Master Artist Workshops
Inclement Weather Policy for Workshops:
Note: Master Artist Workshops’ cancellation policy varies with each workshop. Please refer to your email workshop confirmation PDF attachment letter. The Huntsville Museum of Art assumes no liability for non-refundable airline tickets or other expenses that cannot be used due to any classes or workshops being cancelled or schedule changes.
The closest airport is the Huntsville International Airport. The airport code is HSV.
Below are suggested hotels near the Huntsville Museum of Art
Suggest Rather than Render with Dan Graziano
Skill Level: Beginning to advanced painters in both oil and acrylic mediums. Proficiency in basic drawing is required.
Thursday – Saturday, August 7 – 9, 2025; 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
$200 deposit/$650 members/$700 non-members
This three-day workshop will focus on painting “alla prima” (all at once) as well as developing greater skills of observation, simplification and quickly painting “wet on wet”. Most importantly, we will discuss how thoughtfully and purposely “suggesting” and editing the elements of a composition – rather than simply “rendering” every detail of your reference – will createtronger, more compelling and “painterly” painting.
The first morning of the workshop begins with a brief discussion of oil painting basics (from materials to paint handling) and will also address the fundamentals of color, value, edges, perspective and other “practical” elements related to successful painting. Participants will then work on a series of timed painting exercises incorporating the techniques discussed and developing their skills of observation, simplification, “suggestion” and quickly working in an “alla prima” manner.
Each day of the workshop will include a short painting demo by Dan with explanation of his process including plenty of question/answer and one-on-one individual instruction throughout the day. Participants are encouraged to bring their own photos to paint from or may choose from photo resources brought by the instructor.
Graziano is an award winning, nationally exhibited artist whose paintings capture the hidden beauty found in the ordinary and unexpected fleeting moments of everyday life. Incorporating dramatic light, shadow, color and perspective, his compositions feature a diversity of subjects – from a simple still life to rugged coastlines, active urban life, lively cafes and bars, small rural towns and forgotten roadside relics. His work has been featured in numerous publications and is in the collections of private and corporate collectors throughout the world.
His artistic vision began taking shape in the 60’s, during America’s explosive political, cultural and artistic awakening. His first formal training focused on advertising and illustration, but a career opportunity in architecture and urban planning altered his original direction. For more information, visit dangrazianofineart.com.
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Photo Courtesy of Artist: Dan Graziano, We’ll Have Another Round, oil on panel © 2024
CHARCOAL: Expressive Mark Making, A Painter’s Approach to Drawing with Gary Chapman
Skill Level: All levels are welcome.
Thursday-Sunday, August 21-24,2025
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
$200 deposit/$525 members/$575 non-members
Students will explore charcoal as the perfect drawing medium for expressive mark making. Students will develop a personal approach to loose, aggressive mark making with a combination of additive and subtractive techniques using charcoal and erasers for mark making and developing grounds. While charcoal will be the primary medium, eventually students will be encouraged to combine other media such as conte crayon and spray paint. The class will focus upon mark making as it relates to abstraction and later students may opt to explore the different ways these same techniques can be applied to observational drawing for a provocative and beautiful fusion of abstraction and realism.
Gary Chapman is a Professor of Art – Drawing and Painting at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and has had over 60 solo exhibitions with institutions such as The Arts Center of St. Petersburg, Florida and the Indianapolis Art Center. He has participated in national and international exhibitions, and his paintings have been purchased for numerous museums, corporate and private collections. He has a MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and BA and BS, Berea College.
In 2013, Chapman was awarded and named a CALL Legacy Artist by the Joan Mitchell Foundation. Chapman’s work has received recognition and awards from such notable figures as Ned Rifkin, Dennis Barrie, John Ravenal, Annette Carlozzi and Jack Cowart. In 2008 his work was selected and published in the book Alabama Masters: Artists and Their Work. He has received numerous grants and fellowships including a 1996 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Painting from the Southern Arts Federation and 2001 and 1994, Individual Artist Fellowships from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. His work has been reviewed extensively and is published in over 20 catalogs and books including the 3rd, 16th and 52nd editions of New American Paintings.
Paintings by Chapman have been purchased for the permanent collections of 10 museums throughout the Southeastern region. These include the Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery and Ogden Museums of Art. His work is also included in many corporate and private collections throughout the country. For more information, visit garychapmanart.com.
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Photo Courtesy of Artist: Gary Chapman, Landscape, charcoal © 2024
Capturing Radiant Light in Your Paintings in Oil or Acrylic with Michael Story
Skill Level: Beginner to Advanced
Thursday – Saturday, September 11 – 13, 2025; 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
$200 deposit/$575 members/$625 non-members
Master your ability to capture radiance in your paintings and join South Carolina artist Michael Story for this three-day landscape painting workshop. Michael will explain and demonstrate the fundamentals of building radiant color by applying complementary and analogous color combinations. We will also use effective underpainting and layering of color in trees, grasses, sky and water to simulate light and create interest and authenticity in our subject matter. The workshop begins with an I-ad step-by-step presentation showing a progression of Michael’s painting techniques from start to finish. Students begin their paintings with an initial charcoal drawing, followed by a color wash applied over the image. Starting with rich shadow colors, you’ll begin blocking in our painting, then progressing dark to light to completion. Building final layers of color and avoiding muddy mixtures, you’ll achieve fresh, bright, radiant color while capturing depth and drama to your work. For more information, visit michaelstory.com
Michael Story earned a BFA in Fine Arts from the University of South Carolina in 1975. He later traveled to New York, studying pastel and oil painting under internationally renowned artist, Daniel Greene. Today, Story is an award-winning artist and member of Oil Painters of America, Pastel Society of America, Southeastern Pastel Society, North and South Carolina Pastel Societies, National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society and the Allied Artists of America. He guest lectures, juries art shows, and regularly teaches oil, acrylic and pastel painting throughout the United States.
Michael has conducted workshops at such prestigious art centers as Huntsville Museum of Art in Huntsville, AL., Hudson River Valley Workshops in Greenville, NY., John C Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC., Winslow Art Center in Bainbridge Island, WA., Art of the Carolina’s in Raleigh, NC., Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek, WI., and Crealde School of Art in Water Park, FL. Students also travel from around the country to attend his two-day painting classes in his Lexington, SC studio. Michael was work showcased in the Bush Presidential Library in Houston, Texas, and his painting have been reproduced by major publishers such as Canadian Art Prints of British Columbia and distributed worldwide.
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Photo Courtesy of Artist: Michael Story, Waterlilies at Brookgreen, oil on panel © 2024
Finding Light and Inspiration in Your Photo References in Pastel with Jill Stefani Wagner,
PSA-MP, IAPS/MC, GLPS
Skill Level: All skill levels are welcome
Thursday – Saturday, October 23 – 25, 2025; 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
$200 deposit/$650 members/$700 non-members
In this workshop, beginning to advanced students will explore ways to create unique, personal works of art based on their own reference photos. Participants will learn how to find dynamic compositions with strong focal points and push color to enhance their vision. We’ll step away from the confinement of exact “copying” of reference materials and move toward finding our own interpretation of a scene.
Day 1: egin with an explanation of Jill’s 5-step process and a demonstration using a tonal underpainting to create a halftone “structure” on which to build her pastel painting. We’ll discuss how to crop photos to consider various compositional options and how to loosely block in dark and medium values that establish a plan, before adding color. In the afternoon, students will choose one of their own photos to use as their painting inspiration.
Day 2: Begin with another short demo using a colorful watercolor underpainting of complimentary colors to create an impressionistic, “vibrating” effect. After creating several value sketches, emphasis will be on students painting loosely and using strong marks to strengthen their chosen composition.
Day 3: Change things up a bit by using a dark substrate instead of a light one. Jill will demonstrate this challenging but highly rewarding way to paint, not often taught by other pastel instructors. The vibrance and saturation that happens with this process is amazing!
Whether painting landscapes, interiors or figures, Jill Stefani Wagner’s primary focus is always “light” and how it affects the scene she’s trying to capture. Working in pastel and oil, she approaches painting as a sculptor would, carving out nuances of light and shadow. An avid plein air artist, Jill paints landscapes in her studio, in Europe and in plein air festivals around the U.S.
Jill’s paintings have been juried into many national pastel exhibits and have been honored with prestigious awards. Pastel Journal magazine gave her paintings six Honorable Mentions in their Pastel 100 Competitions. One of her pastel paintings was recently on the cover of Plein Air magazine, and Fine Art Connoisseur and Plein Air Salon often feature her work. She has been designated a Master Pastelist by the Pastel Society of America and the International Association of Pastel Societies. Jill has been invited Pastel Faculty at the 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023 Plein Air Conventions. Her two videos featuring “5-Step Pastel Painting” are available from Streamline publishing.
Jill Stefani Wagner received a B.F.A. in painting from The University of Michigan School of Art. She owned an award-winning advertising firm in Ann Arbor MI, before “seeing the light” and becoming a full-time artist. For more information, visit jillwagnerart.com.
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Photo Courtesy of the Art: Jill Stefani Wagner,
The Resting Place, pastel © 2024.
Watercolor Sunset Landscapes with Alan Shuptrine
Skill Level: Don’t be intimidated, all skill levels welcome!
Friday, November 7, 2025
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
$225 members/275 non-members
Join internationally renowned artist, Alan Shuptrine for an immersive watercolor workshop focusing on the beautiful palette of colors found in Sunset Landscapes! Attendees will utilize different watercolor techniques and will work with a broad range of colors and depth, creating multiple compositions. Class space is limited to provide individual guidance so register early!
A painter known for his watercolor technical ability, sensitive and thought-provoking paintings, Shuptrine has extended his reputation from a renowned master craftsman and water gilder to a nationally acclaimed watercolorist. His paintings are collected nationally, in both corporate and private collections. Born the son of recognized painter, Hubert Shuptrine (1936-2006), Alan has continued the legacy of realism that both Andrew Wyeth and his father Hubert established.
A resident of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, Shuptrine’s pursuit of the arts includes schooling at The Baylor School (Chattanooga, TN); The University of the South (Sewanee, TN); and The University of Tennessee (Knoxville, TN). His style is Realism with highly detailed and dramatic lighting in his landscapes and figurative paintings surrounded in usual fashion of his masterful framing, sometimes in carved and intricate gold leaf designs. Shuptrine’s medium is primarily watercolor which he applies and controls in various techniques, from wet-in-wet to drybrush. He prefers to handcraft, carve, and gold leaf his own frames for his paintings.
In 2019-2020, Shuptrine kicked off a literary collaboration with National Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year, and Appalachian Trail expert, best-selling author Jennifer Pharr Davis. Davis and Shuptrine continue to provide national speaking engagements. This fine art, coffee-table book is self-published and titled I Come From A Place. The book features the collection of paintings by Shuptrine and accompanying verbiage by Pharr Davis. For more information, visit alanshuptrine.com.
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Photo Courtesy of the Art: Alan Shuptrine, Chickamauga
© Alan Shuptrine, watercolor, 21.375 X 29.125 in. © 2025.
