Classes and Workshops

 

Classes by Season

[Updated March 9, 2026]

Check out the list below of the courses I teach throughout the year, organized by season. Scroll down for class descriptions.
I teach at The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts in Minneapolis, MN. For more information, current prices, and to register, click the links. You’ll be taken to The Atelier’s website.

Receive notification about my classes, art explorations, events, and available art by singing up for my email list. You also get 10% off when you shop through my online store.
OR, you could sign up for The Atelier’s email list for class notifications.

I’m happy to answer any questions you may have about classes.

Fall (classes start in September)
Winter (classes start in December and January)
  • Costumed Figure Drawing & Painting, starts December 9, 2025 (postponed because of winter storm) New Start date! December 16, 2025,
    9 weeks, Tuesdays 4:15 – 6:45, at The Atelier
    (Note: no class December 23 and 30,  Possible class makeup December 30, 2025. I need to check some scheduling factors before committing to that date. If not December 30, we’ll do a makeup at the tail end of the 9 weeks.)
  • Color 2: Exploring Color, starts January 29, 2026, 14 weeks, Thursdays 4:00 – 6:30pm at The Atelier
    (Note: No class February 26, April 2, May 14. Last class date is scheduled to be May 21, 2026. If we have class cancellation because of weather or instructor illness, makeup class will be added at the end.)
  • Imaginative Art & Illustration Level 1, starts December 11, 2025, 9 weeks, Thursdays 7:00 – 9:30pm, Zoom or at The Atelier
    (Note: no class December 25, 2025 and January 1, 2026)
Spring (classes start in March)
Summer (classes start in June)
(Note: when instructor has business travel for shows, makeup dates will be added on to the end. Dates will be finalized closer to May.)
 
Workshops (to be announced)

Past workshops include:

  • Imaginative Art & Illustration week-long workshop
  • Photo Reference Workshop, with David Ginsberg & Christine Mitzuk

 

Class Descriptions

Costumed Figure Drawing & Painting

In this class we will explore how to portray clothed figures and different materials. Learn about underlying anatomy and how it affects folds, characteristics of fabrics and folds, and ways to use your artistic license to select folds and edit what you observe to serve your picture. These are useful things to consider when you need to invent or recreate the look of a costume for a picture. Students are encouraged to explore their imaginations and creativity to embellish their studies with imagined details or a scene.

This 9-week class will be broken into two segments, each with a different costume and pose. Using a combination of sight-size and comparative methods, students will develop a minimum of two costumed figure studies. Depending on experience, students are welcome to work in pencil, charcoal, or oil paint.
9 weeks

 
Gestural Figure Study

Breathe life into your figure drawings by building a deeper understanding of gesture. Christine will coach you through a variety of exercises exploring different ways to see, understand, and capture gesture. By understanding gesture we can bring a sense of life into our drawings, tell a story through body language, or exaggerate it for effect. We will be studying gesture from the nude figure. This class blends The Atelier and Studio Arts figure study methods. Throughout the course, there will be a variety of models and duration of poses. Experimentation of materials will be discussed and encouraged.
9 weeks
Supply list

 
Imaginative Art & Illustration

Hybrid Class (Students may attend in-person or via Zoom.)

In this class Christine will coach you through the imaginative art-making process she and many other professional artists use for imaginative art. You will build skills, confidence, and further develop your unique creative abilities, therefore we avoid generative AI programs.

In Level 1, the first four classes start with lectures on brainstorming, composition, value, color design and more, followed by feedback on student projects (which can be assigned by the teacher if needed). The remaining classes start with a sketch warmup, followed by project feedback. You may work using traditional or digital media (Photohop, Procreate, or similar). During class, critiques and discussion are done in a supportive group atmosphere. Students work on their projects between classes. We use Google Classroom to share information and review projects (Gmail account required). Classes are not recorded. Email Christine with questions: christine.mitzuk@theatelier.com

Imaginative Art and Illustration 2: A modified version of the class will be offered in the spring and summer sessions. The full lectures will not be included in those sessions. The goal of this class is similar to Illustration 1 in that we will work to build confidence in and further develop your unique personal creative abilities and skills, therefore students will not use generative AI programs.
9 weeks

 
Color 1 & 2: Exploring Color

Color I Fall Session: Are you confused by color? Do you work hard to mix a color only to get a color you didn’t want? My goal is to teach you how to make color mixing less frustrating and help you gain confidence in color mixing. Bring questions and a curious mind. Using the colors of The Atelier’s Paxton Palette, students will create color boards (based on the color boards shown in “Alla Prima” by Richard Schmid), as well as some free-form color exploration. Through these projects students will explore color and practice ways to think about what we see when mixing colors. Topics include mixing analogous colors, complements, the color wheel, color space, gamut, the attributes of color (hue, value, chroma), temperature, color bias, why a 50/50 mix does not make a middle color, mixing “mud”, and more. Each class is mostly work time, part presentation and discussion. Most students find they need additional time outside of class to complete the boards. We will work in oil paint.
Color 1 supply list
Class will be in-person at The Atelier.
Limit 8 students
14 weeks. (Note: We will have a few breaks during the 14 weeks of Color 1. Dates are added to the end.)

Color II Winter Session: Deepen your understanding of color and put color theory to practical use. Learn ways to alter chroma, the relative nature of color, color harmony, simultaneous contrast, and more through a combination of presentations, demonstrations, and assignments. Assignments will include color mixing exercises and painting studies from still-life objects and master works. Color I or a basic understanding of hue, value and chroma are strongly recommended. We will be using the Paxton Palette in oil paint.
Color 2 supply list
Class will be in-person at The Atelier.
Limit 8 students
14 weeks. (Note: We will have a few breaks during the 14 weeks of Color 1. Dates are added to the end.)

Digital Tools for Art Making

Learn practical, essential digital skills for traditional and digital art making. We will not use any generative AI programs. In this class Christine will teach you essential skills she uses for her digital and traditional art making. You will learn the important difference between color modes for art made for print and screen, dimensions and resolution, “frankensteining” your reference, how to use a pencil drawing for digital painting, digitally alter a drawing to explore composition, how to enlarge and prep a pencil drawing to use to transfer for a painting, digital brushes, and more. About a week before the class, registrants will receive access to download the class files.

We will use Adobe Photoshop (the Photography plan should be sufficient. Be sure you understand their billing and cancellation terms) and AffinityPhoto (which is free through Canva).

Some technical assistance will be available. The class does not include any software or hardware.

Requirements:

  • some drawing experience
  • must be familiar with navigating and using your device
  • must have your own laptop that can handle Photoshop (an iPad or similar may be used but please note, only assistance with Photoshop or AffinityPhoto will be available, not device tech help. Christine does not use iPad.)
  • have a touchscreen laptop with a pen OR laptop with an external pressure sensitive tablet with pen like a Wacom Intuos or Intuos Pro. A mouse is NOT recommended.
  • be able to connect to the internet using The Atelier’s Wi-Fi

Christine Mitzuk has been using Photoshop since the mid 90s, first as a student at the U of MN, then through her graphic design career. She continues to use it as a professional artist and illustrator as part of her traditional painting process and for digital paintings.

How to Register, and Additional Information

I teach classes through The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts in Minneapolis, MN. They handle all the registrations and any payments should be made out to them. To register for any classes, you can do so online through TheAtelier.org (note, The Atelier charges a little more to register online), or by mailing in a check to The Atelier with the registration slip from their mailer (you can get the Course Catalog PDF at TheAtelier.org). Registration can also be done in person but you’ll want to check first that someone will be there to assist you with your payment method.

Information from The Atelier: “For your convenience, you may register for classes online with a credit or debit card. Please note that when registering online, the course prices include an additional percentage to offset fees for accepting credit card payments.” “We still accept mail-in registration with check. Just be sure to let us know in advance which class you would like to sign up for so we can reserve your spot.” The Atelier’s contact information is: 612-362-8421 mail@theatelier.org TheAtelier.org

Location

The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts 1621 East Hennepin Avenue, Suite 280, Minneapolis, MN 55414 The Atelier is on the 2nd floor of The Fisk building. It’s on the bus route, there’s off-street parking, an accessibility ramp up to the building at the main entrance in back (but no electric door), and an elevator. For more information about the location, and directions, look here.

Regarding masking (for my classes)

IF COVID-19 Community Level is high, masks will be required for students attending my in-person classes. When Community Level is low or medium, people may choose to wear a mask at any time.