"In this twentieth century, to stop rushing around, to sit quietly on the grass, to switch off the world and come back to the earth, to allow the eye to see a willow, a bush, a cloud, a leaf, is an unforgettable experience...”                                              Frederick Franck. The Zen of Seeing
For further details and registration on short classes and workshops (from 3 hours to series of two to six 3-hour sessions) go to Wet Paint: Events & Classes. Search "Monica". The current classes should magically appear. Or call them at 651.698.6431.
Currently, many of these meet via Zoom. Some meet in person.


UPCOMING Classes

No experience necessary!
NOVEMBER 2022
Getting Your Feet Wet: Watercolor for the Non-Artist
via Zoom Monday + Wednesday, Nov 7 + 9,  6:30-8:30pm central time
No experience necessary! Are you a reluctant creative but desire to learn about watercolor painting? Instead of taking a deep dive, try dipping your toes into Watercolor Painting first. Have some fun, learn very basic skills and find out if this is a painting medium for you.
NOVEMBER 2022
Getting Your Feet Wet: Drawing for the Non-Artist
via Zoom Monday + Wednesday, Nov 28 + 30, 6:30-8:30pm central time
No experience necessary! Are you a reluctant creative but desire to learn about basic drawing tools and methods? Perhaps you’ve always wondered why there are so many types of pencils and what the differences are. If you’ve longed to try drawing but didn’t know where to start, this class is a chance for you to dip your toes in. In this workshop, you’ll learn about and experience ways of using some essential tools for drawing: including graphite drawing pencils, charcoal sticks, sketch pens and kneadable erasers. We’ll de-mystify drawing as we play with line, value (darks and lights) and simple texture in each medium, and find simple shapes within objects. We’ll discuss paper properties, and just for fun, try some white marks on toned paper.
No experience necessary!

UPCOMING Classes in 2023...Exact dates TBD

FEBRUARY - MARCH - APRIL - MAY
One class each month, via zoom. DATES & TOPICS TBD. Check back for updates.
Topics under consideration include but not limited to:
                                   Accentuate the Negative - working with negative space in watercolor                                                            
                                   Story Time - playful exercises in content                                                                                                         
                                   Color Chords - exercises in color strategies                                                                                                   
                                   Gestalt Grouping Principles - composition applications    
JUNE - MEET ME IN ST PAUL for fun IN PERSON!!!!
I will be teaching at Wet Paint for a couple of weeks in June. DATES & TOPICS TBD. Check back for updates.
Topics under consideration include but not limited to:
                                     Loose & Juicy - putting the water in watercolor
                                     Getting in Shape - plein air sketching
                                     Nature-Inspired - impressions and textures from nature.
Appropriate for beginners as well as advanced: those who want to join the Plein Air Movement; those who want encouragement to join the Urban Sketching Movement.
APRIL & MAY 
Getting in Shape: Plein Air Sketching
via Zoom Wednesday + Friday, April 20 + 22, 27 + 29, May 4 + 6, 2-5pm central time
Get in shape for the outdoor sketching season! Whether you’ve always wanted to try “urban sketching” or just want to hone your skills, here is a suite of classes designed to get you out there with more confidence. Urban sketching and plein air drawing are ways to experience the world from a different perspective. It is an opportunity to sit quietly, breathe and see. There are Urban Sketching communities worldwide: local groups, international groups, Facebook groups.

Working with pencil and pen, flex and train your drawing “muscles” through exercises like contour drawing (to help in the practice of seeing) as well as more structured drawing (to help to sight and render proportionally). We will also use watercolor to enhance a drawing. 

This three-week series is a great way to jump start creativity and build confidence toward a regular aesthetic practice.

Look for this to repeat in 2023. Date TBD
JUNE
Sunday in the Park with Gouache 
via Zoom Saturday + Sunday, June 18 + 19, 10am-2:30pm central time
In this two-session class, we will “paint the town”… oops, that would be paint nature by exploring the use of gouache. We will play with some of the technical aspects, including its range from transparent to opaque. The real fun will be in using this flexible water- medium to paint images of nature. Between our two sessions, maybe you can try this IN nature!

I'll be using the new Holbein Irodori Gouache Limited Edition Seasons Summer Set. (Also in this series: Winter, Spring, Autumn.) You may use any gouache, but this series is quite flexible, easily reconstitutes, and because of its dense pigment, quite rich.
Appropriate for ALL levels of experience, beginner to advanced.
Appropriate for ALL levels.
JUNE
Q&A re: Destination Learning Opportunities (Mexico, Minnesota, Greece, North Carolina)
via Zoom Thursday evening, June 23, 7-8pm central time
Whether mildly curious or more, you might be interested in a FREE 1-1 ½ hour zoom session with Monica Fogg for Q&A about her current and up-coming Destination Learning programs.

Aiming to enhance creative investigation, Monica has developed Destination Learning Opportunities. These art travels enable one to explore in an inspiring setting. For some, these workshops may simply be an oasis in the middle of a busy life or a chance to unwind and re-direct. For others, it will be a chance to waken dormant skills. We hope that it will be the impetus for ideas that continue to develop long after the event is over.

Look for this to repeat in 2023. Date TBD