Programs + Events

Learn more about Olana’s famous views, making art at the sites and viewpoints once experienced and designed by Frederic Church himself. Each class will begin with a demonstration in pastel and oil but the class is open to artists of all skill levels working in all media. Basic sketching supplies will be provided but participants are encouraged to bring materials of their choosing to guide their learning.

Each session will focus on the key principles of depicting a landscape, such as harnessing perspective, composition, and detail, while also covering important information on how best to prepare for artmaking outdoors. The course is open to all skill levels and participants without a background working outdoors are encouraged to participate. Each class will meet at a designated outdoor location onsite in Church’s designed landscape, offering students a unique opportunity to learn from a living practicing artist while walking in Church’s footsteps.

Shawn Dell Joyce began teaching plein air classes in 2000 and continues weekly to this day. She founded a plein air school with an arts and agricultural mission based on the historic Hudson River School, called the Wallkill River School of Art. It still exists today as a nonprofit arts organization with a mission of bringing cultural tourism to the Hudson Valley region through plein air painting workshops and events on local farms, historic sites, and open spaces. Her work is included in museum collections in the Georges Pompidou Museum in France and the Museum of Modern Art in NY.

Register for one session or all five! $200 for five sessions for members; $40 per session for members. $250 for five sessions for nonmembers; $50 per session for nonmembers. Basic sketching supplies will be provided. Advanced registration required – please register for each session separately. For more information, please contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938.