Rolling into Spring

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to run the DRILLS/Alla Prima classes this Spring, but I am excited to be hosting another Landscape Painting Workshop here in Santa Fe in May.

The main workshop will be five days of Plein Air Painting (May 5-9) as we venture out into beautiful locations in and around Santa Fe. For those interested, there is an option to stretch out the workshop for an additional week (May 12-16).

Click here for more info & registration.

The Kitchen (Ghost Ranch) | Oil on Linen 2025

Upcoming Workshops in 2025

I can’t believe that 2024 is already coming to a close, but there are plenty of workshops I’m looking forward to in 2025. Some are set & some are still in the works. See below, or visit my teaching calendar for more info.


January 6 - 24 - Long Pose Figure Painting at the Ryder Studio ***Still some space left - Register soon!***
(click here form more info and registration)

(Thursdays) Jan 21 - May 17 - Figure Drawing I at Santa Fe Community College
(click here for course info and registration)

January 31 - February 3 - Figure Drawing at BACAA
(click here for more course info and registration)

March 6 - 29 - 2025 Spring Figure Painting with Studio Escalier in Argenton Chateau, France
(click here for more course info and registration)

Dates TBA - Spring Plein Air Painting in Santa Fe
(More info & registration soon)

Dates TBA - DRILLS (Painting and Drawing Bootcamp at the Ryder Studio)
(More info & registration soon)

Dates TBA - Alla Prima at the Ryder Studio
(More info & registration soon)

September 4 - October 18 - Autumn Figure Painting Intensive with Studio Escalier in Argenton Chateau, France
(click here for more course info and registration)

ART Santa Fe

If you’re in/near/visiting Santa Fe this coming weekend, I’ll be exhibiting a number of landscapes in booth #128 at the Santa Fe Convention Center from July 12-14. Click here for tickets, and more information about the show.

Hope to see you!

Art Santa Fe | Works For Sale | Autumn Landscape Painting Workshop

For most of my painting education/career I wasn’t very interested in painting the landscape (strange, given the awe I have always felt for nature’s sublimity). My first attempt in Santa Fe during the winter of 2008 found me cursing my frozen fingers and a particular tree that seemed to get a kick out of dropping snow on me and my palette. It wasn’t until a decade later when I met my (now) wife Jillian - and when I found out it was something she enjoyed doing - that I started to get into it. I had to pull out all the stops if I was going to gain her favor. My love for landscape painting grew as I fell deeper in love with Jillian (It’s several years on, and now our 20 month old daughter Sylvie paints outdoors with us occasionally…and she loves it - I’m sure she’ll have more Instagram followers than me in no time).

Plein air painting became a particularly great activity during the pandemic, and all that time outside (diving into a 100 landscapes project) was a great opportunity for me to get better and to balance out my overall studio practice. Needless to say, a collection of sketches, studies, demos and dust have been building up in my studio over the past few years. I decided to blow off that dust, mount, sign, varnish the paintings, and re-open a storefront gallery here on my site (Each piece for sale is floated in a wooden handmade frame, thanks to my dad… In truth, “thanks” isn’t nearly enough for all the beautiful work he’s done! I should probably take him out for lunch). I will be offering signed, dated & numbered limited edition giclee prints for several of the sketches as well.

Handmade Frames by my dad, Dwayne Hall

ART SANTA FE | July 12-14 2024

For anyone who is interested in seeing this ensemble of work in person (always ideal!), I’ll be exhibiting the landscapes in booth #128 at the Santa Fe Convention Center from July 12-14. Click here for tickets, and more information about the show.

Painting is the fun part. In general, I’d much prefer numb fingers and falling snow to having to promote myself and my work, but it’s certainly an aspect of my career that needs some balancing out as well. Wish me luck… and come say hi!

Argentonnay Sketch 2019

…And lastly, I’ve finally decided on dates for my Autumn Landscape Painting Workshop here in Santa Fe:

Part 1 | En Plein Air - November 7-11 & Part 2 | In the Studio - November 12-16

We will be spending the first five days painting the landscape from various locations in and around Santa Fe. The focus will be primarily on creating color and compositional studies that will inspire our second five days of in-studio paintings. Enroll for each session separately, or sign up for both parts (and save $200).

Follow the links above or visit the Workshops page for more info and registration, and be sure to visit the Calendar page to find out about other upcoming courses.

Finally had a little time...

…to wrap up this studio painting of Argentonnay in France (Home of Studio Escalier, where I’ll be teaching figure drawing and painting again this Autumn). The project was an opportunity for me to celebrate a place that I have deep reverence for, and to start producing more ambitious studio work. Speaking of which… peering out from behind the homasote is another project that I’m eager to get back to.

Beyond the studio walls, I’m eyeing the week of October 28-Nov 1 as potential dates for the next Plein Air Painting workshop (in and around Santa Fe). I’ll do my best to make that official and to get registration up on the website ASAP.

Beyond DRILLS | Drawing & Painting Workshops in 2024/25

After the DRILLS & Alla Prima workshops in May, I’m really looking forward to getting back over to France for a couple more workshops with Studio Escalier (follow the links for more info & registration):

2024 Summer in Argenton | Three Weeks of Figure Drawing
August 8 - 31

2024 Autumn Intensive | Six Weeks of Figure Painting
September 5 - October 19

Beyond that, I’m hoping to start enrolling for another three week January Figure Painting workshop at The Ryder Studio in Santa Fe NM a bit sooner this year (Dates, tentatively Jan 6 - 24 …Registration Coming soon!)

(…and visit the 2024/25 calendar for more opportunities)

DRILLS & Alla Prima - May 2024

The plan had initially been to repeat last year’s curriculum and follow up a week of DRILLS with another Drawing/Sculpting workshop. Unfortunately, my dear friend Donat King and I are not going to be able to do so again this year (fingers crossed for 2025!).

Instead, I’m going to extend DRILLS to 10 days (***Date change due to studio renovations: Weekdays, May 20-31***), and in lieu of the Drawing/Sculpting class, I’m going to offer an Alla Prima Portrait Painting Workshop, that will total 8 poses - and a variation of models - over 5 days (***June 3-7***).

In the DRILLS class, we’ll be building upon our painting and drawing toolsets, all of which will be brought together for the Alla Prima class - It’s going to be a lot of fun. Those of you who register for both classes/all three weeks via the DRILLS + Alla Prima Package will save $250 off of tuition.

Both workshops will be held at the Ryder Studio in Santa Fe, NM.

The registration deadline for DRILLS & Alla Prima is Friday April 19, 2024 (extended deadline)

Message me if you have any thoughts or questions!

(…and visit the 2024/25 calendar for more opportunities)

2024 Plein Air Classes

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be teaching several plein air painting classes in 2024:

First off is a weekend getaway in Del Mar, CA hosted by Sicily Artist Retreats (March 1 - 4)*. I absolutely loved my time with them in 2022, and am honored to have been asked to teach for them again in California. Visit the Sicily Artist Retreats website for more info & class registration (be sure to check out their other courses in Sicily as well!).

Note* This workshop has been postponed (new dates TBD)

Next, I’ll be offering five days of landscape painting in and around Santa Fe, NM (March 11-15, 9:30am - 4:30pm …bring your own lunch/snacks!) as we begin our transition from winter into Spring. Follow this link for more info & class registration.

On the horizon is an Autumn landscape painting workshop here in Santa Fe (dates TBA - looking like early November).

(…and visit the 2024/25 calendar for more opportunities)

Coming up in 2023-2024

2023 Has been a great year so far .. I just returned back to Santa Fe from a wonderful 9 weeks of Figure Drawing & Painting with Studio Escalier in Paris and Argenton Chateau. Four years have gone by since I was last there to teach - it was such a gift to finally pick up where I left off at the studio along with Jillian and our little Sylvie (who turned one while we were there!). I couldn’t have asked for a better time there… and I can’t wait to get back next Autumn, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, I’m excited about some upcoming workshops and courses in 2024.

- Figure Painting (Jan 1-19 2024) at the Ryder Studio in Santa Fe (Click link for more info & registration)

- Figure Drawing (*New dates set for Jan 26-29 2024) at BACAA (Click link for details)

- Online Figure Drawing via my website (TBA)
- Spring Landscape Painting (TBA)
- DRILLS & Portrait Drawing/Sculpting with Donat King & me (TBA)
- Autumn Drawing/Painting with Studio Escalier (TBA)

May Workshops

A couple upcoming drawing, painting & … SCULPTING workshops here in Santa Fe this May:

DRILLS | May 15 - 19
In this one week class, we will be focusing solely on foundational skills that will support a better overall figure drawing and painting practice | $750

PORTRAIT DRAWING & SCULPTING | May 22 - June 2
I’m quite excited to be offering this two week class (with my dear friend, the talented sculptor Donat King), which will focus on bridging our 2D-3D gap as we sculpt and draw from the same portrait pose | $1250

($1500 when signing up for both classes)

Registration deadline is April 1 (no joke!) - Click for more info

Three Weeks of Figure Painting in Santa Fe | January 2023

Just wrapped up the August DRILLS & Long Pose Figure Painting sessions at the Ryder Studio in Santa Fe. Already, the January 2023 Figure Painting Workshop is in motion:

15 days | Monday-Friday, January 2-20 2023
$1250 *Priority Registration Price - Priority Registration Deadline November 1 2022
($1500 Registration after November 1 2022)

The Ryder Studio
1807 2nd St. #31
Santa Fe, NM 87505

Click here for course info & registration (please feel free to contact me if you have questions!)

Chromatic Underpainting Demonstration of Raven in progress | August 2022

BACAA

Really looking forward to teaching at BACAA (Bay Area Classical Art Atelier) - This weekend workshop in December (2,3 & 4 2022) will be the first of two sessions.

In this weekend workshop series, we will explore figure drawing by deepening our understanding of structure and anatomy. The class will build from the ground up, working from the live model with strategies that will help us understand the dynamics of the body. We will study key skeletal landmarks and see how they are organized in volumetric perspective via the active and passive rhythms of the body. The movement curve will guide the proportion of our block in, unify the major masses of the body, and help us to anticipate formal pathways. Ultimately, light will lead the way as we ground and reinforce our perceptual experience with a better conceptual realization of the figure in our drawings.

Content breakdown:

The Movement Curve - The dynamic energy of the body

The Envelope & Block in - The perceptual foundation of our drawing

Anatomical Landmarks, Volume and Perspective - Realizing the figure in three dimensions relative to our point of observation

Planarity and Tone - The woven relationship of structure and light

My goal for the course is for each student to strengthen their understanding of these ideas while exploring the figure drawing process.

Visit https://www.bacaa.org/workshops-descriptions/tobias-hall-figure-drawing-anatomy-and-structure for more info & registration.

August 2022 | In person Workshops | Skill Building & Long Pose Figure Painting

I’m excited to be teaching two in person classes back to back at The Ryder Studio in August:
Follow the links below/visit http://www.mtobiashall.com/workshops-1 for more course info & Registration

DRILLS | August 8-12, Painting & Drawing skill building session
1 week | $500

Figure Painting | August 15 - September 2, Long Pose Figure Painting
3 weeks | $1500

DRILLS + Figure Painting Package
4 weeks | $1750

Registration Deadline on Friday, July 29

Online Figure Drawing with Studio Escalier

(Because Jillian and I are expecting in October…!!!) we’re not able to be in Paris for Figure Drawing this August. In lieu of that class, I’ll be offering an online Figure drawing intensive workshop with Studio Escalier beginning in July.

2022 Summer Online - Figure Drawing - Application Deadline June 24 (follow link for details)

One 4-week term: SATURDAY, 9 JULY – FRIDAY, 5 AUGUST 2022
1 live drawing demonstration/week and weekly one-on-one critique

3-hour live drawing demonstration each SATURDAY (Mountain Daylight Time – MDT). Demonstrations will be recorded and available for multiple viewings during the course via Vimeo.com.

One individual Zoom critique WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, or FRIDAY. (Mountain Daylight Time – MDT).

Course Description
This course will offer students the opportunity to dive deep into a perceptually based figure drawing process. Specific strategies involving movement, shape, perspective, structural anatomy, & light will be introduced to the students as they work on a number of weekly studies that will support a more thoroughly developed figure drawing composition.

Drawing demonstrations will be done from a combination of pre-taped figure poses and old master drawings. Both the instructor and the students will be working from the same set of source references for a long pose drawing, as well as for supplemental drawing exercises.

Mr Hall will lead the class through the process of figure drawing via video demonstrations each SATURDAY (Mountain Daylight Time – MDT). Demonstrations will be recorded and available for multiple viewings during the course via Vimeo.com.

NMAL & TSA

Two upcoming online classes:

Teaching Studios of Art
The Poster: Study of the Global Light Effect

Saturday & Sunday, June 11 & 12
12pm - 2pm, 3pm - 6pm EST

This workshop will be recorded

In this two day online weekend painting workshop, we will explore the Poster Study (the global light effect). This foundational effect is what we see when we look at a painting from across the room: the big picture that all details are governed by. The course will begin with a demo on light theory for artists and progress into a series of perceptual studies after masterworks. These studies will help us question, understand and begin to represent the light effect on the subject abstractly via value, hue and chroma. As a byproduct of this study, we will gain a better strategic understanding of color mixing and composition. Each meeting will consist of demonstrations and constructive feedback for students.

New Mexico Art League
The Portrait Deconstructed

Thursdays June 6 - July 14
1pm - 4pm MDT

This class will not be recorded

In this online drawing workshop, students will create one long term drawing and several quick studies over the course of sixweeks.  The main project will be the deconstruction and deep analysis of a master portrait (TBD).  Students will begin the process with an exploration of the big picture in terms of structure and light, and will then subdivide their focus on the specific study of the features.  Supplemental studies from week to week, along with adequate time to recreate a master work will help to deepen understanding and enrich the overall drawing experience.  Both Perceptual and conceptual drawing strategies will be discussed and employed  during weekly instructor demos and student feedback to help reinforce the process.  Ultimately, the lessons from this class will translate directly to the practice of drawing from life.  Though some material techniques will be covered, the goal of this class is for us to focus on ideas that will help us grasp the visual experience as it applies to nature and the human form. 

Updates

Once again, it’s been a while since I’ve updated my website (half a year?!)…

I recently returned from a lovely work/honeymoon in Sicily with Jillian, some dear friends & Sicily Artist Retreats (honored to be teaching for their pilot painting workshop) - hoping to get back there in the future for more site seeing, plein air painting & (course after course of) incredible food.

I finally updated my teaching calendar as well - Online and in Person workshops coming up!

Two January Workshops

• As a lead up to my 2 week figure painting workshop, I will be teaching a one day workshop at Artisan in Santa Fe on January 6:

  Study of the Global Light Effect: How we can understand the light, and begin to achieve its effect in our paintings .. In this painting workshop, we'll use perceptual and conceptual strategies to explore the global light effect. Once we have a grasp on how light works, we will apply this understanding of our observations to a painting process called the "poster study" - a portrait of the light. With practice, this method is a great tool for us to become better at mixing colors and to sharpen our overall visual awareness. The day will begin with a demonstration of the "poster study" from a live model. After the demo, students will work from the same model to create poster studies of their own while receiving instructor feedback. Sign up now at https://www.calendar.artisansantafe.com

• The aforementioned 2 week Figure Painting (draw if you like!) Intensive at the Ryder Studio in Santa Fe. Click here for more info & registration.

Long Pose Figure Painting Workshop - January 17-28 in Santa Fe

For the 4th consecutive year, I’ll be offering a two week Figure Painting Intensive Workshop at the Ryder Studio in Santa Fe, NM.

10 days | Monday-Friday, January 17-28, 2022

The Ryder Studio
1807 2nd St. #31
Santa Fe, NM 87505

$1,000 | Priority Registration deadline: Wednesday, Dec 1, 2021
Click for more information & registration

The Union of Innovation and Tradition

In May, I entered these studies for the Salmagundi Club’s Library door competition. Contestants were to come up with an allegorical theme that represented the NYC club’s history and philosophy (see my proposal below). My studies weren't chosen for the doors (congratulations to Noah Buchanan!), but they are being exhibited at the Salmagundi Club with a number of other great entries. Another diptych of mine - Florence Twice (two alla prima paintings of the same pose from different perspectives) - will also be hanging in the show.

Project Proposal

For well over a century, the Salmagundi Club’s Library has served its artistic community as a link between our creative heritage and our potential for new growth.  With this in mind, I propose that the two painted panels of the Club’s library doors open and close around the allegorical themes of Innovation & Tradition.  

The main figure of the two unified compositions raises and reflects in the form of Innovation.  In the first panel, she emerges with vulnerability and a sense of strength from a collective pool of experience and wisdom.  One foot is submerged within Tradition as Innovation reaches upward; her gaze fixed upon a new horizon.  In the second panel, she self reflects upon Tradition in the context of culture’s previous peaks.  Though transcendent, Innovation still maintains contact with the past.

The two panels are compositionally woven together through narrative and geometry.  Each stands on its own, but the composition achieves wholeness via the synthesis of Innovation’s evolution, self reflection and her unbreakable tie to Tradition.  I believe that the thematic integrity of these panels will resonate with the Salmagundi Club’s own esteemed philosophy.

Florence Twice | France 2019

Figure Painting Online with the Teaching Studios of Art

I’ll be teaching an online figure painting workshop with the Teaching Studios of Art in December.

Online Workshop held over two Sundays
DECEMBER 5TH & DECEMBER 12TH
12 PM - 2 PM; 3 PM - 6PM EST

A workshop designed for artists of all levels of experience

In this online Figure Painting workshop, participants will study after specific masterworks in order to gain a better grasp of light and form as it pertains to a strategically organized painting practice. Conceptual and technical demonstrations will provide insight, and artists will receive direct feedback on their work. The goal of the workshop is to help artists cultivate a skill set that will make for a more mindful, efficient, and enjoyable painting process.

Five essential concepts will be taught:

1. Gesture and rhythm of the pose
2. Basic proportions and geometry of the figure
3. Blocking-in using anatomy and a specific understanding of light and shadow
4. Modeling form
5. Finishing and refining touches

The sessions and bonus material will be recorded and made available for viewing for up to a month after the event.

$250 - click link for more information & registration