Whether you’re at the beach, in the mountains, or exploring a natural outcropping in the West, rocks offer dynamic compositional and textural elements to any landscape. Inspiration can even be found in a man-made structure or right in your own backyard. Rocks can be magnificent subjects in their own right.

In this mixed media class, you’ll learn a common approach to painting rocks—no matter their location or purpose. We’ll explore how to see them as geometric forms and planes defined by light, reflection, and shadow. Using simplified shapes, color, value, texture, and expressive mark-making techniques, you’ll create a personal interpretation of your chosen rock subject.

Options may include a jetty, a famous rock monument, a bubbling creek with stones, a country stone wall, or a collection of small, treasured finds. Through a combination of small studies and finished paintings, students will gain a solid understanding of how to use rocks as impactful and realistic elements in their work.