The Art of Seeing:
Observational Drawing & Painting in Toronto
Step beyond the studio and explore Toronto’s vibrant streets, parks, and hidden green spaces in a three-session plein air course led by local artists. Guided by Rose Montgomery-Whicher, Rachel Crummey, and Martha Johnson, you’ll discover new ways to observe and express the city's energy through drawing and painting.
Step beyond the studio and into the landscapes of Toronto in this three-session plein air course, led by Rose Montgomery-Whicher, Rachel Crummey, and Martha Johnson. Each session offers a distinct approach to drawing and painting outdoors, encouraging students to engage with observation, movement, sensory awareness, and composition in new ways.
Students will explore how to capture the city’s dynamic energy, from its streets and parks to its hidden natural spaces, using varied drawing and painting techniques. The course covers plein air practices such as selecting subject matter, composing an image, and working with transportable materials. Through guided exercises, students will learn how to translate their environment into expressive drawings and paintings open to all types of approaches.
This course is ideal for those who want to expand their creative practice beyond the studio, refine their observational skills, and experience the interplay between movement and mark-making in an outdoor setting. Open to all levels and media, students will work en plein air and develop an intuitive and responsive approach to drawing and painting.
Day 1 – May 23, 6:30 - 9:00 PM
Instructor: Rachel Crummey
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Theme: Meditative & Expressive Mark-Making in Nature
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Engage in meditative drawing techniques in a natural setting.
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Experiment with gesture, movement, and mark-making in response to the environment.
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Learn how to capture feeling, atmosphere, and energy through marking making techniques in a variety of drawing media
Day 2 – May 30, 6:30 - 9:00 PM
Instructor: Rose Montgomery-Whicher
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Theme: Walking, Observation & Multi-Sensory Drawing
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Explore Toronto’s streets through walking-based drawing practices.
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Learn how to portray sound, touch, taste, and sight in visual form.
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Develop heightened observation skills and translate sensory experiences into drawing.
Day 3 – June 6, 6:30 - 9:00 PM
Instructor: Martha Johnson
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Theme: Composing & Painting the Scene
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Learn how to select and frame a subject for painting en plein air.
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Practice warm-up exercises to establish composition and structure.
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Work with painterly media to develop a cohesive and expressive plein air painting.
- Develop observational skills by learning how to engage with their surroundings through drawing and movement.
- Explore different plein air approaches, including sensory-driven mark-making, gestural abstraction, and structured composition.
- Learn to select and compose subject matter from an overwhelming outdoor environment.
- Gain experience in using transportable materials and working in varied plein air conditions.
- Experiment with different artistic responses to place, from intuitive mark-making to developed paintings.
- Complete a series of plein air studies and paintings, deepening their understanding of outdoor artistic practice.
Details
Fee: $255 & HST
Fridays, May 23 - June 6 | 6:30 - 9pm (3 weeks)
Multiple locations in Toronto core - to be detailed soon
Led by: