Online Class: Twigs & Branches | Texture Studies from Nature

Inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s painting From the River—Pale, 1959, this class will focus on capturing textures through the observational study of tree trunks, dried branches, twigs, and driftwood using a variety of media, such as pencils, ink pens, conté, watercolor washes, and more. 

Even though From the River—Pale, 1959 could be interpreted as an aerial view of a river, a 1963 photograph by Todd Webb shows that the subject of the work is actually a stick that O’Keeffe had collected from a riverbank. This work serves as an excellent example of how O’Keeffe collected objects from nature and used them to create direct, observational paintings.  

In-class demonstrations of color drawing techniques will be based on natural objects found in the Abiquiú area, including those found near the lake. Throughout the workshop, teaching artist Sudeshna Sengupta will guide participants through visual concepts, stylistic processes, and tips for using tools and techniques to create nature drawings with optional hints of color. 

Supplies needed for this class: 

• Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media Drawing Pad or Watercolor Pad or any other brand of drawing pad or watercolor 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 and an eraser
• General’s Carbon Sketch Pencil or Conté Pierre Noir or Charcoal Pencil
• Blending stumps (AKA Tortillons, often come with drawing pencil sets) and or Qtips and tissues or cotton rags (clean pieces of old t-shirts work well).
• Masking tape or binder clips to keep the paper flat, especially if the pad is larger.
• Optional: Newsprint pad for practice drawing, water-brush pens and watercolor pencils, color pencils or conte if anyone wants to add a hint of color, Tombow Dual Tip Brush Pens in neutral grays and tans, Sakura Micron or any other waterproof fine-point ink pens for drawing details, watercolor pans or tubes (also palette for the tubes) and brushes and a container for water.

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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 registering and again sent via email the day prior. Please register in advance in order to access the program.

Note that all program times are in Mountain Time.

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

Registration

This class is being offered on a sliding scale. Your class fee helps to sustain the variable costs associated with hosting this program. We appreciate your support.

$15 minimal fee.

$25 covers the cost of the class.

$40 covers the cost of the class, plus a contribution to support educational programs.