Summer Critique 2026

Each month, a prompt based on concepts learned from the Composition Bootcamp class will be assigned.  Students will choose their own subjects and media to use in completing the prompt. 

By limiting these sessions to no more than 6 students, we have the luxury of time to explore the work completed each month.  Offered in a 3 month block, each student has the opportunity to take in and act upon gentle suggestions to show growth and development in their work over time. As with all my classes, recordings will be available for later review. 

Summer 2026 -Thursdays, July 16, August 13, September 10 from 3PM to 4PM Pacific Time.

Cynthia Armstrong – Wabi Sabi: Embracing the Imperfect (Online); Wednesdays, September 9-30, 2026

Medium: Watercolor & mixed media
Level: Open to all levels
Class Dates: Wednesdays, September 9-30, 2026
Class Times:
• 10:00 am-noon Pacific time
• 1:00 pm-3:00 pm Eastern time
• 6:00 pm -8:00 pm UK time
Critique Sessions: Tuesdays, September 15-October 6 – 2:00 pm Pacific /5:00 pm Eastern / 10:00 pm UK Time

Wabi sabi is a Japanese aesthetic that can inspire our own art. It is an exploration of the beauty to be found in things impermanent, imperfect, incomplete and unconventional. Developing an appreciation for wabi sabi can greatly inform our own rationale as artists by freeing us up from Western ideals of beauty; allowing us the space to take chances and risks in our art.

In this 4 week course, we will look to incorporate the tenets of Wabi Sabi while experimenting with watercolor (and a few well chosen additional materials), making art that is unique, spontaneous and wholly Zen.

You will have access to the recordings and message board for this class for three months after the end of the class.

Autumn! Colors and low sunlight catch the beauty of changing nature. During this harvest project we will forage for autumnal inspiration to fill our sketchbooks with the ‘gifts of nature’ so abundant at this time of year.

This four-week course will take you on a journey of noticing and recording the autumn world and your connection to the season; it is about personal expression through art and words. Lectures, demonstrations, in-class exercises and homework assignments will introduce you to a variety of watercolor techniques (from basic to advanced) to take you through the stages of filling a mixed-media sketchbook, distilling what you see into meaningful expression. Additional critique sessions will provide encouragement and feedback designed to cement learning.