Chris Rapa is offering "Level Up," a new online painting course through Winslow Art Center.
Medium: Oil or acrylic
Level: All levels welcome
Class Dates: Wednesdays, August 5-26, 2026
Class Times: 10:00 am-noon Pacific Time | 1:00 pm-3:00 pm Eastern Time | 6:00 pm-8:00 pm UK Time
We’ve all been there.
A painting starts strong, then the focal point disappears, the values flatten out, the colors become muddy, and somehow the piece is both dramatically overworked and woefully unfinished at the same time. In Level Up, we will learn how to recognize what isn’t working, make thoughtful adjustments, and paint with intention.
Through presentations, live demonstrations, critiques, and weekly assignments, students will learn how to:
- Identify the real problems in a painting
- Evaluate composition, value structure, color hierarchy, edges, and drawing
- Use practical tools like grayscale analysis, notan studies, blur filters, and photo references to see work more objectively
- Make thoughtful corrections through scraping, oiling in, repainting, simplifying, cropping, and editing
Along the way, we’ll talk honestly about the creative process, bad habits, overworking, fear of making it worse, and the uncomfortable but necessary skill of knowing when to just start over. This course is ideal for painters with some experience who want to sharpen their eye, improve their decision-making, and better understand why some paintings succeed while others fall flat.
In Level Up, our goal is not perfection. Our goal will be to gain the clarity, confidence, and skills to move a painting from “almost working” to realizing its full potential.