Secrets of Classical Drawing:
The Still Life
Instructor: Salis Dembling
Saturday, May 30
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Learn skills taught in ateliers and academies in centuries past and put them to use to create your own fresh artwork. You’ll learn tricks of the trade—classical drawing techniques to arrive at correct proportions and to create the illusion of form in two dimensions. These skills can be utilized when drawing traditional subjects like figures and landscapes, or they can be incorporated into your own contemporary practices. Still life drawing is an excellent way to learn important Realist techniques before attempting realistic portrait or figure drawing or painting, and it is a beautiful artform in and of itself! Suitable for beginners and artists at all levels.
For ages 11+
All supplies will be provided by the instructor.
This program has been organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and is funded, in part, by the Paul Mellon Endowment and the Jean Stafford Camp Memorial Fund.
ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Salis Dembling is a portrait and comics artist who was raised in New York City and Massachusetts and spent her formative years in L.A. and South America. She is mixed/Black and the daughter of Black historian Sterling Stuckey and the granddaughter of poet Elma Stuckey. She studied drawing and sculpture at Columbia University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. She also studied painting and illustration at The School of Visual Arts and in the studio of portrait painter John Murray. She completed the professional four-year atelier painting program and teacher training program at Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia. She has exhibited art in Peru, Colombia, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Richmond. Salis’ approach to teaching is based on a proven method - largely drawn from her studies at a traditional atelier, specifically with her teacher Jon deMartin, a master draughtsman, painter, and educator. She has co-taught portrait workshops at Studio Incamminati and currently teaches traditional figure drawing, portrait drawing, cast drawing, still life, and master copy drawing at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. In addition, she is a musician, composer, and the founder of the band Cast Shadows.