Drawing 1 & 2Drawing 1 - Heighten your visual awareness with exercises designed to access the creative, receptive (“right”) side of the brain. This basic drawing class covers the first 3 “seeing skills” necessary to improve your drawing skills rapidly: Gesture, Volume, & Negative Space. Students will draw objects from life. We’ll start with quick, loose gesture sketches, and progress to longer drawings in the third week* of class. Demos, individual guidance, and lots of practice are provided. Ideal for beginners, and others needing to loosen up and improve their observation skills.
*Note: for the weekend workshop at PAC, we’ll do some longer drawings on the second day.
Drawing 2 - Drawing 2 picks up where Drawing 1 left off: it covers the remaining 3 “seeing skills” necessary to improve your drawing skills rapidly: Sighting Angles, Proportions, and Light & Shadow. Students will draw objects / settings from life. We'll start loose & messy and gradually progress to more detailed, finished work. You’ll get demos, Individual guidance, and lots of practice in a supportive, high-energy setting where mistakes are celebrated as signs of growth!
Let’s face it - improving your drawing skills takes focus. …and practice. …& dedication.
Ya know what else it takes? Surrender.
In my experience, that’s the hardest part for students to get.
AND it’s THE #1 thing that keeps students from improving.
BUT - don’t despair! This class is designed to dissolve the resistance that students bring with them to class, so they can ease into the surrendering process bit by bit; progressing with each exercise.
Put more scientifically, the exercises make it progressively easier to by-pass the logical “Left-brain” mind, and shift into the observational “Right-brain” mind.
How does it work?
We start simple, with quick “Blob” gesture sketches. Each exercise eases into the next one, adding a bit more complexity, (&) quieting the “Logic” mind as we go. It doesn’t take too long before students find themselves in “the zone”, where they are completely present and absorbed by the drawing process. No judgement, no worries, just observation, and recording; eye to hand to paper.
That, right there, is the blissful state of surrender, where there is unlimited potential for expansion and improvement.
Syllabus for Drawing 1 Workshop - Pittsboro Arts Center (PAC)
DAY 1 - Blob gestures / (Volume + Line)
DAY 2 - Blob & line + Shadow
- Blob & line + Background (Negative Space + Composition)
Check back later for Drawing 2 Workshop Syllabus
Syllabus for Drawing 1 Weekly Class - Eno Arts Mill; H’bo
WEEK 1 - Blob gestures / Volume + Line
WEEK 2 - Blob sketches / Volume + Negative space / Composition
WEEK 3. - Inverted Blob sketches + Advanced Negative space
WEEK 4 - Advanced Negative space / Sighting Angles (for Negative Spaces)
WEEK 5 - Gestalt & Critique
Check back later for Drawing 2 Weekly Class Syllabus
Details
Pittsboro Arts Center (PAC) – Weekend Workshops
Drawing 1 Sat & Sun,
Sept. 13–14 | 2:00–5:00 PM
Tuition: $70
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Register HereRegistration Deadline: Sept. 8
Drawing 2
Sat & Sun, Oct. 11–12 | 2:00–5:00 PM
Tuition: $70
Registration opens Sept. 1
Registration Deadline: Oct. 6
Eno Arts Mill (Hillsborough) – Weekly Class
Drawing 1 – Full 5-Week Course
Wednesdays, Oct. 1–29 | 6:30–8:30 PM
Tuition: $200
Registration opens Sept. 1 (watch this space!)
Drawing 2 – Weekly starts Jan. 2026
Check back later for more details, including materials lists and more Syllabuses. ... + links to Sign Up.
Meanwhile, here's a BIO:
Stacye Leanza is an illustrator & mural painter with a BFA from Parsons School of Design in NYC. Her illustrations (for grown-ups & kids) have been published locally & nationally. Her murals are scattered around the Triangle; she has the distinction of having painted the largest mural in Chatham County! She taught figure drawing, abstract art …& much more, at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro for over 10 years. She currently teaches privately, and mentors one-on-one. She also dabbles in Print on Demand wearable art.
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