ACADEMY
Welcome to an exciting way to study painting. Our Master Courses and Mini Courses are designed for you to take at your own pace on your own time schedule. Each course includes video lessons, step-by-step guidance, exercises to practice what you have learned, and opportunity to get feedback from Dianne. Once you have completed the course, you will receive a Certificate of Achievement.
Our Master Courses evolved from Dianne’s workshops. They take a single composing concept and explore it in-depth.
Our Mini Courses are created from Dianne’s Series of lesson downloads. Each mini course guides your through up to four ways to work with a single composing concept.
Our Courses Thus Far
Conveying the Light Source
In this MASTER COURSE you will learn...
• How to locate the primary light source
• How to determine whether primary light source is direct or diffused.
• How to determine the direction and strength of the light rays
• How planes are being hit by light rays or thrown into shadow
Working with Notan
In this MASTER COURSE you will learn...
•How to make a notan of shadows and not-in-shadow
• How to translate the notan into a large range of values
• How to determine which portions of the notan belong in the middle value range
• How to shift value ranges and keep values balanced
Translating Shadows
In this MASTER COURSE you will learn...
• The kinds of shadows and how behave
• How to set your palette for creating shadows
• How to set a notan as foundation for the painting
• How to mix colors and values for realistic shadows.
Mastering Foreshortening
In this MASTER COURSE you will learn...
•How the angle of edges changes when planes of images are turned away from us
•How the length of planes get shorter the further they are turned away from us
•How sometimes shapes in front will overlap those that are receding •How as shapes recede, they get smaller
Controlling Value Contrasts
In this MASTER COURSE, you will learn...
• How to recognize the intervals between values
• How to determine the degrees of any value contrast
• How to control the degree of contrast
• How to use value contrast to guide the eye
Mastering Gesture Drawing
In this MINI COURSE you will learn...
• How to capture the movement (life) in your subjects
• How to retrain your thoughts so that you draw what you are seeing
• How to make your drawings flow
• How to build confidence in your ability to draw
Guiding the Eye
In this MINI COURSE you will learn...
• How to look beyond the image and into its value structure
• How to set the stage in your painting for guiding the eye
• How to recognize value contrasts and value gradations
• A sequence allowing the painting to emerge general to specific
Creating Distance
In this MINI COURSE you will learn...
• How to create distance by gradating with color
• How to create distance by gradating textures
• How to create distance by controlling the range of value contrasts
• How to create distance by decreasing sizes
Cracking the Color Code
In this MASTER COURSE You will learn...
• How to think about color to mix any color you see
• A color-relationship method for setting up your palette
• How to use the color wheel as your guide
• How recognize hue, value and intensity while painting.
Creating Luminosity
In this MASTER COURSE you will learn...
• What causes us to see luminescence
• The skill of gradation in creating luminosity
• The role of using color chords in creating luminosity
• How to set up your palette for creating luminosity in your paintings
Working with Warm & Cool Colors
In this MASTER COURSE, you will learn...
• Why we call colors warm or cool
• How to discern whether a color is warm or cool
• Ways to make colors warmer or cooler
• How to use warm and cool colors in our paintings
Determining Placement of Images
In this MASTER COURSE, you will learn...
• How to decide where to place your images
• How visual movement is created by placement
• How to align images for dynamic and static movement
• How to crop for the strongest placement
More Opportunities to Learn
Quick Tips
More than 350 Quick Tips on painting techniques and concepts.
Individual Video Series and Lessons
Individual lessons you can download and own. These are lessons from which the MINI COURSES are created.
Monthly Livestream Workshops
Study with a group and have an individual coaching session with Dianne.
Learn how composing is the life and spirit of your paintings.
Painting skills go far beyond learning how to manage a brush and paint. At their heart is learning how to see and how to interpret your vision with your own voice.
An artist is not merely copying a scene, but is using the information in that scene to express an inner voice unique to each of us.
Your artistic voice is an expression of your authentic uniqueness. We give you guidance that helps you build sound tools and allows you the freedom to fully express that voice.