Q&A: How do I sign up for a class? Simply email: crilling@hotmail.com and a reply will be sent to you with payment options. Class descriptions below.

FALL ONLINE COURSES 2024

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER: FALL FOUNDATIONS OF LANDSCAPE AND PLEIN AIR PAINTING
FULL- EMAIL TO JOIN THE WAITLIST OR CHOICE TO AUDIT ONLY, ALL CRITIQUE SLOTS ARE FILLED
6 Weeks. September 23- October 28
Description, scroll below.

(FULL) NOVEMBER: BUILDINGS IN THE LANDSCAPE: 3-Day Intensive
November 8,9,10
Open for registration. Description below.
(Full, email to be added to the waitlist)

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER: "UNLOCKING VIBRANT COLOR"
Description Below. Registration Open.

WINTER 2025
DATES TBD 2025: Mentoring and Critique Group. Limited to 12 painters per section. Details coming soon. (interested in being on the announcement list? email: crilling@hotmail.com)

SPACES ARE LIMITED, SIGN UP TO RESERVE A SPACE

PRE-RECORDED CLASS:
"On Painting Trees" A skill-building class. 2 hours.

This 2-hour lesson covers approaches to painting full foliage trees with more clarity and confidence. Through simplifying complex forms and looking for the clear value pattern in trees, these complex forms become more approachable. We will look at work by other painters, break down complex images, and look at process images of a painting that will aid in building a stronger painting with more control and intention. Following the first part of the lesson a one-hour demo will be shown of a full foliage tree in oil paint. Registered students will receive: the recording link available until 12/31/2025, a PDF with detailed exercises, and six different tree photo references to use for practice.

Tuition: $75 USD
Level: beginner to intermediate
This lesson is for independent study and available for one full year

FALL CLASSES 2024


FOUNDATIONS OF LANDSCAPE PAINTING
6 Weeks. September 23- October 28
Mondays from 12:00pm-2:00pm EDT (Philadelphia/NYC Time Zone)
(FULL- EMAIL TO JOIN THE WAITLIST OR CHOICE TO AUDIT ONLY, ALL CRITIQUE SLOTS ARE FILLED)

This in-depth landscape painting class is geared to the painter looking for a strong foundation in landscape painting principles and will cover the essential aspects of studio landscape painting, with additional lessons on plein air painting in weeks five and six. The course will include demos where I share parts of the painting process, discussion, as well as art historical lessons to enhance our understanding of the genre and scope as painters. Each class will be broken into lecture, discussion, and demo. All critiques will be conducted outside of our live class time, in an online classroom, reserving class time for specific weekly lessons.

The main topics covered: selecting and working with photo references, selecting the “motif”, simplifying the landscape and seeing shapes, painting foliage and trees, atmospheric perspective, mixing and controlling greens and blues, handling skies and clouds, and working in plein air. The last two weeks will focus on approaches to plein air painting.
Each week a new assignment will be given, with clear written instructions. Students are encouraged to source landscape images they feel connected to, though several “back-up” images will be provided as well.
Class is taught in oil, acrylic would also be suitable. All levels welcome.


Supplies: A supply list will be sent after registration.
Online classroom: Private online classroom for enrolled students
Zoom: Classes conducted via Zoom and are recorded for enrolled students, available for one month following the last class.

Tuition: $390
Email: crilling@hotmail.com to register

NOVEMBER 2024

(FULL) Buildings in the Landscape 3-Day Weekend Intensive
November 8,9, and 10 from 12pm-1:30 pm Eastern Time (Phila/NYC Time Zone)
(Full, email to be added to the waitlist)
Additional Office Hours from 2:00-3:00 PM on November 10

Architecture can appear overwhelming, but by training our eye to see past detail, we can convey buildings in paint very powerfully and merge them with the organic landscape forms. In this class students will learn to see edge and shape more confidently and clearly. The focus of this 3-day class will be on simplifying, conveying details, varying edges, and merging the man-made with the organic.
By focusing on faster, small-scale studies, students will learn how to see and to quickly capture complex information in paint.
Other topics will be covered such as color mixing, value structure, and light.

Class will consist of discussion, lecture, and demonstrations. Classes are recorded if students cannot attend live. Students will receive individual weekly written and audio critique through our private online classroom.

Students have two weeks to complete the class exercises.

Supplies: A basic supply list will be sent after registration.
Online classroom: Private online classroom for enrolled students
Zoom: Classes conducted via Zoom and are recorded for review, available for one month after each class.

Tuition: $210
Email crilling@hotmail.com to register






NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2024

“Unlocking Vibrant Color“
A 4-Week Online Course

Friday, November 22 12:00pm-1:30pm
Friday, December 6 12:00pm-1:30pm
Friday, December 13 12:00pm-1:30pm
Monday, December 16 Review from 5:00pm-6:00pm
(Eastern Time- NY/Philadelphia time zone)

Unlock the vibrant world of color through the study of master paintings- historic and contemporary- to learn how to use color beautifully in your own work.
Working with a fast-drying medium (gouache or acrylic) you will be completing curious, thoughtful, investigative transcriptions. Work of all genres will be explored.
No tedious color charts or complex color theory, this class will be more of a color laboratory, a place to play with ideas.

Class will consist of discussion, lecture, and demonstrations. Classes are recorded if students cannot attend live.

Supplies: A supply list will be sent after registration.
Online classroom: Private online classroom for enrolled students
Zoom: Classes conducted via Zoom and are recorded, available for review for 30 days.

All levels welcome, a basic understanding of paints and mixing is useful.

Tuition: $220
Email crilling@hotmail.com to register





JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025

Mentoring and Critique Group
More information coming soon

CLOSED COURSES. SUMMER 2024


JUNE-JULY 2024

Foundations of Landscape Painting (FULL)
6 Weeks. June 11th-July 23 (no class on July 2nd)
Tuesdays from 12:00pm-2:00pm EDT (Philadelphia/NYC Time Zone)
(Full- email to be added to waiting list)

This in-depth landscape painting class is geared to the painter looking for a strong foundation in landscape painting principles and will cover the essential aspects of studio landscape painting, with additional lessons on plein air painting in weeks five and six. The course will include demos where I share parts of the painting process, discussion, as well as art historical lessons to enhance our understanding of the genre and scope as painters. Each class will be broken into lecture, discussion, and demo. All critiques will be conducted outside of our live class time, in an online classroom, reserving class time for specific weekly lessons.
The main topics covered: selecting and working with photo references, selecting the “motif”, simplifying the landscape and seeing shapes, atmospheric perspective and edges, mixing and controlling greens and blues, painting foliage, handling skies and clouds, and working in plein air. The last two weeks will focus on approaches to plein air painting.
Each week a new assignment will be given, with clear written instructions. Students are encouraged to source landscape images they feel connected to, though several “back-up” images will be provided as well.
Class is taught in oil, acrylic would also be suitable. All levels welcome.


Supplies: A supply list will be sent after registration.
Online classroom: Private online classroom for enrolled students
Zoom: Classes conducted via Zoom and are recorded for enrolled students, available for one month following the last class.

Private Mentoring and Coaching

-Critique: Receive in-depth feedback on current work
-Overcome obstacles and artistic blocks
-Set artistic and professional goals
-Develop clarity and confidence in one's work and process

In this one-on-one meeting I can help you strengthen your work, align you with your goals, help you to overcome blocks, or organize your work flow and practice.

$95 USD/60 minutes via Zoom




JULY-AUGUST 2024

Foundations of Floral Painting:
4 days over two weekends + one additional session:
July 27th and 28th: 12:30-2:00 pm Eastern Time each day
August 3rd + 4th: 12:30-2:00 pm Eastern Time each day
*August 4th: office hours from 2:30-3:30 pm

Monday, August 5th from 5pm-6pm: Recap and Review

(Philadelphia/NYC Time Zone, classes are recorded, live attendance not required)

This foundations course, geared to the painter new to painting flowers, will help the student understand complex floral forms and paint them with clarity and confidence.
This two-weekend course will be broken down into five sessions, with clear and concise exercises provided after each class.
The first weekend students will be working in a more realistic style; this will provide the framework for the class and aid in understanding floral shapes. The second weekend a looser approach will be demonstrated. Students are encouraged to discover their own unique style and technique through practice and experimentation which will lay the groundwork for more advanced classes.

Course Objectives: simplifying and understanding complex floral forms, employing effective lighting, mixing clean and accurate color, and varying marks and edges.

Weekend 1
Day 1: Drawing; seeing shapes not details; simplifying complex information
Day 2: Mixing clean color; painting simple floral forms
Weekend 2
Day 3: Varying flowers: Different Species and Forms. Working with edges.
Day 4: Vases and ellipses. Edges and marks continued.
Day 5: Review and final discussion

Class will consist of discussion, lecture, and demonstration. Classes are recorded if students cannot attend live. Students will receive individual weekly audio or written critique through our private online classroom.

Photo references will be provided for students. Paintings can be done from life or references.

Supplies: A supply list will be sent after registration.
Online classroom: Private online classroom for enrolled students
Zoom: Classes conducted via Zoom and are recorded for enrolled students, available for one month following the last class.

Tuition: $295
Email: crilling@hotmail.com to register





EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS COURSES: Landscape Painting Foundations; After the Masters: Transcriptions in Gouache and Acrylic; After the Modern Masters: Transcriptions in Gouache and Acrylic; Alla Prima: A Direct Approach to Florals; Cityscape Painting: Capturing the Light and Atmosphere of the Urbanscape; Atmosphere and Edges: Building Depth into the Landscape; Oil Painting Foundations; Foundations of Still Life Painting; Color, Shape, and Design; Studio and Plein Air Practices; Buildings in the Landscape;

REFUND POLICY: There are no refunds or transfers for online classes. If one cannot attend live, recordings are available. In the unlikely event that a class is cancelled, students will receive a full refund.


General Supply List (oil):

Materials List for Claudia Rilling

• Paper Towels / rags
• Portable easel if working outside (landscape classes)
• Canvas Panels, stretched canvas, or gesso primed paper (any size you feel comfortable working in, but starting smaller is a good idea) 8x8, 10x10, 8x12, etc. Size is based on personal preference.
• Paint Brushes- It’s good to have a variety of brushes that range in both type and size. Rounds, Flats, and Filberts are all good
• Paper Palette (or whatever you prefer) - at least 12x16. Or, if using a portable easel, it may come with a nice palette.
• Metal palette knife. A pointed end is best, not larger than 3 inches long.
• Some Paints: (or use what you have)
Burnt Umber—Yellow Ochre or transparent earth yellow— Ivory Black — Cadmium Red— Cadmium Yellow Light or Medium— Ultramarine Blue— Titanium White (large tube is best)- Alizarin crimson- Sap green
• Any other colors that you like
• Feel free to experiment with other tube greens and blues like Permanent Green, Cadmium Green, Pthalo Blue (VERY strong), Phtalo Green (VERY strong), Prussian Blue, Cerulean Blue, etc.
• The brand I prefer: Gamblin or Windsor Newton oil paint
• The best student grade paint is Gamblin 1980 (avoid other student grade paints)
• Liquin Original or linseed oil– Not needed if working in acrylic
• Odorless Turpenoid or Gamsol– Not needed if working in acrylic
• Jars or cups for medium and thinner. Make sure the lid seals tightly.
• Optional: view finder (you can make a homemade version with pieces of cardboard taped together)
• Small sketchbook and pencil/markers. "Tombow" value markers are great for value studies.
• Gesso (optional to prime surfaces) : Professional Grade White Acrylic Gesso. “Golden” brand is good.


PREVIOUS CLASSES:

“The Single Object Still Life; Mastering Planes and Form”

Thursdays May 16, 23, 30 & June 6
12:00PM-1:45PM EST (Phila. And NYC Time Zone)
This 4-week still life class will equip students with the skills needed to understand the planes of both organic and man-made forms. Through the mastery of planes, forms become much easier to translate into mass. Following the tradition of constructive drawing and painting, students will learn to avoid over-polishing their work, resulting in clear strong painterly statements.
We will begin with man-made objects, then move to organic shapes. Each week a new painting will be completed of a single object still life.
Each class will consist of discussion, lecture, and demos. Demos (both live and pre-recorded) will be shared to demonstrate parts of the painting process.
A new assignment will be given each week. Students have the option to share work for critique in our private online classroom.

All time zones accommodated, students are not required to attend live.

"Painting a Dynamic Landscape"
Jerusalem Studio School: Painting Workshop, July 1-15, 2019
Affiliate Workshop hosted by The JSS in Civita Castellana, Italy

Mentoring and Coaching:
$95 USD/60 minutes via Zoom
-Critique: Receive feedback on current work
-Overcome obstacles and artistic blocks
-Set artistic and professional goals
-Develop clarity and confidence in one's work and process

RECENT NEWS

Portrait drawing published in "Lessons in Classical Drawing" by Juliette Aristides