Painting flowers and foliage is harder than it appears.

Flowers can be more difficult to paint than people! They're soft yet structured, opaque but will glow in certain lighting, and come in myriad colors and patterns that complicate the task of painting light and shadow.

Painting flowers used to be my weakness, but no more! I've learned the keys to painting beautiful, realistic flowers, and a vast array of plants and leaves. In this class, I'll teach you how to tackle the problem of painting these organic yet abstract forms.

Flora: Class Structure

You will have the option of working from life, photos, or a combination of both. Real and silk flowers will be available at the first class, and each student will be given a shelf for their still life which will not be disturbed between classes.

Painting can be done directly from the still life for all 4 weeks, and/or photos taken and printed. *If you wish to work from real flowers for all 4 weeks, I suggest each week you come to class with fresh flowers and I'll teach you how to strategically replace flowers as you progress.

You'll paint a tiny study and a larger, finished work simultaneously. This will allow you to experiment with each week's concept on the tiny study before committing to decisions on the larger work.

Each week's lesson will tackle a unique concept:

• Abstract composition and leading with softness
• Light, form, and depth on complex structures
• How to express colors & translucency of petals & leaves
• How to render details and textures that feel natural