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
Compelling Paintings Inspired by the Everyday Photo
Carole Forêt
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Friday & Saturday, February 6 & 7, 2026
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
$200 deposit/$600 members/$650 non-members
Discover how to transform your simple photos into vibrant, expressive paintings with Carole Forêt—an accomplished, widely respected artist with over 35 years of professional experience. Whether you’re a beginner eager to learn the fundamentals or an intermediate artist ready to deepen your skills, this immersive two-day workshop will elevate your art practice. Bring 2-3 favorite photos (landscape/cityscape, printed or on a charged device. Photo references will be provided, if needed. Through live demos, individual guidance, and a thoughtfully paced structure, Carole will teach you how to see like an artist—focusing on composition, value, color, and perspective. You’ll also learn her signature process: building dynamic acrylic duo-tonal underpaintings that set the stage for luminous, colorful oil finishes. You’ll leave the workshop with compelling, layered paintings full of energy and atmosphere.
What You’ll Learn:
• Essentials of composition, value, and color application
• The role of underpainting using acrylics
• Many painting techniques in radiant oils
• How to translate everyday photos into emotional, expressive works of art
• Personalized guidance and group critiques to help you grow
Carole comes from a strong lineage of family artists and has spent decades creating and teaching across the Southeast and Europe. She has owned galleries in Florida and Alabama, was featured in Southern Living (2008), and was the keynote speaker and demonstrator at the Congressional Art Competition in Washington, D.C. (2013). She has led art retreats in Italy and completed a month-long artist residency in France’s Champagne region (2019). Now based between studios in Huntsville, AL, and Sewanee, TN, Carole continues to inspire others with her passion and expertise. For more information, visit caroleforet.com.
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Photo Courtesy of the Art: Carole Forêt, Sidewalk Café, Barcelona, oil on canvas © 2025.
California Vibe Watercolor Portraiture™
David Lobenberg
Skill Level: Beginner to Advanced
Thursday – Sunday, March 19 – 22, 2026
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
$200 Deposit/$575 members/$625 non-members
Absolutely no drawing experience necessary in David Lobenberg’s California Vibe Watercolor Portraiture™ workshop. He uses a reference photo and tracing technique that’s super simple to execute. The creativity and painting fun begins during the painting process! Through his step-by-step demonstrations and question-and-answer sessions, he leads artists down a path of expressive, energetic and evocative portrait painting.
Throughout the course of the workshop, artists learn:
* How to shoot dramatic, stylistic reference photos with a smartphone and natural daylight.
* How to utilize a simple photo/tracing technique to prepare for the painting process.
* How to bust through the color barrier.
* How to mix gutsy colors with a minimal five-color palette.
* How to merge positive and negative stencil embellishment techniques into their portraits.
Lobenberg has over forty years of experience conducting both studio and plein air water media workshops across the United State, Canada as well as via zoom and his online California Vibe School of Watercolor™. He has established a reputation for a well-organized, energetic, fun, and high-spirited teaching style. David received his Master’s-in-Art degree from UCLA and has taught for seventeen years (now retired) as an adjunct art professor at Sacramento City College.
His work has been exhibited and published both in the United States, Europe, and Asia. His work has appeared in Pratique Des Arts, Plein Air Magazine and International Artist to name a few.
David has also created commissioned art works for the Amgen Tour of California, the USAF Thunderbirds, Maria Shriver, IMAX Corporation, Public Broadcasting Service, Sacramento Olympic Track and Field Pre-trials, and the National Gymnastics Association.
At the conclusion of Lobenberg’s workshop, artists will have the where-with-all to follow their own path towards creating California Vibe Watercolor Portraits™! For more information, visit lobenbergart.com and Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and on YouTube.
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Photo Courtesy of the Art: David Lobenberg, Eye to Eye, watercolor on paper © 2025.
Wet Concrete Carving
Elder Jones
Skill Level: All levels of experience are welcome, beginner to advanced
Friday, June 5: 1-4 p.m.
Saturday, June 6: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday, June 7: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
$500 members/$550 non-members
Learn to build forms, prepare sand mix concrete, sculpt and hand carve in the soft matrix in this wet-carved concrete workshop. No power tools or hammer and chisel are required. Students will be given a working understanding of Portland cement and the variety of possibilities the technique offers. Choose to make either a planter or sculpture of about 30 lbs. Carving tools and materials provided. By the end of the carving day everyone will have completed their piece short of it having sit overnight to cure before handling.
Elder Garrison Jones is a native “baby boomer” of Chattanooga Tennessee. He received his undergraduate, biology and art, and graduate, biology, degrees at Middle Tennessee State University. He was the only apprentice of the late Jack B. Hastings where he was exposed to wet-carving sand mix concrete and has developed his own style over the past forty years. For more information, visit sandpudding.com.
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Photo Courtesy of Artist: Elder Jones, Vessel, concrete © 2025
Still Life Oil Painting
Qiang Huang
Skill Level: Beginner to Advanced
Thursday-Saturday, June 11-13, 2026
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
$500 members/$550 non-members
Qiang’s approach to still life painting will be demonstrated with particular focus on creating dramatic set ups by observing the light distribution, and using bold and loose strokes to create a powerful and accurate representation on canvas.
Using demonstrations and individual assistance, Qiang will explain his process of creating energetic paintings by manipulating values, colors, edges, and brushwork. Personal attention will be given to each student according to his or her current skill level and personal goals in art. The workshop is designed for indoor practice with live settings.
Qiang has developed computer tools to help artists to see color more accurately and simplify the painting process. He will share his color study and introduce the tools in this workshop.
Qiang Huang (pronounced as Chong Wong) was born and raised in Beijing China and now lives in Austin, Texas. He has studied art from multiple master artists like David Leffel and Sherrie McGraw. His paintings show remarkable accuracy and expressive brush strokes. Since 2004 his paintings have been selected continuously for the 14th, 15th,16th and 18th Oil Painters of America’s National Juried Exhibitions. American Artist Magazine has featured his teaching on the summer issue of the “Workshop”. For more information, visit qh-art.com.
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Photo Courtesy of Artist: Qiang Huang, Sunflower in a Blue Vase, oil on canvas © 2025
Watercolor Painting
Tony Couch, AWS
Skill Level: Beginners, Students, Hobbyists & Professional Artists
Monday, September 14 – Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.;
Thursday, September 17, 2026; 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
$575 members/$625 non-members
The workshop sessions begin as Couch completes a painting, explaining what he is doing, and why, as he paints. Students paint in the afternoons, after which Couch critiques all the day’s completed work, including his own. An optional slide show/lecture on the principles of design – including color and composition – will be presented in the afternoon of the first day.
Couch received a Bachelor Degree in Art from the University of Tampa, and did further work at Pratt Institute in New York. Simultaneously, he worked as an artist for Associated Press and freelance illustrator while studying watercolor painting with Edgar A. Whitney, ANA. His first book, Watercolor: You Can Do It, became North Light Publishing’s all time best selling book on painting. It has been the textbook for several college art departments and has been translated into Chinese for markets overseas. A follow-up book on technique went through three printings and was translated into Japanese for that market. A third, Tony Couch’s Keys to Successful Painting was also published by North Light. His watercolor instruction articles have appeared in Palette Talk, The American Artist, Australian Artist, North Light Watercolor Magic” and “the artist” magazines. His work is included in twelve art instruction articles and publications by other artists in the US., Australia and the UK. He has produced 10 “How To” Videos and DVDs, some of which are used in colleges and in various state educational systems via television. He conducts workshops throughout the US and abroad.
Couch has won over 70 national awards and his work has been included in three annual exhibitions of the National Academy of Design. For more information, visit tonycouch.com.
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Photo Courtesy of Artist: Tony Couch, Safety Harbor, watercolor © 2025
