Build your drawing and painting skills by learning and improving on technique, drawing vocabulary, and experimenting with the different painting tools of an artist. We will explore hues, tones, shading, and light sources with painting mediums like watercolor, acrylic, and ink to create depth and paint realistic subjects by perfecting every feature with painting skills. This class will explore tradition studio practices, such as still life studies, landscape painting, and painting from reference. New and continuing students welcome, as new projects and subjects will be explored. *This class is a part of our Certificate in Fine Arts Program and will give each student one point towards their CiFA certification.
About the Teaching Artist
SHIRA HOFMEKLER GREGORY is a recent transplant from NYC where she has worked as a professional actor and acting coach for over a decade. Gregory was a member of the Original Broadway Cast of FROST/NIXON starring Frank Langella and Michael Sheen, and appeared in the film Breaking Upwards by Daryl Wein; Zoe Lister-Jones (Mister Lister). Shira has been lucky enough to learn from the very best in the industry, and is inspired to lend her expertise to whomever might be curious (or serious) about acting. She is also a custom portrait artist by trade, rendering vivid and realistic portraits of families, homes, animals and children. Her personal artwork runs a lengthier gamut, exploring nature, the wild, the weird, and plumbing the Jungian jungle of her imagination. Regardless of foci, what remains consistent is making art that delves into the depths of raw emotion, and intimate moments. Shira works ambidextrously and her preferred mediums usually include graphite, charcoal, pen, watercolor, gouache, or her favorite, oil paint (however, gold foil, markers, and other mixed media have also often been employed). Shira aims to craft captivating visual experiences that transcend the limitations of intellect, inviting viewers to engage with her work on a more psychically tactile, and emotional level. She is passionate about and believes strongly in the healing power of the creative process.
