Instructor: Donna Weathers

Workshop: Figuring Abstractly

Dates: April 17-20, 2026

Days: 4

Hours: 10:00am-4:00pm

Level: All

Size: 10

Tuition: $1,100

Description

Get loose, get messy, and let the figure take a backseat to your intuition. In this hands-on workshop, we’ll explore how the human form can slip in and out of focus through bold mark-making and layered abstraction—creating richly textured mixed-media paintings that hover between the figurative and the abstract. Whether your figure is front and center or just a whisper, you’ll learn to loosen up, trust your instincts, and enjoy the process.

Experiment With

• Gestural sketching, the grid method, transfer paper—and totally winging it

• Brushes, trowels, texture tools, and a “make a mess on purpose” mindset

• Simple iPhone apps to stretch, distort, and remix your figure reference

• Xerox copies + Sharpies for old-school cut-up fun

Goals

• Learn to loosen up and paint intuitively

• Merge abstract and figurative elements with confidence

• Discover new ways to create depth through layering and mark-making

• Strengthen your personal voice and sense of play in the studio

Bring some figure photos (digital or printed), your favorite tools (or use mine), and clothes you don’t mind ruining.