Imitating the Masters: Oil Painting Workshops with Donald Cronkhite

Along with a dash of art history, you will learn the techniques the master painters used to create beautiful portraits with realistic hair and flesh tones.

Using respected masterpieces by Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Van Gogh, Renoir and others as references, you will explore layering techniques, brush strokes and color mixing to give your portraits a polished, timeless quality and provide a foundation for painting your own classic masterpiece!

The schedule for winter 2023 is:

John Singer Sargent: Portrait

Thursday, January 5, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Thursday, January 12, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm 

Mary Cassatt: Portrait

Thursday, February 16, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Thursday, February 23, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Caravaggio: Portrait

Thursday, March 16, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Thursday, March 23, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Supplies:

*Instructor will supply canvas and painting supplies for a materials fee of $15.00 per student.

About the Instructor

Donald Cronkhite is a Michigan artist, most noted for his extensive series of expressive atmospheric paintings. His work is represented by the Gruen Galleries in Chicago’s River North Gallery District since 2005 and at the Robert Kidd Gallery in Birmingham since 2020.

Cronkhite’s work is included in private art collections as well as museum and university collections such as the Flint Institute of Arts, Wayne State University and University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Cronkhite received his BFA from Wayne State University after exploring the art galleries and museums of Europe where he became inspired by 17th-century Dutch painting and 19th-century French avant-garde painting.

In 2019, he began teaching painting classes at the Flint Institute of Arts (FIA), Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center (BBAC) and the Grosse Pointe Artists Association (GPPA). He maintains a regular studio practice and continues to take art commissions, sell, and exhibit.