Online Class: Observational Drawing | Still-Life Study

Inspired by the soft tonal details of Georgia O’Keeffe’s still life studies, join this beginning-to-intermediate-level class for a focused practice of observational drawing in pencil and charcoal.

Through live demonstrations and hands-on instruction, teaching artist Sudeshna Sengupta will explain how to create three-dimensional mass, tonal values, highlights, and shadows from a line drawing. Participants are welcome to set up their own still-life of fruits and vegetables to work from, or they can follow along with the set-up Sudeshna will use for the class. 

To practice and prepare for this lesson, consider taking part in the online class Drawing for Watercolorists | Lines & Strokes, which will take place on Wednesday, June 11 from 12 pm–2 pm MT.

Supplies needed for this class:

• Mixed-media drawing pad in Strathmore 400 series or any other brand in any size between 9” x 12” and 11” x 14”. Larger pads will work well also. Thicker paper (140 lb or higher) is better.
• A set of 2B, 4B, & 6B graphite pencils and an eraser
• 3 to 5 Blending stumps (AKA Tortillons, often comes with drawing pencil sets) and or Q-tips
• Charcoal Pencils in Medium (2B) and Soft/Dark (4B or 6B).
• Optional: Masking tape to keep the paper flat especially if the pad is larger, colored pencils, pastels or conte if anyone wants 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