Drawing Florals: Colored Pencil on toned paper
taught by Kseniya Ostrovska
In this class, you’ll bring florals to life through an 11 × 14 inch colored pencil drawing on toned paper. With a focus on shaping form, softening and sharpening edges, and layering rich color, you’ll explore how light and depth transform a drawing into something luminous. This course invites you to slow down, observe closely, and develop confident colored pencil techniques while creating a floral piece that feels vibrant, dimensional, and full of presence.
This class is an intermediate level class. Please bring your own set of Prismacolor Premier colored pencils (the bigger the set, the better, a minimum of 48 pencils is recommended), eraser (Primacolor magic rub eraser or similar), and sharpener (Kum Wedge or similar). You’re welcome to bring reference images of your own.
Paper, reference images, and sketching pencils will be provided.
2 session class, Saturdays, June 13-20, 2026 10:00 AM-1:00 PM
$80 member/$95 non-member
Class price break down:
$75 member/$90 non-member plus $5 material fee
About the instructor:
I am drawn to the complexity of plants, their similarity to human beings in terms of physical structure and needs, and the ongoing impact that plants and people have on each other. I love how the process of making relief prints leads me to look at driftwood and dead trees in a new light. Studying the form, notches and textures of the trees, many of which are over a hundred years old, reveals the individual struggles and stories of beings that exist on a time scale beyond human life. The neuron-like appearance of roots and the bone-like forms of knotted branches evoke a human presence and remind me that we all depend on the purity and accessibility of soil, sun and water in order to live.
My art practice is a way of focusing on the bioregional diversity around me and building a stronger connection with the natural world. While growing up and living in cities, I frequently found myself without a sense of belonging to a place: melancholic and restless. After the opportunity to live in rural upstate New York, surrounded by acres of living forest and cultivating a garden, I realized how a connection with the earth gives me a sense of place and contentment. My work offers viewers the experience of careful attention, respect, and micro-level fascination that I bring to my interactions with the plant kingdom. The goal of my practice is to strengthen our desire to maintain the intricate systems of the natural world so that future generations will have access to outdoor places full of rich diversity and interdependence.
http://kseniyaostrovska.com
kseniya_ostrovska_art/
