Unpacking Composition (Online Course) Spring 2025 w/ Denis Dalesio
May 10 to June 7 (Saturdays), 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Eastern Time
**All sessions are live and will be recorded, students do not have to be present. All recordings will be available to students for 3 months after the final session, after 3 months the recording will be deleted.
Please check your email spam/junk folder for your Zoom invite.
DEMO: https://youtu.be/E5up13JeZoc
Course Description
This 5-week course is designed to help artists create their unique navigation of composition in their work. Students will be introduced to the ideas of color theory, compositional principles, and technical devices to add to their toolbox as artists. Over five weeks, Students will learn how to collect references, compose Notan studies, and develop a process for constructing various compositions for final works of art. Classes will consist of demos, lectures, and in-class working sessions. Students are also encouraged to come to class with a list of goals and questions that will help better their learning experience.
Lesson examples:
How to Find Compositions in Media - A lecture that focuses on various media sources to unpack compositional design from. Discussing the many ways an image’s mood and feeling can be impacted by its design. A demo will then be given showing how to construct a Notan sketch for compositional breakdowns.
Color and Value Mixing - This lesson starts with a lecture on color and value. Sharing images from paintings of the past and present as examples. Then a demo will be given that explains ideas of value and colors, students will be given a small in-class project that focuses on mixing paint and developing a sensitivity to value and color.
Class Objectives
Grasping a better understanding of materials, application, color relationships, and design principles.
Developing a studio practice.
Encourage students to develop a better sense of exploration, intuition, and critical thinking with their work.
Learn how to navigate color palettes, value structure and create their own artistic relationship to color.
Course Outline
Week 1: Course Introduction/ Notan Sketching
An overview of the course and varies compositional ideas. A quick demo on thumbnailing color designs.
Homework: Pick up any remaining supplies and have your thumbnails ready for next week.
Week 2: Converting Sketches
There will be a demo on how to pick work from sketches and start a new painting or drawing.
Homework: Get your images fully blocked in and ready for the next class.
Week 3: Color and Value Lecture/ Continuation of Demo
Another lecture on the importance of value and color and its impact on our work. Resume demo from the prior week.
Homework: Continue to work on paintings.
Week 4: Learning to Resolve
A demo that focuses on resolving an image and bringing it to its final state
Homework: Complete projects and have them ready for critique
Week 5: Final Critique
The day will be spent looking at all the work you have completed throughout the course.
Course Materials List
Drawing Supply list
Drawing Pencils- whatever brand best suits you. I like to use Tombow and Blackwing pencils
Generals Graphite Powder
Blending stumps or soft brush (only if you want)
Acrylic Painting Supply List
-Recommended Acrylic paint brands:
Golden Heavy body acrylic (these are what I normally use), Liquitex Heavy body, Lukas professional artist acrylics, Golden Open acrylics (These stay wet longer, they mimic oil to a degree)
Basic color palette:
Ivory Black
Titanium White
Pyrrole Red
Primary Yellow (Winsor) or Benzimidazolone Yellow Light
Ultramarine Marine Blue
Yellow Ochre
Burnt Sienna
Cobalt Blue
Alizarin Crimson or Quinacridone magenta
Extra Colors, Not Mandatory
Burnet Sienna
Cerulean Blue
Burnt Umber
Cad Red Medium
Cad Orange
Cobalt Green
Surfaces: Whatever surface you are comfortable on.
Canvases (I would aim for 11”x14” or 16”x20” for the size, but you may use your own preference)
Canvas or linen boards
MDF boards or wood boards- birch is a great wood to work on, just make sure you have primed it with a coat of acrylic white gesso
Acrylic canvas paper or Arches Cold or hot press 9” 12” Blocks (if you prefer to paint on paper)
Any other brands of Watercolor Blocks are fine as well. Just make sure they are 9”x 12”
For Drawing I prefer to use Bristol board (Make sure it is the Vellum surface) or Fabriano hot press
Other Important Items:
Drawing board
Artist tape
Plastic, Glass or Paper Palette - Any brand, *12” x 16” Make sure the ground is white, It is okay if you buy grey-2 water jar (plastic, glass or cups)
Metal Palette knife
Cotton Rags or paper towels (Cut up, old T-shirts work well)
Where to Buy?
Dick Blick Art Materials
website: www.dickblick.com
Jerry’s Artarama
website: https://www.jerrysartarama.com/
Other Items:
Pencil
Note Book
Magic Rub Eraser OR Kneaded Eraser
May 10 to June 7 (Saturdays), 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Eastern Time
**All sessions are live and will be recorded, students do not have to be present. All recordings will be available to students for 3 months after the final session, after 3 months the recording will be deleted.
Please check your email spam/junk folder for your Zoom invite.
DEMO: https://youtu.be/E5up13JeZoc
Course Description
This 5-week course is designed to help artists create their unique navigation of composition in their work. Students will be introduced to the ideas of color theory, compositional principles, and technical devices to add to their toolbox as artists. Over five weeks, Students will learn how to collect references, compose Notan studies, and develop a process for constructing various compositions for final works of art. Classes will consist of demos, lectures, and in-class working sessions. Students are also encouraged to come to class with a list of goals and questions that will help better their learning experience.
Lesson examples:
How to Find Compositions in Media - A lecture that focuses on various media sources to unpack compositional design from. Discussing the many ways an image’s mood and feeling can be impacted by its design. A demo will then be given showing how to construct a Notan sketch for compositional breakdowns.
Color and Value Mixing - This lesson starts with a lecture on color and value. Sharing images from paintings of the past and present as examples. Then a demo will be given that explains ideas of value and colors, students will be given a small in-class project that focuses on mixing paint and developing a sensitivity to value and color.
Class Objectives
Grasping a better understanding of materials, application, color relationships, and design principles.
Developing a studio practice.
Encourage students to develop a better sense of exploration, intuition, and critical thinking with their work.
Learn how to navigate color palettes, value structure and create their own artistic relationship to color.
Course Outline
Week 1: Course Introduction/ Notan Sketching
An overview of the course and varies compositional ideas. A quick demo on thumbnailing color designs.
Homework: Pick up any remaining supplies and have your thumbnails ready for next week.
Week 2: Converting Sketches
There will be a demo on how to pick work from sketches and start a new painting or drawing.
Homework: Get your images fully blocked in and ready for the next class.
Week 3: Color and Value Lecture/ Continuation of Demo
Another lecture on the importance of value and color and its impact on our work. Resume demo from the prior week.
Homework: Continue to work on paintings.
Week 4: Learning to Resolve
A demo that focuses on resolving an image and bringing it to its final state
Homework: Complete projects and have them ready for critique
Week 5: Final Critique
The day will be spent looking at all the work you have completed throughout the course.
Course Materials List
Drawing Supply list
Drawing Pencils- whatever brand best suits you. I like to use Tombow and Blackwing pencils
Generals Graphite Powder
Blending stumps or soft brush (only if you want)
Acrylic Painting Supply List
-Recommended Acrylic paint brands:
Golden Heavy body acrylic (these are what I normally use), Liquitex Heavy body, Lukas professional artist acrylics, Golden Open acrylics (These stay wet longer, they mimic oil to a degree)
Basic color palette:
Ivory Black
Titanium White
Pyrrole Red
Primary Yellow (Winsor) or Benzimidazolone Yellow Light
Ultramarine Marine Blue
Yellow Ochre
Burnt Sienna
Cobalt Blue
Alizarin Crimson or Quinacridone magenta
Extra Colors, Not Mandatory
Burnet Sienna
Cerulean Blue
Burnt Umber
Cad Red Medium
Cad Orange
Cobalt Green
Surfaces: Whatever surface you are comfortable on.
Canvases (I would aim for 11”x14” or 16”x20” for the size, but you may use your own preference)
Canvas or linen boards
MDF boards or wood boards- birch is a great wood to work on, just make sure you have primed it with a coat of acrylic white gesso
Acrylic canvas paper or Arches Cold or hot press 9” 12” Blocks (if you prefer to paint on paper)
Any other brands of Watercolor Blocks are fine as well. Just make sure they are 9”x 12”
For Drawing I prefer to use Bristol board (Make sure it is the Vellum surface) or Fabriano hot press
Other Important Items:
Drawing board
Artist tape
Plastic, Glass or Paper Palette - Any brand, *12” x 16” Make sure the ground is white, It is okay if you buy grey-2 water jar (plastic, glass or cups)
Metal Palette knife
Cotton Rags or paper towels (Cut up, old T-shirts work well)
Where to Buy?
Dick Blick Art Materials
website: www.dickblick.com
Jerry’s Artarama
website: https://www.jerrysartarama.com/
Other Items:
Pencil
Note Book
Magic Rub Eraser OR Kneaded Eraser
May 10 to June 7 (Saturdays), 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Eastern Time
**All sessions are live and will be recorded, students do not have to be present. All recordings will be available to students for 3 months after the final session, after 3 months the recording will be deleted.
Please check your email spam/junk folder for your Zoom invite.
DEMO: https://youtu.be/E5up13JeZoc
Course Description
This 5-week course is designed to help artists create their unique navigation of composition in their work. Students will be introduced to the ideas of color theory, compositional principles, and technical devices to add to their toolbox as artists. Over five weeks, Students will learn how to collect references, compose Notan studies, and develop a process for constructing various compositions for final works of art. Classes will consist of demos, lectures, and in-class working sessions. Students are also encouraged to come to class with a list of goals and questions that will help better their learning experience.
Lesson examples:
How to Find Compositions in Media - A lecture that focuses on various media sources to unpack compositional design from. Discussing the many ways an image’s mood and feeling can be impacted by its design. A demo will then be given showing how to construct a Notan sketch for compositional breakdowns.
Color and Value Mixing - This lesson starts with a lecture on color and value. Sharing images from paintings of the past and present as examples. Then a demo will be given that explains ideas of value and colors, students will be given a small in-class project that focuses on mixing paint and developing a sensitivity to value and color.
Class Objectives
Grasping a better understanding of materials, application, color relationships, and design principles.
Developing a studio practice.
Encourage students to develop a better sense of exploration, intuition, and critical thinking with their work.
Learn how to navigate color palettes, value structure and create their own artistic relationship to color.
Course Outline
Week 1: Course Introduction/ Notan Sketching
An overview of the course and varies compositional ideas. A quick demo on thumbnailing color designs.
Homework: Pick up any remaining supplies and have your thumbnails ready for next week.
Week 2: Converting Sketches
There will be a demo on how to pick work from sketches and start a new painting or drawing.
Homework: Get your images fully blocked in and ready for the next class.
Week 3: Color and Value Lecture/ Continuation of Demo
Another lecture on the importance of value and color and its impact on our work. Resume demo from the prior week.
Homework: Continue to work on paintings.
Week 4: Learning to Resolve
A demo that focuses on resolving an image and bringing it to its final state
Homework: Complete projects and have them ready for critique
Week 5: Final Critique
The day will be spent looking at all the work you have completed throughout the course.
Course Materials List
Drawing Supply list
Drawing Pencils- whatever brand best suits you. I like to use Tombow and Blackwing pencils
Generals Graphite Powder
Blending stumps or soft brush (only if you want)
Acrylic Painting Supply List
-Recommended Acrylic paint brands:
Golden Heavy body acrylic (these are what I normally use), Liquitex Heavy body, Lukas professional artist acrylics, Golden Open acrylics (These stay wet longer, they mimic oil to a degree)
Basic color palette:
Ivory Black
Titanium White
Pyrrole Red
Primary Yellow (Winsor) or Benzimidazolone Yellow Light
Ultramarine Marine Blue
Yellow Ochre
Burnt Sienna
Cobalt Blue
Alizarin Crimson or Quinacridone magenta
Extra Colors, Not Mandatory
Burnet Sienna
Cerulean Blue
Burnt Umber
Cad Red Medium
Cad Orange
Cobalt Green
Surfaces: Whatever surface you are comfortable on.
Canvases (I would aim for 11”x14” or 16”x20” for the size, but you may use your own preference)
Canvas or linen boards
MDF boards or wood boards- birch is a great wood to work on, just make sure you have primed it with a coat of acrylic white gesso
Acrylic canvas paper or Arches Cold or hot press 9” 12” Blocks (if you prefer to paint on paper)
Any other brands of Watercolor Blocks are fine as well. Just make sure they are 9”x 12”
For Drawing I prefer to use Bristol board (Make sure it is the Vellum surface) or Fabriano hot press
Other Important Items:
Drawing board
Artist tape
Plastic, Glass or Paper Palette - Any brand, *12” x 16” Make sure the ground is white, It is okay if you buy grey-2 water jar (plastic, glass or cups)
Metal Palette knife
Cotton Rags or paper towels (Cut up, old T-shirts work well)
Where to Buy?
Dick Blick Art Materials
website: www.dickblick.com
Jerry’s Artarama
website: https://www.jerrysartarama.com/
Other Items:
Pencil
Note Book
Magic Rub Eraser OR Kneaded Eraser