Online Courses

Upcoming

Vision, Process, and Quick Watercolor Studies
Sundays, January 19 - February 9, 2025, 1:00 - 3:00 PM Eastern Time

Rediscover the joy of painting in 2025! Strengthen the link between your vision and your brush in this engaging online course with artist and educator Nick Cruz Velleman. Ideal for anyone trying to reconnect with their creative side, this course offers a fun and convenient opportunity to shake off the rust and start painting again. You’ll be reintroduced to the basics of watercolor and then practice alongside Nick in sketching exercises that aim to help you express what you see quickly, build confidence in your brushwork, and avoid getting stuck in details. Through collaborative discussion, you’ll explore techniques/strategies that align with your personal creative sensibility. The course culminates in a group critique, deepening your understanding of how process and technique can arise organically from your vision, unlocking your unique artistic touch.

Location: Virtual Class on Zoom
Instructor: Nick Cruz Velleman
Date/Time: Sundays, January 19th - February 9th, 1:00 - 3:00 PM Eastern Time
Price: $155 (make your payment online, by check, or by bank transfer — more details below)
Registration: Click the button below to register for the course

Course includes:

• Reintroduction of basics of watercolor

• Guided practice activities

• A group critique

Required Materials:

• Computer with webcam

• Beginner watercolor set: ideally no more than 12 colors

• One watercolor brush roughly size 18

• One watercolor brush roughly size 10

• One watercolor palette (if your set doesn’t already include one)

• Two containers for water

• Paper towels

• Pad of watercolor paper, at least 15 sheets, at least 9x12” 140lb/300gsm

Optional materials:

• mini spray bottle

• binder clips

About the Artist-Educator

Nick Cruz Velleman is a longtime friend, artist, and student of the Leo Marchutz School. Nick’s life so far reflects a deep commitment to the arts and involvement with some of DC’s finest art institutions. Born and raised in Washington, D.C. to Peruvian and Filipino immigrant parents, his passion for music — his first creative love — propelled him to become a manager and director at the 9:30 Club for four years while performing with bands locally and regionally. Having chosen the artist’s path, Nick spent many years in Aix-en-Provence, France learning from John Gasparach and Alan Roberts, and currently teaches with the Smithsonian Associates and Georgetown Day School while exhibiting original work locally in D.C.. Nick aspires to a career of teaching art, creativity, and the mental health benefits that come with it…while traveling the world and painting, of course. Nick was also the Leo Marchutz School’s November 2022 Featured Artist of the Month.

Cancellation Policy

• If a participant cancels before the program start date, they will be refunded the full program fee, less a $25 administrative fee (and the credit card processing fee, if applicable).

• If a participant cancels after the program start date, no refund will be given.

• If for any reason the program does not run (due to low enrollment, for example), the participant will be refunded the full program fee (less the credit card processing fee, if applicable).

Questions?

Please reach out to us at info@leomarchutzschool.org with any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!

The Leo Marchutz School does not discriminate in any way on the basis of race, color, age, background, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, religion, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or national or ethnic origin, and admits students/participants of any race, color, age, background, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, religion, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or national or ethnic origin.

Monthly Online Sessions

Monthly Masterwork Practice Hour with Nick Cruz Velleman
Dedicated time for your creative practice.

Upcoming Practice Hours:

• December: Sunday, December 8th at 1:00 PM Eastern Time - register at this link

• January: Sunday, January 12th at 11:00 AM Eastern Time - register at this link

• February: Sunday, February 16th at 11:00 AM Eastern Time - register at this link

• March: Sunday, March 23rd at 11:00 AM Eastern Time - register at this link

Trying to get back into painting and drawing? Struggling to make time for your artistic practice? We've got you covered with our FREE monthly online practice hour. This is an opportunity for you — our wonderful Leo Marchutz School community — to gather together online, hone your craft, or just play around with your own projects alongside artist Nick Cruz Velleman. 

You can expect to reconnect with your creativity and artistic practice as you make copies from selected masterworks in the medium of your choice. While Nick will provide insight into his own copying process, participants are encouraged to ask questions as the session unfolds. This includes anything they would like to improve on or learn more about, such as strategies for making a copy, approaches in a certain medium, or how to look at a masterwork differently to deepen their own work. All levels, backgrounds, and media are welcome in these interactive, virtual open studio sessions.

Build creativity into your schedule by joining us online every month, right from your own home. Session dates and times are announced in our monthly email newsletter.

We are happy to offer this monthly online practice hour at no cost to our community. If you are enjoying this program, please consider making a donation to support the mission of the Leo Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing. Donations can be made here.

Watch previous month’s masterwork practice hours on our YouTube channel here.

Past Programs

Vision, Process, and Quick Watercolor Studies

Slippery and sometimes counterintuitive, watercolor is an elusive medium vast with possibility. For many artists looking for a lightweight, portable option to maintain a creative practice at home or on the go, it is an obvious choice. In this online watercolor course, artist and educator Nick Cruz Velleman will reintroduce the basics of sketching with watercolor. Nick will provide a refresher with wet and dry techniques and help students explore how to use them together. By the end of the course, students will have a foundation to make quick watercolor sketches using their own vision to explore which techniques and what process may be right for them. Each session will include guided practice exercises and the course will conclude with a group critique.

Location: Virtual Class on Zoom
Instructor: Nick Cruz Velleman
Date/Time: Wednesday Evenings, Oct 11 - Nov 1, 7-9pm Eastern time

Course includes:

• demonstrations of process in watercolor

• guided practice activities

• a group critique

Supplies to be provided by the student: 

• Beginner watercolor set, no more than 12 colors

• Pad of watercolor paper, at least 12 sheets, at least 9x12” 140lb/300gsm cold press.

• One watercolor brush roughly size 18 (flat/square preferred, round is fine)

• One watercolor brush roughly size 10 (flat/square preferred, round is fine)

• One watercolor palette (if your set doesn’t already include one)

• One container for water

• One pencil

• Paper towels

Optional materials:

• mini spray bottle

• binder clips

Revisiting Rembrandt Through Drawing

"Copying the drawings of the masters was a habitual exercise in his studio." - excerpt from Rembrandt’s Statement on Drawing

Join artist and educator Nick Cruz Velleman on three consecutive Thursday evenings in January and February for a drawing class that explores Rembrandt’s statement on drawing and puts it into practice. Nick will lead you on a deep dive into Rembrandt’s philosophy, how we can practice it ourselves, and its implications beyond the sketchpad. Topics will include exploring contours, shadows, and light in graphite studies of masterworks. Each session will include guided drawing exercises. The course will conclude with a group critique and students will be left with a digital workbook that contains images of masterworks to copy in their own drawing practice beyond the three-week course.

Location: Virtual Class on Zoom
Instructor: Nick Cruz Velleman
Date/Time: Thursday evenings, January 26 - February 9, 2023, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Eastern time

This class can be taken as a stand-alone course or combined with the Habit of Art workshop for maximum impact. 

Supplies to be provided by the student: 

• Sketchbook with at least 15 pages of blank paper available

• Graphite pencil; Graphite stick (optional)

• Computer with webcam

The Habit of Art

Technique is important, but experience is the real teacher. Join artist and educator Nick Cruz Velleman for a Saturday afternoon online workshop that focuses on building strong artistic practice habits. Topics covered will include cultivating a consistent habit of art through an intensive and non-judgmental practice, benefitting from flow states, and protecting your motivation to return to your practice again and again. We will cover how to evaluate your own work – learning how to recognize when a piece of art is operating as a whole – and will equip you with the tools you need to keep practicing, including an example workspace set-up, accessible and inspirational drawing activities to keep you going, and how to set up a still-life at home. 

Location: Virtual Class on Zoom
Instructor: Nick Cruz Velleman
Date/Time: Saturday, January 28, 2023, 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Eastern time

This class can be taken as a stand-alone course or combined with the Revisiting Rembrandt Through Drawing course for maximum impact. 

Supplies to be provided by the student: 

• Computer with webcam