Experience Level: Beginner, no prior experience needed

Saturday January 24, 10am-3:30pm (1 session)

Ages 18+ (Please contact us at dsegerstrom@paramountarts.org if you have a younger student interested in participating) 

Designed for absolute beginners, this class dives into the wonderful world of watercolors.

Using introductory watercolor techniques, Anita will guide you through the elements of creating a successful painting! 

Materials to create one piece in class are included in the cost of tuition! 

Experience Level: Beginner, no prior experience needed

Saturday January 31 10am-3pm (1 session)

Ages 18+ (Please contact us at dsegerstrom@paramountarts.org if you have a younger student interested in participating)

Join us for this exciting class, highlighting techniques on capturing memories in a new and special format!

Whether you’re planning a bucket-list trip, wanting to chronicle one you’ve taken, or have fun with close-to-home adventures, come learn how to blend stories and drawings for a special travel journal.

A note from your instructor, Lisa McClintick  Welcome! I’m thrilled you’ll be joining us for this workshop at the Paramount Center for the Arts.

I’m including a list of supplies if you want to bring your own to class. If you don’t have supplies, no worries! I’ll bring colored pencils and watercolor paints you may borrow and test out during the workshop to see what you like the best.

Focus on finding a sketchbook to illustrate your adventures and to write your stories. Sketchbooks: Personally, I prefer hardcover portrait or landscape sketchbooks with bright white pages. Look for designated sketchbooks, which use slightly thicker paper for less bleed-through with pens and colored pencils or watercolor sketchbooks, which usually have 80 to 100-lb paper.

My favorites:       

• Leuchtturm sketchbooks, which have bright white paper.

My go-to for colored pencil sketches (Amazon or Blick).       

• Hand Book Paper Co. Travelogue Watercolor Journal 8.25 x 8.25 inches. They also have fabric-covered sketchbooks with ivory pages with a light toothiness.   

• Moleskine watercolor journal or sketchbook (Target, Barnes & Noble or online for best selection) Other sketchbooks that work:       

• Strathmore (Visual journal, watercolor, etc. Easy to find)       

• Canson (Usually spiral-bound and easy to find at local craft stores)       

• Hahnemuhle (online through Blick, Cheap Joe’s, Amazon)       

• Pentallic (affordable softcover on Amazon)       

• Stillman and Birn (hard and softcover. Many like the Beta series). Supplies for drawing and journaling- (choose which medium works best for you!)       

• Pigma Sakura Micron. The Micron .45 PN (plastic nib) is my go-to.       

• Gelly Roll brand white outliner, which is helpful for accents and masking writing mistakes.       • A pencil and eraser. Any will do. I like Papermate mechanical pencils and the Pentel Clic eraser.       

* Colored Pencils Prismacolor Premier colored pencils rank as my favorite for the variety of colors, availability at local stores, and ease of layering. A blender pencil works wonders, too.       

*Windsor Newtown Watercolor Paints: I will have extra paint sets, but you are welcome to bring your own.  Pentel waterbrushes are the easiest on-the-go option, but regular brushes work, too.

Where to find art supplies: Local:Michael’s and Hobby Lobby

Twin Cities: Blick Art Supplies (Edina, Roseville) and Wet Paint Store (St. Paul).

Online: Blick, Cheap Joe’s, Amazon, eBay (new or gently used).

Experience Level: Beginner, no prior experience needed

Saturday February 7, 10am-3:30pm (1 session)

Ages 18+ (Please contact us at dsegerstrom@paramountarts.org if you have a younger student interested in participating) 

Explore the fundamentals of Roman script and Chancery Cursive with easy to follow demonstrations and discussions on proper form, spacing and slantwork.  Bring a favorite quote or text to work from!

Materials provided for use during class, as part of your tuition fee!

Experience Level: Beginner, no prior experience needed

Saturday February 21, 9am-3:30pm (1 session)

Ages 18+ (Please contact us at dsegerstrom@paramountarts.org if you have a younger student interested in participating)

Join professional artist Suzann Beck, for this class focused on the introductory skills needed for drawing! Ideal for artists who are beginning to draw or intermediate artists who want to reinforce a good foundation for their drawing skills. Students will learn and practice fundamentals including:

• Line and Tone

• Light and Shadow Values

• Techniques for Comparative Measuring

• Developing Good Compositions

Students will learn how to render a drawing from start to finish with still life setups to fit individual skill levels.

MATERIALS, please bring the following:

Notebook and pen/pencil for taking notes

Soft Vine Charcoal

Generals (brand) Charcoal Pencils—Black and white. (A General’s pack that has 3 hardnesses, a white pencil and kneaded eraser is ideal for the workshop.)

Generals (brand) 6B or 8B Graphite Pencil

2 or more sticks of square compressed charcoal.

Kneaded Eraser

Economical Sketching Paper (I recommend Strathmore sketching paper or similar, at least 14” x 18” notepad or similar).

1 or 2 sheets of tinted Strathmore Charcoal paper or similar for your final drawings.

Masking tape or clips to secure your paper.

A drawing board to attach your paper to (small, medium, or large size).

Paper towels for blending charcoal.

Pencil Sharpener.

If possible, a grayscale/value finder to help you identify and duplicate shadow values.

Optional: A couple of simple objects to use in a still life—plain in texture and color.

Optional items, not needed for the workshop but fun to have!

Chamois cloth for lifting/blending charcoal.

Dry erase pad for soft erasing and cleaning up backgrounds (used in mechanical drawings)

A travel sketchbook and .07mm mechanical pencil and leads—used for sketching on the run.

Experience Level: Beginner, no prior experience needed

Saturday February 28, 10am-3:30pm (1 session)

Ages 18+ (Please contact us at dsegerstrom@paramountarts.org if you have a younger student interested in participating) 

Unleash your imagination in this fun and exploratory workshop that combines the fluid beauty of watercolor with the expressive possibilities of collage! 

Designed for absolute beginners and curious creatives alike, this class invites you to explore abstract art using introductory watercolor techniques that, when combined with basic collage methods, lead to one truly unique work of art!  

Materials to create one piece in class are included in the cost of tuition! 

Experience Level: Beginner; no prior experience required

Saturday March 7, 10am-3pm (1 session) 

Ages 18+ (Please contact us at dsegerstrom@paramountarts.org if you have a younger student interested in participating) 

Explore the beautiful art of Pysanky, the Ukrainian tradition of egg dyeing. Using techniques and patterns she learned from her Grandmother, Laurie will guide the you through the process of creating your own eggs! Each student will have the opportunity to consider several designs and four eggs to either create in class or finish at home using the skills you develop in class!

All materials included in the cost of tuition! 

Experience Level: Beginner, no prior experience needed

Saturday March 14, 10am-3:30pm (1 session)

Ages 18+ (Please contact us at dsegerstrom@paramountarts.org if you have a younger student interested in participating) 

Explore the fundamentals of Roman script and Chancery Cursive with easy to follow demonstrations and discussions on proper form & spacing.  Bring a favorite quote or text from which to work!

Materials provided for use during class, as part of your tuition fee!

Experience Level: Beginner, no prior experience needed

Saturday March 21, 9am-3:30pm (1 session)

Ages 18+ (Please contact us at dsegerstrom@paramountarts.org if you have a younger student interested in participating)

Flowers in Soft Pastel! Explore the lush qualities and endless possibilities of soft pastel in this one-day floral workshop. Suzann will walk you through a step-by-step process starting with a sketch and building up to a luminous finish. You will explore light effect, color temperature and development, value and edges, as well as learn pastel best practices. Suzann will also demonstrate how to use an alcohol wash to add yet another amazing technique to your pastel work. The first segment features a short lecture and demonstration with hands-on student work from photo reference for the remainder of the workshop

Please bring the following materials to class:

Notebook and pen/pencil for taking notes.

A sheet of tinted, fine-grit sanded pastel paper in light or medium gray or other muted color (400 to 800 grit), brands I recommend are Sennelier La Carte, Claire fontaine Pastelmat, Art Spectrum Colourfix Coated Pastel Paper, Pastelbord or other pastel paper you’re comfortable with. 11 x 14 or 12 x16 is a good size to give you plenty of margins for your work.

Some pastel papers come mounted to a rigid backing that give your piece better support for framing.

If you’d like to experiment with the alcohol wash, UArt 800 grit sanded paper in white is a great paper to work with.

Masking tape or clips to secure your paper.

A small drawing board and table top easel. A dust tray made of stiff paper or split paper towel cores to put under drawing board and paper towels.

A Pastel Pencil in a wine or magenta color.

An assortment of soft, semi-soft pastels in the NuPastels brand—the dry “chalk” kind (oil pastels are not appropriate for this technique). For this class I prefer square semi-soft pastels. Square pastels have nice edges for more precise work. A 30- or 36-piece half-stick set would be a good starter set. Look for pastel sets that have a good assortment of lights and darks in each color. Also look for pastels that have nuanced subtle colors as well as intense.

A small tray to hold pastels that are in use.

Feel free to bring your own floral photo reference to work from. The instructor will also provide photos to work from. The following are optional, but nice to have:

If you would like to use gloves to protect your hands from pastel dust, I recommend gardening gloves with breathable mesh backs and a rubber coating on the bottom of the fingers and palm (avoid the nitrile! they’re too stiff!).

Pastel pencils can be helpful for sharp detail. Pan pastels, if you have them, can be convenient for block-ins. A very soft brush if you’d like to soften edges.

Alcohol and a brush if you’d like to experiment with pastel washes.

A piece of glassine or wax paper to protect your drawing on the way home.