Natural Science Illustration Art Classes
held at the
Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
Due to Covid-19 all in-person classes have been temporarily suspended. Check back here for updates regarding reopening or subscribe to our website to get automatic updates.
Live Remote Online
Art Classes and Workshops Held via Zoom
Summer and Fall
2021
Please note our registration policy: Registrations must be received at least 10 days prior to the first day of class.
All 200-level classes require the successful completion of Drawing 1 as a prerequisite.
118X Getting Started in Colored Pencil
Tuesdays, July 6, 13, and 20, 9am to 12 Noon
Instructor: Jan Prentice
$180, 3 weeks, 9 hours
Dive right into this beginner class. One guided project, chosen by the instructor, introduces students to essential colored pencil techniques. No experience necessary. Register
103X Introduction to Field Sketching and Nature Journaling
Session A: Thursdays, July 8 to July 29, 10am to 12 Noon
Session B: Thursdays, August 5 to August 26, 10am to 12 Noon
Instructor: Linda Miller
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
Register separately for each workshop
Learn the basics of observational drawing starting with simple objects so that you can sketch what you find outdoors as well as indoors. Students will be encouraged to carry their sketchbooks and journals wherever they go. There will be a balance between presentations by the instructor and actual practice followed by group critiques. Register
172X Children’s Books: Science and Art
Saturdays, July 10 to July 31, 10am to 12 Noon
Instructor: Linda Miller
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
We will explore some of the wonderful new books out there and have the opportunity to have a dialogue with some of the authors and illustrators. We will also learn about the process of creating children’s books by journaling and creating story-boards for our own books! Register
101X Drawing I
Session A: Twice each week on Sundays and Thursdays, July 11 to August 5, 5 to 8pm
Instructor: Dorie Petrochko
Session B: Weekly on Saturdays, September 4 to October 23, 9am to 12 Noon.
Instructor: Susannah Graedel
Registration closes August 25
Session C: Weekly on Tuesdays, November 9 to January 4, 9am to 12 Noon (No class December 28)
Instructor: Jan Prentice
$480, 8 classes, 24 hours
Drawing I is the foundation course for all sequential courses taken at the Yale Peabody Museum. It is here that the necessary techniques in rendering light on form, value, texture, perspective, proportion, and composition are taught. Each student will be given individual assignments and critiques, along with a final project that is due at the culmination of the course. Register
128X Watercolor Workshop for Beginners
Session A: Mondays, July 12 to August 2, 10am to 12 Noon
Session B: Mondays, November 1 to November 22, 10am to 12 Noon
Instructor, Linda Miller
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
Get a taste of what is involved when you paint with watercolor. The traditional approach to transparent watercolor painting will be taught, with the focus on limited palettes, mixing, layering, and glazing to create luminous, beautiful colors in this special medium. Register
130X Basic Color Theory Workshops
Session A: Saturday, August 7, 9 am to 12 noon
Session B: Monday, October 25, 9 am to 12 noon
Session C: Saturday, December 4, 9 am to 12 noon
Instructor: Bivenne Staiger
$60 per 3-hour workshop Register separately for each workshop
Learn the fundamentals of color theory to enhance your work in any medium. The class will work mostly in water media and colored pencil, but students may use any medium of choice. Register
286X Watercolor Workshop - Flowers and Insects
Saturdays, August 14 to 28, 9am to 12 Noon
Instructor: Bivenne Staiger
$180, 3 weeks, 9 hours
Create stunning watercolor paintings of flowers with and without insects. Learn how to complete each painting in specific stages by using painting elements to emphasize what is key. Student prepares a contour drawing from motif provided by the instructor before each class. Register
241X Colored Pencil I
Tuesdays, August 31 to October 19, 9 am to 12 noon
Instructor: Jan Prentice
$480, 8 days, 24 hours
Begin your exploration of color with this approachable medium. In our first few meetings students learn and practice key color concepts: primary and secondary color, local color, color temperature, hue, chroma and value. With this background, students will then learn techniques needed to create beautiful, detailed drawings on a variety of drawing surfaces. Register
104X Intermediate Field Sketching and Nature Journaling
Session A: Thursdays, September 9 to September 30, 10am to noon
Session B: Thursdays October 7 to October 28, 10 am to 12 noon
Instructor: Linda Miller
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
Students will explore, sketch, and journal outside and then will bring some seasonal specimens they find inside to work from. We will welcome guest naturalists who will help us identify things that we have discovered. In April we will be searching for early spring flowers and in June we will be looking for early summer flowers. Learn to slow down and observe more deeply as you connect and open up to the ineffable in natural objects through the making of art. Register
170X A Virtual Visits to the Yale University Art Gallery
Second Fridays of the month, September 10, October 8, November 12, December 10, 10 am to 12 noon
Instructor, Linda Miller
$160, 4 Fridays, 8 hours
During each class session we will focus on different themes in nature by looking at drawings and watercolors from the Yale University Art Gallery’s collection. We will discuss the works we are focusing on as a group, as the instructor facilitates. A staff member from the YUAG will join us for the discussion and Q&A in the last half-hour. During each month the students will be encouraged to explore the illustrated YUAG online catalog for added information as they write and sketch in their journals. Register
286X B Watercolor Workshop: Painting Creatures in Watercolor
Mondays, September 13 to October 18, 9 am to 12 noon
Instructor: Bivenne Staiger
$360, 6 weeks, 18 hours
Learn the techniques to paint various animals from insects to mammals in their natural settings in watercolor. The instructor will demonstrate how to complete each painting in specific stages by using painting elements to emphasize what is key. The student will prepare a contour drawing from a motif provided by the instructor before each class. Register
165X Birds and their Habitats: A Sketchbook Journey
Tuesdays, September 14 to October 19, 2-5 pm
Instructors: Dorie Petrochko and Jim Sirch
$360, 6 weeks, 18 hours
Through the eyes of a naturalist and an artist, explore the fascinating lives of birds of the Northeast, documenting their nesting, breeding, and migrating habits via a sketchbook journal. We will record and draw our observations of various common species of birds, their anatomy and their interrelationships with plants. No previous drawing experience is necessary. Register
267X Introduction to Adobe Photoshop for Natural Science Illustrators
Wednesdays, September 22 to November 10, 5:30 to 8:30 pm
Instructor: Ikumi Kayama
$480, 8 weeks 24 hours
In this virtual 8-week course, students will take their completed illustrations in a traditional medium and manipulate them for publication in Adobe Photoshop. The famously complicated and ever-changing Photoshop palettes and tools will be discussed and the tools most often used by professional scientific illustrators will be covered. After taking this workshop, the students should have a working knowledge and a basic understanding of Adobe Photoshop. Register
261X Vertebrate Anatomy
Fridays, October 1 to November 19, 1-4 pm
Instructors: Dorie Petrochko and Armand Morgan
$480, 8 weeks, 24 hours
In this class, students will observe and sketch specimens from the vertebrate anatomy collection at the Yale West Campus. Areas of focus will be research and hands-on study of the anatomy and musculature of the cat and the horse and an in-depth final study of a vertebrate of choice representing its skeletal and musculature development. Register
284X Botanical Illustration in Colored Pencil
Mondays, October 4 to 25, 10am to 12:30 pm
Instructor: Betsy Barry
$200, 4 days, 10 hours
Working in colored pencil with the subject of your choice, create your own botanical illustration. Starting with sketches and color studies and working from a live specimen, you will create an illustration of your subject. Fruit, vegetables, and all plant life welcome! Register
244X Watercolor I
Wednesdays, October 6 to December 1, (no class November 24), 1-4 pm
Instructor: Kim Burris
$480, 8 weeks, 24 hours
Learn the basic techniques of watercolor painting including mixing color, washes, layering, dry versus wet, and achieving fine detail. Students will learn how to plan a painting and develop it carefully in order to capture the beauty of the medium. Register
148X Drawing Insects in Colored Pencil
Mondays, October 18 to November 22, 1-4 pm
Instructor: Kim Burris
$360, 6 weeks,18 hours
Capture the complex beauty of insects in colored pencil. Students will select insect specimens from the Peabody collection and use colored pencil techniques to create beautiful, realistic renderings. Register
201X Drawing II
Sundays, October 24 to December 19, 9 am to 12 noon
Instructor: Susannah Graedel
$480, 8 weeks, 24 hours
Registration closes October 14
Stunning artistry with a pencil! Create silvery tonal portraits of animals and plants and free yourself from an artificial light source. Like artists since Renaissance times, students will learn to intuitively portray their subjects with light coming from the upper left. Through toning in this way, students will bring their subjects to three-dimensional life in intricate detail. Register
147X Gourds in Colored Pencil
Thursdays, October 28 to November 18, 10 am to 12:30 pm
Instructor: Betsy Barry
$200, 4 days, 10 hours
Exploring the shapes, colors, lumps and bumps of seasonal gourds! All drawn in colored pencil. Register
225X Colored Pencil II
Sundays October 31- Jan 9, 2 to 5 pm
Instructor: Dorie Petrochko
$480, 8 weeks, 24 hours
Registration deadline: Oct. 25
Learn the techniques of applying layers of delicate tones with colored pencil to create
velvety finishes- reminiscent of early botanical paintings and scientific drawings. We will experiment with tinted papers, solvents, drafting film and burnishing techniques to achieve these dramatic effects. Register
128XB Watercolor Workshop for Beginners
Mondays, November 1 to November 22, 10 am to 12 noon
Instructor, Linda Miller
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
Get a taste of what is involved when you paint with watercolor. The traditional approach to watercolor painting will be taught with the focus on limited palettes, mixing, layering, and glazing to create luminous, beautiful colors in this special medium. Register
294X Marketing Your Artwork
Saturdays, November 6 to January 15, 2 to 5 pm (no class November 27 and January 1)
Instructor: Dorie Petrochko
$480, 8 weeks, 24 hours
Learn valuable techniques from professional artists and marketing experts on how to promote and sell your artwork. Set goals, develop a portfolio, a simple website, and a brand, to target clients who will buy your work. Students will benefit from learning the legal and business aspects of sales such as copyrights, contracts, invoicing, and work for hire. Register
241X Colored Pencil I
Tuesdays, November 9 to January 4, 9 am to 12 noon (No class December 28)
Instructor: Jan Prentice
$480, 8 days, 24 hours
Begin your exploration of color with this approachable medium. In our first few meetings students learn and practice key color concepts: primary and secondary color, local color, color temperature, hue, chroma and value. Armed with this information, students will then learn techniques needed to create beautiful, detailed drawings on a variety of drawing surfaces. Register
168 Nests in Pen and Ink
Thursdays, December 2 to December 16, 10 am to 12 noon
Instructor: Jeanette Compton
$120, 3 days, 6 hours
The shadows and intricacies of bird nests lend themselves beautifully to the medium of pen and ink. This workshop will explore the process of drawing a nest from life using a Micron pen. (Note: this course will not be offered online.) Register
107X Noticing: Nature Poetry and Observational Drawing
Mondays, December 6 to January 10, 10 am to 12 noon (no class December 26 and January 3)
Instructor: Linda Miller
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
We will read and discuss writings with the theme of nature and see how these can inspire us when we are enjoying our own observational drawing. Register
255 On-Line Open Critiques & Guidance
TBD - Contact instructor for available dates
Instructors: Dorie Petrochko, Jan Prentice, Susannah Graedel, Linda Miller, Bivenne Staiger
$50, One 2 hour session
Whether you are taking classes for your own enjoyment or to complete the Certificate program, this is your opportunity to receive personal guidance from an instructor on a work in progress or a final course project that you have not submitted. You will benefit from the instructor's personal insight and discussion of other student work. All media will be considered. Register