“Seeing is already a creative operation and that demands an effort.” –Henry Matisse
Are you ready to wield a paint brush? This beginning-level course introduces both the skills needed to paint, and how to observe and reflect the world around you like an artist. Join Shahin Shikhaliyev, in learning how to make the mental shift to a different way of looking to create a "painterly representation" of what you see. Painting is as much about how you think as it is the process of putting colors on canvas.
Participants are introduced to composition, color and value management and the process of visual selection and spend time in class experimenting with these concepts by painting a series of still-life set ups. You also learn how to develop painting techniques by researching one favorite American painter from the Smithsonian collections.
Don't worry—anybody can paint! We all have our own way of processing visual information. With these skills, you can develop your own unique painterly "language." Basic drawing skills are helpful but not necessary. Students work in the medium of acrylic paint. A supply list is mailed prior to the first session.
Instructor Shahin Shikhaliyev has taught Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain at The Smithsonian Associates for many years.
6 sessions, 3 hours each
Download the supply list for this class
About the Instructor
Shahin Shikhaliyev graduated with a B.A. in Visual Arts from Azerbaijan State Art College, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Shahin works include oil painting, black and white drawings, and etching. Shikhaliyev has been exhibiting his work since 1989 and participating in numerous group and solo shows throughout Europe, Middle East and United States.Shikhaliyev has been teaching art in the Washington DC metropolitan area since 2000 at the Smithsonian Associates, H Street Studio and Spectrum Art Studio. More..
Smithsonian Connections
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has a substantial collection of Abbott Handerson Thayer’s artwork. Thayer, a native New Englander, painted at the turn of the century and was a master of seeing and rendering the figure and landscape in paint.
