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)

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)

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

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

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.

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

2021 - 2022 Teaching Calendar

As an attempt to get myself a little more organized and make my upcoming classes a little easier for students to find, I’ve added a calendar page: Click here to see my 2021-2022 teaching schedule.

Check back to find out about new classes - hopefully, I’ll be adding more soon.

Online with the Teaching Studios of Art

Over the past several months I’ve been fortunate to have a great online teaching gig with the Teaching Studios of Art. Classes will continue - visit https://www.teachingstudios.com for more info. There are a number of great courses and talented teachers offering classes there (in person, if you’re on Long Island…or online if you’re not). As of now, I’m offering Figure Drawing, Figure Painting & Alla Prima Techniques - each is a six session class meeting once/week. So far, it’s been a lot of fun. I find these online classes to be a great opportunity for us to study the masters. Everything we cover in class can be used when back in the life room.

Half way there

(plenty of work for sale) http://www.mtobiashall.com/100-landscapes-1

I’m halfway through my 100 Landscapes project - basically, something I’ve been doing on the side… an excuse to spend time meditating on this awe inspiring Land of Enchantment. I was hoping that I’d be able to do a number of studies from France this summer as well, but I guess the global pandemic had other plans. For now, I’ll keep chipping away at these quick sketches and savoring the fresh high desert air. I’m not sure if, or how, the project will evolve over the next months (I’m definitely feeling an urge to work bigger and to take some of the landscapes further). Regardless, I’ll continue to updated my progress.

(For those of you who have already bought a piece, I should be getting some aluminum panels so I can mount the paintings soon - thanks for your patience with me!)

Turbulence (Part 2)

I’m happy to say that the Turbulence Project raised over $1000, and the proceeds have been donated to various organizations that are fighting to end racism and to lift us all through awareness, community and activism:

Black Lives Matter
Black Visions Collective
NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
NAACPLDF (NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund)
G.L.I.T.S (Gays and Lesbians Living In a Transgender Society)
Advancement Project
Campaign Zero/We the Protestors
Black Table Arts
ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)
Sybrina Fulton Campaign

But it goes without saying that this fight for a better and more just world will take a lot more of our collective awareness and action. With conscious effort, we can all engage and contribute to a more beautiful whole.

I will leave the project open, painting and posting clouds from time to time in honor of all who continue to face racism, discrimination, and violent injustice on a daily basis.

My most sincere thanks to those of you that helped me raise the funds and also to those of you who are making an effort for positive cultural evolution.

Online Mentorship

Given our current climate of lockdown and social distancing, I thought I would open up a channel for private painting & drawing lessons through online mentorship, instruction and critique. Each of us is on a different part of the creative path, so each session would be customizable to meet the desired goals of the individual artist.

This is an opportunity to get personal feedback on work in progress, or to discuss drawing/painting conceptual strategies and exercises that could strengthen your own artistic practice (i.e. light & form, movement, perspective, composition)

• Prior to meeting, images to be uploaded via Dropbox

• Meetings to be conducted through the Zoom video conferencing application

• $75/single hour session or $325 for a set of five hourly sessions (at $65/session)

• Register via my Online Mentorship page

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions regarding mentorship and scheduling. I hope to work with you!

Spring 2020 in Santa Fe

Some recent teaching/workshop developments in Santa Fe:

Evening Sessions (at the Ryder Studio) - Tuesdays & Wednesdays (6-9pm)
- Paint or draw one figure pose over a four week block (8 sessions total)
- Includes instructor demonstrations and one on one feedback
- Dates: Feb 18,19,25,26, Mar 3,4,10,11
- $350 for 8 sessions | $55 per class

Spring Figure Painting (at the Ryder Studio) - March 16-20 (9:30am - 5 pm)
- Week long figure painting intensive
- Includes instructor demonstrations and one on one feedback
- $450

More information & registration on my workshops page.

Figure Painting in Santa Fe, NM | 2020

Excited to announce that I’ll be starting off the new year by teaching a figure painting workshop at the Ryder Studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The two week class will run from January 6-17. More information about the class and registration can be found in my Workshops page. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have more questions!