Workshops
Upcoming workshops 2023
We regularly host workshops to introduce students to new techniques and materials. Workshops typically meet on one day for around 3 hours. Workshops are designed to introduce new processes and challenge students to approach art in a different way and get outside their comfort zone.
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Upcoming workshops:
Speed Painting: Freeing your approach
Saturday, May 6th
11am-2pm
More workshops are coming soon!
We are currently making some structural changes at the studio, and will offer more workshops in spring 2023. Topics could include:
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Gestural Drawing
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Screen Printing
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Figure Drawing
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Book Binding
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2023 Workshops
Speed Painting:
Freeing your Approach
Instructor:
Abby Brown
Saturday, May 6th
11am-2pm
This workshop is designed to help students to disinhibit their approach to painting. Often, the more time we have to work on a painting, the more we can fall into perfectionistic tendencies, which can block us creatively. By setting time limits to painting during this workshop, you will be challenged to ignore the details and not stress about small “imperfections”. Instead, this approach will require you to prioritize and focus on the essence of your subject matter, focusing on the big picture and the most important parts of your composition, while letting the rest remain minimalist and gestural.
Often, this time restriction can lead to some of the most expressive and confident paintings, with bold brush strokes and creative experimentation. Not only are the results of speed paintings often valuable in their own right, but this is also excellent practice for the first layers of a more developed painting, as an overly careful and precise underpainting can actually inhibit more expressive and free approaches as the painting develops.
In this workshop, we will complete a number of quick paintings, ranging in time from 5 to 45 minutes in length. We will also experiment with various surfaces and materials, from cardboard to unstretched canvas. We will mostly use acrylic paint for these paintings, as it will be easier to work with than oil paints with the short time-frame for each painting.
There will be demonstrations and one-on-one feedback from the instructor throughout the workshop.
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When: Saturday May 6th, from 11am-2pm
Where: AB Art Studios, Augasse 2-6, 1090 Vienna
Price: €45 + €15 materials fee, €60 total
2022 Workshops
Outdoor Drawing
Instructors:
Abby Brown
and
Patrick Loan
Saturday, September 17th
11am-1:30pm
Join us for outdoor drawing in Vienna! We will gather in Augarten in Vienna to explore outdoor drawing, where we can combine architectural elements together with landscape drawing. Points of emphasis will include landscape composition, perspective, depth, and mark making.
Abby Brown and Patrick Loan will both be present as instructors to demonstrate various approaches to outdoor drawing. The session will start with 30-45 minutes of warm ups and experimental approaches, and then we will move into 1-2 more developed drawings for the remaining time.
You should bring:
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Drawing materials: Sketchbook (A3 size recommended), pencil set, erasers, etc.
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Portable chair or picnic blanket (we will be in a lawn area)
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Drinks and snacks recommended to stay hydrated
When: Saturday, September 17th, 11am-1:30pm
Price: €30 workshop fee
Where: We will meet around the trees in front of the Tower. Click Here for the exact location on google maps
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Weather/cancellation:
Since this is an outdoor event, if there is rainy weather we will unfortunately need to postpone the session. Please be sure to register for this workshop to be on the email list for any updates in case of bad weather, and keep an eye on your email inbox.
Speed Painting:
Freeing your Approach
Instructor:
Abby Brown
Saturday, October 22nd
11am-2pm
This workshop is designed to help students to disinhibit their approach to painting. Often, the more time we have to work on a painting, the more we can fall into perfectionistic tendencies, which can block us creatively. By setting time limits to painting during this workshop, you will be challenged to ignore the details and not stress about small “imperfections”. Instead, this approach will require you to prioritize and focus on the essence of your subject matter, focusing on the big picture and the most important parts of your composition, while letting the rest remain minimalist and gestural.
Often, this time restriction can lead to some of the most expressive and confident paintings, with bold brush strokes and creative experimentation. Not only are the results of speed paintings often valuable in their own right, but this is also excellent practice for the first layers of a more developed painting, as an overly careful and precise underpainting can actually inhibit more expressive and free approaches as the painting develops.
In this workshop, we will complete a number of quick paintings, ranging in time from 5 to 45 minutes in length. We will also experiment with various surfaces and materials, from cardboard to unstretched canvas. We will mostly use acrylic paint for the shorter paintings, with the option to switch to oil for some of the longer paintings.
There will be demonstrations and one-on-one feedback from the instructor throughout the workshop.
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When: Saturday October 22nd, from 11am-2pm
Where: AB Art Studios, Augasse 2-6, 1090 Vienna
Price: €45 + €15 materials fee, €60 total
Figure Drawing:
Anatomy of the Figure
Instructor:
Abby Brown
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Saturday, November 5th
11am-2pm
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Figure drawing is an essential part of many artist's practice, and excellent drawing practice whether you want to focus on figurative art or not. There will be a nude life model and this workshop will teach all the essentials of how to approach drawing the figure. There will be demonstrations throughout the workshop to explain different approaches, including quick and expressive gestural drawings, and more accurate measured approaches. We will start with a series of short poses and spend about the last half of the workshop on a longer pose so students have time to create a more refined drawing.
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This workshop will focus on accuracy and realism when working with the human figure. We will start the workshop by discussing a very simplified skeletal system and which reference points are important for artists to know, and how they affect the movement and shape of the body. We will then apply this knowledge to drawing from the model, building the form from simplified building blocks. This practice is essential to artists who want to have accurate figure drawings where the figure feels solid and believable.
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There will be one-on-one feedback throughout, and demonstrations by the instructor.
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When: Saturday October 8th, from 11am-2pm
Where: AB Art Studios, Augasse 2-6, 1090 Vienna
Price: €60 total (€45 + €15 materials* and model fee)
Printmaking:
Mono-Printing
Instructor:
Patrick Loan
Saturday, November 19th
11am-2pm
This one-day workshop will focus on the basic printmaking technique of mono printing. The ‘low-tech’ nature of mono-printing makes it not only one of the most accessible methods of printmaking but also one of the most creative. This is an exciting and experimental workshop designed to either develop and inform your current art practice or provide a starting point for complete beginners.
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This three-hour workshop will introduce students to the wonderfully simple printing technique of mono printing - one of the simplest printing methods, and once everything is set up, one of the quickest. You will be shown how to create mono-prints using the methods of drawing with a mark-making implement, such as a pen or pencil, and the impression technique (applying pressure on the paper to create a print). Mono printing onto different surfaces like newspaper pages, magazine photos or cardboard will be shown, and we will explore textures and different ways of mark making to create interesting prints. A range of methods to color your prints will also be demonstrated to show how you can make incredibly attractive prints.
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Explore the wonderful world of mono printing to create some great images! By the end of the workshop you will have finished a number of mono-prints and will be informed and confident to continue making your own mono-prints at home.
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When: Saturday, November 19th, from 11am-2pm
Where: AB Art Studios, Augasse 2-6, 1090 Vienna
Price: €45 + €10 materials fee, €55 total
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Figure Drawing:
Experimental Approaches
Instructor:
Abby Brown
Saturday, December 10th
11am-2pm
Free up the way you approach drawing in this experimental life drawing workshop. In this workshop, we will be working with the nude life model, and creativity and expression is prioritized over accuracy. This makes this workshop great for beginners to approach the life model in a low pressure environment emphasizing experimentation, and also provides a challenge to more experienced artists to break out of their usual approaches and engage with new processes.
You will use a range of materials to encourage you to respond to drawing in new and non-traditional ways and try out new and interesting mark making processes. We will focus mostly on quick gestural poses for the first half of the workshop, and then move on to mid-length or longer poses.
There will be demonstrations and one-on-one feedback from the instructor throughout the workshop. Each student will finish the workshop with a collection of new drawings.
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Space is limited to 8 participants, so please register for the workshop right away to reserve your spot!
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When: Saturday October 8th, from 11am-2pm
Where: AB Art Studios, Augasse 2-6, 1090 Vienna
Price: €45 + €15 materials* and model fee, €60 total
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*It is recommended to bring your own A3 size sketchbook, though drawing paper is available.
Studio policy for refunds and and cancelations:
For workshops, to reserve you place you must register and send confirmation of payment in advance. The course fee is fully refundable up to 2 weeks before the workshop, and a 50% refund is available up to 1 week before the workshop. If you cancel your spot within one week of the workshop, a refund is only possible if someone from the waitlist can take your spot. You are also welcome to give your spot to someone else. Workshops that are canceled by the instructor will be refunded.