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With Johannes Vloothuis
Step away from color and unlock the power of grayscale! Working in black, white, and shades of gray brings simplicity to your process, builds confidence, and strengthens skills that translate into color painting. Since half of color mixing is about getting the values right, mastering them in charcoal lets you mix color to create landscapes more successfully.
In this course, you’ll learn how to:
- Master professional smudging for smooth, realistic textures
- Use white pencil to create eye-catching highlights
- The easiness of the lift-out technique
- Simplify the grayscale for striking, balanced compositions
Turn your sketches into stunning, expressive landscapes and elevate your painting at the same time!
Class: Charcoal
| Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026 Time: 1:00 – 6:00 p.m. ET View Live Event on Twitch* |
*On Twitch, if you see a message ‘video is only available to subscribers’ you will need to log into your Twitch account to watch this workshop. Please note this is a different login than your Artists Network login. Amazon owns Twitch, you can use your Prime username and password, or create a new account.
Step 1: Reference
Open and download this file. (Click link, then do a “Save As” to download the file: see Help section below for more instructions and download options.)
Step 2: Template
Print this traceable template. It needs to be opened and printed with the free software Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Step 3: Trace the Image. How to use the tracing template
Trace the image to your painting surface. Click this link to learn how.
Have a question? Please feel free to email Johannes directly at [email protected]
RECORDINGS
(Will be posted within a few days following the live event)
RECOMMENDED MATERIALS
CHARCOAL: Willow Charcoal Set
PAPER: Paper Pad 9×12 Inches
Help
Contact Customer Service.
Troubleshooting tips can be found on our FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS resource.
TEMPLATE & REFERENCE DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS:
Templates and references can be downloaded from this website. CLICK on the links provided within the Class sections to open the template and reference pdfs. It’s recommended you open the pdf and download the reference image and transfer your drawing prior to the live class so you’ll be ready to follow along. *Please check back regularly–it may take up to three days for recordings to be posted following a live class.
DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS FOR LINKS
Windows: RIGHT-CLICK on the links. Select “Save Target as” (Internet Explorer) or “Save Link as” (Firefox or Chrome)
Mac: Click while holding the CTRL key then select “Save as”
Trouble downloading your pdf files? Here’s a list of popular browsers and how to download files. Click on the browser name below to learn more:
