Students in the Trowbridge Atelier Modern Color Atelier commit to a minimum of three days per week. Students meet online on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and commit to one additional day of the week for independent studio practice. 

Tuesdays and Thursdays: 

Morning Sessions (9:30am-12:30pm PST): Slide Lectures, Introduction of Concepts, Demonstrations, Critiques. All sessions will be recorded and available to students. 

Afternoon Sessions (1:30-3:30pm PST): Independent Studio Time for Continuation of Class Exercises, Scheduled Consultations with Instructors. 

Independent Studio Day:  

This program is for self-motivated learners who can dedicate themselves to creating a sustainable art practice. Students will be most successful if they can reserve at least one full, additional day of studio work. A regular, committed practice is best for integrating the lessons. 

 Term-by-Term Curriculum: 

Fall Term: Value | Form & Design 
During the Fall term, students will focus on building the illusion of form through observed value relationships on the life-model and still-life objects. Students will engage with pictorial design by studying the compositions of historical painters such as Caravaggio and Velázquez as well as the innovations of Cubism. Form and Design will be explored and integrated through a series of exercises and independent projects.  
 
Winter Term: Temperature | Complement Sets | Color-Blocking 
Winter Term will focus on the method of COLOR BLOCKING. Students will gain a deep understanding of complement sets and limited palettes through a rigorous series of exercises.  Students will create a dictionary of color charts and develop a practical and personal relationship to color. Students will engage with temperature as a concept to help organize and articulate the quality of light and shadow on the life-model and still-life set-ups.  
 
Spring Term: Chromatic Palette | Process & Narrative | Independent Projects 
Spring term will focus heavily on individual studio projects and the development of advanced concepts in color organization. Students will create a series of paintings that explore personal, narrative concepts with guidance and consultations from all of the instructors. Both observation and invention will be used to create compositions that are layered, complex, formal, and poetic. Contemporary painting methods and compositional strategies will be introduced through lectures, demos and painting exercises.