New Art Classes by Robin Cole at SPQR

SPQR is proud to announce two new classes by talented painter Robin Cole.  

Starting on Thursday, February 21st, Robin will be teaching an Intro to Figure Drawing Class from 2 pm til 5 pm as well as an Intro to Portrait Drawing Class from 6 til 9 pm. 

Intro to Figure Drawing: Gesture, Proportion, and Skeletal Landmarks

Dates & Location: Thursdays February 21 through April 4 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Tuition: $250  + $38 model fee

Description: This six week course—the first in our five course Figure Drawing series—is an introduction to drawing the nude figure from life, perfect both for those who have always wanted to explore the figure drawing world, as well as more experienced drawers who are looking for a methodical approach to the human form and proportions.

We will emphasize the importance of gesture, energy, and movement throughout our weeks together with additional focus on the skeleton and its helpful landmarks, volumetric thinking, sighting, line quality, and some introductory elements of anatomy.

Intro to Portrait Drawing: Proportion, Form, and Simplified Features

Dates & Location: Thursdays February 21 through April 4 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Tuition: $250  + $30 model fee

Description: This six week course—the first in our five course Portrait Drawing series—is an introduction to drawing portraits from life (and photos), perfect both for those who have always wanted to try their hand at capturing a likeness, as well as more experienced drawers who are seeking a methodical approach to the human head and proportions, or who need a bit of review after some time away from charcoal and paper.

We will focus on the basics in this class, with emphasis on conceptualizing the planes of the head and face as simplified forms and memorizing your own version of these “artistic abstractions.” Once equipped with strong recall for proportions, we will progress through an introduction to basic light and shadow and facial features.  

To register for either class, please email Brett at s.p.q.r.artspace@gmail.com.

Artist Bio:

Robin Cole, born in Denver, Colorado in 1985, is a painter, draftswoman, and encaustic artist working in the tradition of realism. Though related to the familiar genres of landscape painting and portraiture, her work explores a slightly unusual, more nuanced and closely experienced relationship with nature that is at once otherworldly and scientific.

Cole received her BA in English at Colorado College as a Boettcher Foundation scholar before making a shift in her studies and career to pursue fine art.  She later completed the post-baccalaureate program in Studio Art at the Burren College of Art in County Clare, Ireland, and went on to earn a Master’s of Fine Art in Drawing from the Laguna College of Art and Design (LCAD) in 2013.

These pursuits were supported and informed by a variety of artist residencies including the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, and Spiro Arts. Following completion of her MFA, Cole stayed on for five years as faculty at LCAD, where she was able to utilize both her literary and artistic backgrounds to teach a variety of undergraduate drawing and graduate writing courses.

In 2018, Cole received a second artist grant from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation in support of her current work, as a follow-up to her initial grant in 2012 for her unique encaustic drawings. In spring of the same year, Cole returned to Colorado Springs, where she now lives and works.