing edges and getting rid of glare. 

Oil Paints (Artist grade recommended)

My Palette

• Titanium White

• Cadmium Lemon

• Cadmium Yellow Medium

• Yellow Ochre Pale

• Cadmium Red Light

• Alizarin Crimson Permanent or Quinacridone Rose

• Transparent Oxide Red (Rembrandt)

• Ultramarine Blue Deep 

• Viridian 

• Green Gold 

• Optional Colors

  • Kings Blue

  • Cadmium Orange

  • Ivory Black

Palette
I use a glass palette with a grey tone behind it. A sealable palette container with palette paper can also work.

Palette Knife
A flexible mid-size palette knife (2”-3”) is nice for scraping and applying/mixing paint

Mediums/Solvents

• Gamsol or Odorless Mineral Spirits with a sealable container

• Optional: Solvent-Free Gel (Gamblin) or Oleogel (Rublev)

Additional Supplies:

• Paper towels (Viva or Blue Shop Towels are recommended)

• Pen/pencil and paper or sketchbook

• Palette Scraper if using a glass palette

Note: You don’t need to buy everything on this list, this is just what I have found works for me. I recommend having a good variety of brushes and my base palette if you want to follow closely to how I will approach painting. Feel free to bring supplies you already have if they are similar, as the principles taught can be applied with a variety of brands and tools. 

Recommended Brands

• Paints: Gamblin, Winsor & Newton, Rembrandt

• Brushes: Trekell, Rosemary & Co

• Panels: Centurion, RayMar

Figure Painting with Danny Ferland

www.dannyferland.com

AUGUST 22-24, 2025

9:30 AM - 4:30 PM

3 DAYS: $550

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In this figure painting workshop, students Will be able to work on two paintings done from two different live models. Emphasis will be on Solid drawing and structure, composition, brush handling & color mixing.

Day One (Morning):

Danny will give a morning demo, going through every aspect of figure painting. A loose charcoal composition will come first, followed by strong burnt umber lines and accents that will seal the structure and likeness. A full color palette will be then used to "sculpt" the form with tiles of paint. Thinner shadows and impastos in the lights will be shown to give a sense of tridimensionality.

Day One (Afternoon):

Students will start a painting with the same steps and techniques in mind with constant one on one constructive critiques by Danny.

Day Two:

That whole day will be spent on the painting started on day one with ongoing individual critiques and comments.

Day Three:

New model, new painting...same process and techniques done at a faster more intuitive pace.

Supply List:

Two or three 12 x 16 canvases or panels (fine)

• Palette : glass with white canvas taped underneath or disposable palette (no wood, too dark)

• Brushes : filberts & squares (1-2-4-6)

• Palette knife

• Gamsol and a container

• Paper towels

• Oleogel by Rublev

• Oil paints (professional grade please) :

  • Titanium and/or lead White

  • Lemon yellow

  • Cadmium orange

  • Cadmium red

  • Raw sienna

  • Burnt sienna

  • Viridian

  • Ultramarine blue

  • Alizarin permanent (Gamblin)

  • Ivory black

ATELIER DOJO WORKSHOP POLICIES

• No refunds can be issued within 45 days of workshop date, unless canceled by Atelier Dojo.

Steven Assael

Form and Color: Painting the Figure

www.stevenassael.com

August 28-31, 2025

9:30 AM - 4:30 PM

4 DAYS: $850

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Steven will discuss an analytical and dynamic approach to painting the human figure, emphasizing color and value relationships in a related atmosphere.

We will stress the development of form through observation and interpretation of plane shifts projecting and receding from the eye.

Aspects of anatomy, proportion, and movement will be discussed, along with the development of an Alla Prima technique involving scumbling and glazing.

Learning to see is a selective endeavor where understanding is an extension of our mind's eye. We will look at color as value and temperature as form.

This class will paint from a live model. Students can choose a model and paint the portrait or the figure.

We will discuss techniques for dealing with the changes that occur as a model poses, learning to hold and interpret what you see with a selective eye.

• The development of form through observation and interpretation of plane shifts projecting and receding from view.

• An emphasis on color and value relationships and how they relate.

• Aspects of anatomy, proportion, and movement will be discussed along with the development of an Alla Prima technique, which involves scumbling and glazing.

• A simplified method of measuring proportions

• A simple way to see the basic anatomical features of the figure

• Painting the figure with a focus on rhythm and movement

• The development of light and shadow and the reflective properties of flesh

Supply List:

Choice of supports

12x16 or 11x14 are both excellent sizes but not larger than 16 x 20

Tone your boards/panels in advance. Tone some boards with a mid-tone red and some with a mid-tone green. 

1. Ampersand Smooth Panels Gesso panels, not clay board. You can get these at Dick Blick.  These can be toned with Acrylic Paint and then sprayed with shellac (please do this before you come). A very light coat of shellac. 

   Red boards - tone with acrylic  Red oxide 

   Green boards  -  tone with Cadmium green or Cadmium Green Light mixed with a bit of raw umber or burnt umber (acrylic paint) 

2. Oil-primed canvas mounted on board Raphael Premium Archival Oil Primed Linen Panels (More expensive and takes longer to dry)

   Apply a thin layer with a rag with a bit of Gamsol. Keep it thin but not too light in value. Midtone!

   Red -  Red Oxide

   Green  - Cadmium Green or Cadmium Green Light mixed with a bit of raw umber or burnt umber.

   If you are using lead-primed canvas, do not use acrylic paint on it.

3. If you want to try painting on Copper:

   K & S Copper is good and can be ordered on Amazon

   6x6, 8x10 or 9 x 12

   24 gauge or lower, not copper that’s too thin

   The lower the number, the thicker.  

   Denatured alcohol

   Garlic cloves

   Fine grit  sandpaper or emery cloth

Brushes

• Various size brushes, i.e., filberts, flats, and fan brushes.

• Various size sable brushes, i.e. filberts, fans

• Various rounds can be sable or mongoose; the larger ones can be soft bristles such as Silverstone #12.

  Rosemary Brushes can be found online, and they carry a variety of types.

  *recommended are synthetic Comber brushes #2230 and #331

  *Red dot combers

  *Rosemary fans see 105

  *Rosemary Badger series 37

   Long handle ..all sizes

No paper palettes

OIL PAINTS

• Titanium White

• Flake White (Lead White) (Cremnitz White) (Optional)

• Brilliant Yellow Lt or Nickel Yellow Lt. (Rembrandt makes this), or any light, Cool Yellow (Michael Harding) *optional

• Naples Yellow Lt  (Winsor & Newton)

• Lead Tin Yellow  (Michael Harding) *optional

• Cadmium Yellow Lt

• Cadmium Orange

• Cadmium Red Lt

• Yellow Ochre Light

• Transparent Golden Ochre (Winsor & Newton)

• Sennelier Brown Pink

• Burnt Sienna

• AlizarinCrimson 

• Rose Violet (Holbein) *optional

• Transparent Red Oxide

• Ultramarine Blue

• Prussian Blue

• Kings Blue Light  

• Cadmium Green Light

• Viridian Green

• Dioxazine Purple

• Burnt Umber

• Ivory Black

Medium

• Cold Pressed linseed oil

• Stand Oil

KAREN OFFUTT:

Narrative Portrait Painting

www.karenoffutt.com

SEPTEMBER 5-7, 2025

9:30 AM - 4:30 PM

3 DAYS: $550

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In our efforts to understand painting as a visual language it is important to see what we will paint as an abstract form. To eliminate our preconceived assumptions of what we see and break them down into parts. These essential elements will give us the foundation to understand what we see and allows for a more intuitive paint application.

Karen will bring in some of her own costumes and staging backgrounds so as to create a more of her own personal narrative to the workshop.  She will discuss ideas on how you can incorporate these pieces and your own elements in order to create your own narratives with meaning.

Karen will divide up the workshop into 2 parts. First day, she will discuss her approach to setting up an environment for the model using her props and then from there she will demonstrate her alla prima portrait focusing on the fundamentals of direct painting. The goal is to achieve a 3-dimensional likeness with a simple block-in of the larger shapes and then to build on that by carving out the smaller shapes. Along the way she will discuss, in more detail, the use of value, color and temperature as well as how to adjust edges to create a sense of atmosphere within the painting.

There will be one model, with the same pose, for the first 2 days in which Karen will be painting a morning demo then the students will continue to paint in the afternoons.  Then the 3rd day we will have a new model with a new pose and the students will paint the entire day with Karen assisting along the way.

SUPPLY LIST

• 2-3 canvas boards or gessoed panels approximately 11"x14" to 12"x16"

• gamsol

• silicoil or metal containers for the mineral spirits

• Viva paper towels or rags

• Some kind of palette holder or platform for palette. If you don't have one, you can use a Masterson Sta-Wet Handy Palette with glass palette inside.

• Pocket mirror

• Small container of linseed or poppy oil

• Steel palette knife

• Brushes - 5 - 6 filbert brushes ranging from size 0 - 8

• Oil colors (Gamblin is an inexpensive brand with low toxic paints)

  • Titanium White

  • Cadmium Yellow

  • Yellow Ochre

  • Cadmium Red

  • Alizarin Crimson

  • Transparent Oxide Red

  • Manganese Blue

  • Ultramarine Blue

  • Viridian

  • Burnt Sienna

  • Burnt Umber

  • Ivory Black

INSTRUCTOR BIO

Karen Offutt was born and raised in Dallas, Texas by a creative family who encouraged her to explore her artistic talent from an early age. Her father was an artist and her mother is a designer and owner of a needlepoint company. Throughout her formative years, Karen excelled in art classes and participated in several art exhibits. As a young adult she sought a more serious outlet for her talent. Not finding the ultimate education for the type of realism she sought, Karen found art related jobs to keep her motivated. Learning to paint with oils was her goal and found that opportunity Austin Fine Arts Classes where she learned a more classical approach.

From there, she attended workshops from nationally renowned artists and from there began to find her own path in her creative journey.

From her studio in Austin, Karen approaches her paintings with an atmospheric sensitivity combining shape, tone line, and color. The inspiration of her preferred subject matter comes ultimately from the figure.  “I have always loved painting people whether in natural surroundings or in a more staged setting.”   “As an artist, I am very aware of my environment which invites me to be a constant observer. I see potential in everything and my emotional reaction guides me to the specific inspiration. There are different aspects to my painting, for example technical skill, creative freedom and emotional truth. My goal is to create work that guides all these elements in a direction that moves me.”

ATELIER DOJO WORKSHOP POLICIES

• No refunds can be issued within 45 days of workshop date, unless canceled by Atelier Dojo.