Instructor Biography
Kathy studied painting and botany in college and completed a Master’s in medical illustration. Always drawing and painting, she worked as a surgical illustrator for 25 years, and after many years of black and white found her passion in color. Kathy has been teaching painting and figure drawing for 10 years, here in the states and in China.
Whether landscape or figurative work, Kathy seeks to let the painting have its particular voice. She begins with the abstract underpinnings and works to find the delicate balance in the tension between the abstract and representational. She keeps the painting process visible/apparent, the surface playful and maintains the integrity of the individual stroke.
“I want to preserve the gesture, the movement of my hand, creating an illusion of space and light while simultaneously asserting the surface of the painting. I love being on the knife blade of time, painting to capture what I’m seeing as the moment passes, being focused, in the flow.”
Nepal and China were Kathy’s home for 15 years. She has painted in wild and exotic places: Laos, Nepal, India and Mongolia, but few places have the allure of Colorado. Kathy now divides her landscape time between the cityscapes and patchwork of the midwest and the high mountains of Colorado.
Class Overview
Using the human figure as our subject, students will learn how to render volume, space, tonal values, movement, effects of light on subject matter, rhythms, and composition. Through the use of formal and structural aspects of the human body students will be encouraged to find their own two dimensional expression of the human form and gesture.
Learning to see both accurately and abstractly, making decisions of inclusion and omission, students will be working in black and white, improving drawing and seeing skills and learning to see value and edges. A variety of drawing mediums will be used: vine and compressed charcoal, graphite and ink; we will also explore the importance of the eraser as a drawing tool.
The class will look at relevant figurative artists for the topic of the day.
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Instructor Biography
Gregory Botts attended the School of Visual Arts in 1970 and the Skowhegan School in 1972. He has shown in NYC since 1984, having held 8 one person shows at the Anne Plumb Gallery, he most recently showed at the Salander & O’Reilly Gallery, NYC and Gerald Peters Gallery, in Santa Fe, NM. He spent much of the 1990′s painting in the Western US. He worked on what became, a somewhat Whitmanian epic of the “Open Road,” or as his 1993 show at Tony Shafrazi Gallery, in NY was titled, “The Western Jaunt.” He continues these Western paintings today. Recently he returned to Long Island and continued the similar system there, to make something of the place.
Gregory’s method includes the making of site paintings each summer. He then enlarges them as studio paintings. A figure is often added and this creates a loose narrative. This Narrative system is set beside another more Abstract (cropped) style. The juxtapositions of surfaces representing past (distant) and future (close) spaces create a sense of the present moment constantly evolving. A book of poetry titled, “Clouds, leaves, waves” was published by Turtle Point Press in 1996, which detailed his painting trips throughout the US.
Gregory works in NYC and Abiquiu, New Mexico.
Class Overview
Figure Painting has always been the standard of what an artist achieved. In a Myth, the Hero or Artist goes back into the woods (of drawing) to find something. A form that feels right, and one presents it as the Painting’s surface. A Figure is what we look for, it has something to tell us. What does it look like for each of us? As this is our spirit.
We want to especially feel our drawing allows us to be free in this journey. So it is good this class follows one of drawing. This can be more about likeness, we call Realism, or a feeling called Expressionism. We will explore it all.
The class will evolve through drawing on Paper with Conte crayon, into Acrylic paint and into Oil Painting. The model will be with us daily. We will examine Art History as our guide through the class.
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Instructor Biography
Allyn Hart, of Alta, Utah, uses printmaking, sewing, drawing, and painting to produce intricate monoprints, just one of the art forms that make up her extensive portfolio. An artist since childhood, Allyn holds a BFA and MFA in Fine Arts. She has taught at the University of Utah in Drawing, Design, Sculpture, Art Appreciation and Printmaking. For the past few years she has been involved in the Book Arts Center at the Marriott Library at the University of Utah.
Class Overview
This course will focus on developing and exploring images and symbols that resonate with each student to create a truly unique vocabulary of personal images. The course will provide the time and space to get in touch with an inner creative voice in a fully supported environment where improvisation and experimentation are nurtured and encouraged. With guidance, each student will complete a personal visual language to create unique and powerful pieces using simple printmaking methods.
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Instructor Biography
Born in Laredo, Texas in 1951 Robert earned a Masters in Systematic Theology at Union Seminary (NY) in 1986. This was followed by a Masters in Painting at Claremont Graduate Art School in Claremont CA. He moved to Telluride in 1977. He was commissioned by the Sierra Club Books to create seventeen paintings for a children’s book entitled Desert Dog, released in Fall 2001.
Weatherford resides in Telluride, Colorado painting and teaching at the Ah Haa School for the Arts where he also serves on the Board of Directors.
Course overview
While appealing to the external senses, a painting can also be a deeply personal and spiritual experience. This class is for students who wish to render their internal landscapes or the movement of their spirit. The instructor believes that what makes a painting speak to the painter as well as the viewer is honesty—hence they become paintings from the soul, not the intellect. Students will focus on a subject each class and leaving with a different painting from each day of class.
Each student will make a brief presentation of images and/or biographical material from an artist that they respect to the class every week.
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We seek to affirm an honest, courageous, and spiritual approach to art making. Painting begins with consciousness of the mystery of life. This is what makes being an artist meaningful.
Students will develop discipline-based knowledge, practical skills and a personal expressive style. Each block is designed to guide students through exercises that will help them cultivate a creative vocabulary to pull from for future work and exploration. Ultimately, the student will take their work to greater depths while focusing on style and voice.
The Ah Haa School for the Arts (Ah Haa) was established in 1990 by visionary book artist Daniel Tucker as an independent, non-profit studio art school in beautiful Telluride, Colorado. Ah Haa is a cultural center for art education and exploration, and offers workshops and classes year ‘round for both children and adults. Ah Haa founded the prestigious American Academy of Bookbinding in 1993, and during the fall semester program, bookbinding students and painting students will have an opportunity to interact and share experiences.
Under the direction of Artistic Director Robert Weatherford, the Telluride Painting Academy at Ah Haa provides a framework for an intense learning experience through programs of study that are delivered in four “blocks” throughout the fall months. Engaging in studio art courses is especially rewarding when surrounded by a stunning natural landscape. Students are encouraged to take full advantage of the inspiration and renewal available through outdoor experiences while visiting here.
How it worksThis program is designed for studio art majors, as well as serious painters who are looking to further develop their artistic expression and skills. Each block is taught as an intensive class and lasts three-and-a-half weeks. Each class meets for a total of 67.5 hours and is worth three college credits. Between blocks, you will have time off to enjoy the outdoor opportunities Telluride is famous for. Transcripts for this program are issued by the Ah Haa School for the Arts.
Classes run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday, with afternoons dedicated to studio work if desired. As a student of the Painting Academy you will have 24-hour access to the painting studio during the week and most weekends. Internet access, study space and information resources are available at Telluride’s world-class Wilkinson Public Library.
Course fees for the fall semester at the Painting Academy at Ah Haa are $1,800 per block. There are additional studio fees per block as follows: 1st Block: $175 (model fee); 2nd Block: $175 (model fee); 3rd Block $45 (ink fee); 4th Block: no fee. Four courses/blocks are offered per semester, so full semester tuition is $7,200 plus a $395 studio fee for 12 credits. Tuition assistance is available, apply now!
Enrollment in classes takes place on a rolling basis beginning March 1, 2013. Students may enroll in all four blocks or take individual blocks. A $25 fee is due upon application and a 20% deposit is required upon acceptance. Students will be notified within two weeks if their application has been accepted. Final payment of all tuition and fees is due 45 days prior to the start of each course block. Students will be required to purchase their own supplies and materials, and specific materials lists for each class will be provided.
Full tuition, less the $25 non-refundable application fee, will be returned when cancellations occur 45 days or more before the course block starts. No refund will be given when a cancellation is made less than 45 days before the course begins.
We are not an accredited school, however we will work with you and your home institution to help facilitate the transfer of Telluride Painting Academy credit hours. Our program is designed to be compatible with college and university art programs and each 67.5-hour block is the equivalent of 3 credit hours.
Students may arrange their own housing or stay in housing provided by Ah Haa. We offer shared accommodations in local houses and condos. Students have their own bedrooms, but share living rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms with one or more students in their program. Housing is arranged only for students enrolling in the full semester. The fee for housing for the full semester is $4,000. Please indicate on your application whether you are interested in housing or not.
Painting Academy Online Application Download Painting Academy Information See the official Telluride Painting Academy Press Release
For questions and information, please contact Jessica Newens, Curriculum Director at 970.728-3886 or jess@ahhaa.org.
