Fall Critique 2026

Each month, a prompt focusing on composition strategies 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. 

Fall  2026 -Thursdays, October 15, November 12, December 10 from 3PM to 4PM Pacific Time.

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.

Cynthia Armstrong – Fantastic Beetles! (Online); Wednesdays, January 13-February 3, 2027

Medium: Watercolor & ink
Level: Open to all levels
Class Dates:Wednesdays, January 13-February 3, 2027
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, January 19-February 9 – 2:00 pm Pacific / 5:00 pm Eastern / 10:00 pm UK Time

It’s reported there are over 350,000 known species of beetles in the world. Long been prized by collectors due to their variety in shape, size and gorgeous coloration and patterning; beetles’ alien beauty have also been a fascination for artists. In this class, we will spend 4 weeks exploring how to illustrate a few of these remarkable critters while learning a variety of watercolor and ink/bleach (!) techniques.