The sketchbook is one of the most powerful tools for your artistic practice. It is where ideas are born, where you can experiment freely, and where you reconnect with the joy of making art for its own sake.

In this four-week live workshop, we will explore the oil sketchbook from the ground up: how to make one, how to use it, and how to let it transform your creative practice.

We'll begin with the practical: how to prepare a sketchbook that can actually hold oil paint. From there, each week dives deep into a different way of using your sketchbook to support and enrich your work as a painter.

An oil sketchbook is the perfect addition to your studio practice, whether you are looking to develop your eye through master studies, deepen your observational skills, experiment with new ideas and materials, or plan and develop your next body of work.

Each week includes a live demonstration, as well as instructional lectures with curated inspiration and recommended assignments to keep you working between class sessions. The course wraps up with a bonus critique and review session where students can share their work and reflect on what they've discovered.

This class is for painters who want to paint more freely, think more creatively, and build a practice that sustains and inspires them. All levels welcome.

WHAT WE'LL COVER

Week 1: Making Your Oil Sketchbook and Exploration

We'll start by covering materials, preparation, and everything you need to create a sketchbook that is ready for oil paint. From there, we'll focus on play and experimentation. This week is all about getting to know your sketchbook and how it can help you explore new subjects, materials, and techniques. Creative play can develop the seeds of larger projects.

Week 2: Master Studies

This week, we'll explore how to use your sketchbook to study the paintings that inspire you. We'll discuss how to analyze color, composition, value, and technique in a focused, hands-on way. You'll gain a new appreciation of your favorite masters and gain insights into their work that feed directly back into your own work.

Week 3: Color Studies and Observational Work

Your sketchbook can be a practical tool to help you better understand your subject. In this class session, we'll focus on using your sketchbook for quick, observational studies and color analysis. We'll focus on working from life and improving our observation skills.

Week 4: Project Planning

The final week of the class culminates in one of the most powerful ways to use your sketchbook: for planning paintings and refining ideas. We'll take our work from the previous weeks (master study inspiration, observational work, and exploratory sketches) and combine them into an original idea. You'll leave the class with a better understanding of how to use your sketchbook to feed your creative practice and help you generate new ideas for your personal work!

Bonus Session (Week 5): Review and Critique A dedicated session for students to share their sketchbook work, receive feedback, and celebrate what they've discovered over the course of the four weeks.

DETAILS Live on Zoom, with replay available. Saturdays, July 11 – August 1, 2026 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Pacific / 1:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern

Bonus critique session: August 8th All levels welcome