Online Class: Drawing Trees

Inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s drawings and paintings of trees, this class will focus on capturing trees and shrubs from the landscape through observational nature drawing.

Through interactive demonstrations and a structured overview of tools, techniques, and concepts, teaching artist Sudeshna Sengupta will cover the basics of drawing—starting with how to correctly hold your pencil to create bold and expressive lines and strokes. Sudeshna will also teach participants how to create descriptive textures and tonal shading for added depth and dimensionality. 

Reference photos for the in-class project will be provided in advance, but students are welcome to use their own reference photos of trees and shrubs during the class.

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This class is suitable for youth ages 12 and up. Children are welcome to participate alongside their adults.

This program will take place via the video conferencing app – ZOOM. Details for accessing the Zoom meeting will be with your receipt upon registration and again sent via email the day prior. Please register in advance to access the program.

Note that all program times are in Mountain Time. Space is limited, reservations required.

Supplies needed for this class: 

• Strathmore 400 series Mixed-media drawing pad or Strathmore 400 series Hot-Press or pad/block or Bristol pad or Mixed-media drawing pad or any other brand of drawing pad in any size between 9” x 12” and 12” x 17”. Thicker paper (140 lb or higher) is better.

• A set of 2B, 4B, & 6B graphite pencils

• White plastic eraser

• Charcoal Pencils: Medium (2B) and Soft/Dark (4B or 6B)

• Masking tape or clips to keep the paper flat especially if a larger pad is used.

• Optional: Newsprint pad 9″ x 12″ or larger, blending stumps (AKA Tortillons, often comes with drawing pencil sets) Q-tips and tissues or cotton rags (clean pieces of old t-shirts work well), vine charcoal or Willow charcoal sticks, 1 to 3, compressed charcoal stick or black conte stick, water-soluble graphite pencils, color pencils or conte to add a hint of color.

About the Instructor:

Sudeshna Sengupta’s career as a teaching artist spans multiple decades, continents, and cultures that inform her pedagogy for decolonizing studio art. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1985 from Visva-Bharati University, founded by the first non-European Nobel Laureate (1913) and humanist poet Rabindranath Tagore.

After teaching art and design at the college level in New Delhi, Seattle, and California, she taught at New Mexico State University-Alamogordo, where she established its first intaglio printmaking studio in 1995. Besides the O’Keeffe Museum, Sengupta teaches credit courses with the School of Art & Design of the Santa Fe Community College.

Her etchings and lithographs from the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi have been featured in a landmark exhibition on Women Printmakers of India at the NGMA-New Delhi in India. Her work is in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi; Association Musée d’Art Contemporain, France; Kala Institute, Berkeley, and more.

Sengupta also conducts workshops, short courses, lectures, and community-based art events focusing on multicultural and intercultural experiences that emphasize human, cultural, and environmental connectedness through creativity.

To learn more, please visit notes-and-doodles.com and visit her Instagram @santafe_online_art_studio

This class is being offered on a sliding scale.

$10 minimal fee.

$20 covers the cost of the class.

$30 covers the cost of the class, plus a contribution to support educational programs.