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Prima Materia Institute
Upcoming Classes in San Diego

(5.0-star rating across 3 reviews)

Prima Materia Institute in San Diego, California is a progressive art school offering unconventional techniques and flexible enrollment for artists of all levels. With highly trained instructors and a relaxed atmosphere, it is the perfect place for those seeking better art training and a unique painting experience.

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Prima Materia Institute

Unfortunately, no classes in-person in San Diego have spots left, but 4 classes live online are available.

Essential Drawing Course for Beginners

Prima Materia Institute @ Virtual Classroom

Discover the essential drawing techniques that will help you create realistic and convincing artwork. Join the live online classes every Tuesday at Prima Materia Institute and learn how to draw portraits, still lifes, landscapes, and more using various mediums. Develop your skills and receive expert feedback for a well-rounded beginner artist experience.

(3) Beginner 15 and older
$525

12 sessions

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Painting in the State of Flow

Prima Materia Institute @ Virtual Classroom

Unlock the artist's ultimate goal: the creative flow. Join our course to delve into the mesmerizing world of poured painting, where the medium effortlessly guides your masterpiece. Over 4 weeks (8 classes) we'll harness the natural flow of paint, exploring the delicate balance between control and spontaneity, as the liquid medium encourages a more open-minded approach to painting landscapes. “The actions and awareness merge so that it seems that...

(3) All levels 13 and older
$800

8 sessions

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The Secrets to Creating a Classical Landscape

Prima Materia Institute

Course scheduleWeek 1: Learn about the classic landscape created by the Masters. Become familiar with the classic palette of pigments and color mixing.Week 2: Create several studies in monochrome in small format. Glaze the final color over them to complete each motif.Week 3: Create an underpainting, working from a photo-reference. Complete the landscape study, wet-into-wet. Learn to apply linear and aerial perspective, tonal separation of planes, and finishing touches: texture and details.Week 4: Start the main painting in a larger format, applying the previous lessons and the tips of the Masters.Week 5: Develop the background, middle ground, and foreground. Week 6: Add details, define texture, add highlights. Discussion of the finished works.

(3) All levels 13 and older
$260

6 sessions

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Torso in Impasto

Prima Materia Institute @ Virtual Classroom

For intermediate level students and advanced beginners Art buyers find impasto fascinating. Impasto is the process or technique of laying on paint thickly so that it stands out from a surface. In this course, we learn how to make our paintings of the human body more unique by focusing on the torso and eliminating any distractions. This impasto method of paint application will allow us to handle color that communicates volume and shows our brushwork....

(3) All levels 13 and older
$400

4 sessions

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12 Prima Materia Institute classes that have ended
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Prima Materia Workshop: Learn to Paint in 1 Day

Prima Materia Institute @ 3350 Sports Arena Blvd, San Diego, CA

The Prima Materia Learn to Paint Workshop is a 6-hour immersive, eye-opening workshop that will awaken your creativity and you will see and paint like an artist. You will start and finish 10 paintings, from silhouetted figures in front of a city scene to a decorative bowl filled with colorful fruit plus a seascape complete with boats and seagulls and much, much more. Impossible? Not when you know the secrets to stimulate your right brain and...

(3) Beginner 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
$297
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Abstract Trompe L'Oeil

Prima Materia Institute

Abstract Trompe L'Oeil is an illusionistic technique that will trick viewers into thinking objects are floating above your canvas. If you love contemporary art, you'll enjoy this class. The three day workshop will give you enough time to create a refined painting of our own that will impress your friends.  Part 1 - Learn about trompe l'oeil through examples, demonstrations, and a hands on project. Create a study to learn how dimension...

(3) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Online Summer Art Camp: Five Approaches to Portraiture

Prima Materia Institute

The virtual tour of the Masters: Rouault, Picasso, El Greco, Dumas, and Warhol, will introduce each Master’s approach and explain the steps of their unique technique. Such a diverse array of masters will enlighten you about the genesis of personal style, and encourage you to dive into each distinctive technique – with the objective to develop the style of your own. Supply List: For Drawing 9x12in Drawing pad (or any size you’d like) Set...

(3) All levels 11 - 18 years old
No upcoming schedules

Online Summer Art Camp: Lions, Tigers, and Bear Dogs

Prima Materia Institute

Online Summer Art Camp: Lions, Tigers, and Bear Dogs, Oh My! Dogs, horses, cats, parrots, hamsters, ducks, and pigs - and whoever else you take care of or share your home with - create their portraits on canvas or paper. You can choose any five of your favorite animals (domestic or wild) that you’d love to learn to draw or paint, get ready to create their likeness with these professional techniques. Supply List: For Drawing 9x12in Drawing pad...

(3) All levels 11 - 18 years old
No upcoming schedules

Online Summer Art Camp: Costumed Figure & Fashion

Prima Materia Institute

Learn to recreate historical costumes and design contemporary fashions with futuristic and extravagant silhouettes. Invent your dream look. Try your hand at fashion design. Sketch a clothed figure and redesign it for a runway show. If you ever thought of a potential career in fashion design, are interested in creating fashion illustrations, entering a t-shirt contest, or adding to your portfolio of drawings, you will learn how to “make it work!"...

(3) All levels 11 - 18 years old
No upcoming schedules

Online Summer Art Camp:Extraordinary Desserts on Canvas

Prima Materia Institute

Become a creator of something that everyone wants - the desserts that no one can say no to. Learn a technique of how to paint and draw cakes - as a treat to yourself, a visual delight for your kitchen or dining room, or as a unique gift for your family or friends for any special occasion. Supply List: For Drawing 9x12in Drawing pad (or any size you’d like) Set of drawing materials (the set does not include drawing pad) Workable Fixative Spray ...

(3) All levels 11 - 18 years old
No upcoming schedules

Online Summer Art Camp: The Next Shiny Object

Prima Materia Institute

This expression is often used as a metaphor for “getting easily distracted”, but we will take it literally. Learn to paint and draw shiny objects - that are considered to be only possible to the “professional level” of skills: silver and gold, highly polished surfaces, sparkling eyes, and raindrops on leaves or flower petals.  Find out how easy it is to create the shine - it is the technique that makes it possible: after these five days...

(3) All levels 11 - 18 years old
No upcoming schedules

Online Summer Art Camp: Great Masters

Prima Materia Institute

Online Summer Art Camp: Great Masters, Meet Contemporary Teens Paintings by the Great Masters are awesome. They will teach us how to compose, draw, and paint realistically. Recreate their work in your own way, invite their characters into the 21st century, treat them with our fast food, give them a box of french fries and a coke, hand them a cell phone, earphones, a player, and a pair of sneakers, and let them wear your beanie. Transform that historic...

(3) All levels 11 - 18 years old
No upcoming schedules

Drawing Made Easy for the Complete Beginner

Prima Materia Institute @ Online via Zoom

This beginner-friendly class is perfect for those who have never picked up a pencil before. If you've ever said to yourself "I can't draw" or "I wish I could draw", this class is for you! We've isolated the most important drawing topics and condensed the information so you can understand what drawing is about in an hour. This rich and concise class gives you a brief overview of drawing, all while giving you the opportunity to apply the techniques...

(3) Beginner 15 and older
No upcoming schedules

Group Coaching

Prima Materia Institute @ 3350 Sports Arena Blvd, San Diego, CA

Group Coaching is an opportunity to create your own projects or work with one of our instructors to develop a project tailored specifically to you, helping you develop your technical skills. You choose the medium, subject matter, and size, while we will provide the guidance, techniques and examples. Each class is your opportunity for a creative adventure, be it sketching, drawing, abstract art, still life, or creating a portrait. An instructor...

(3) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Live Model Sessions

Prima Materia Institute @ 3350 Sports Arena Blvd, San Diego, CA

In the figure drawing classes, you will be able to draw or paint a professional nude live model. We recommend participating in the figure drawing sessions, no matter your skill level. Our instructors will show you techniques to make the human figure more approachable and help you draw the figure in easy steps. The poses range from sitting, standing, and reclining. There is a model fee of $10. Materials are not included. The Foundation Drawing...

(3) Intermediate 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Introduction to Painting

Prima Materia Institute

You will learn about paints and brushes, and how to create paintings of your own. You will discover that taking your first steps in painting can be easy once you are introduced to the painting vocabulary. Painting is a joy, it can heal and inspire, and we want to give you this experience!  In this class, you’ll be lead through the exercise, step by step. The class will first start with an introduction to the materials. After that, you’ll...

(3) Beginner 13 and older
No upcoming schedules
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