In this fun ZOOm class, students can either paint and draw from their own pet photos or visit an educational virtual zoo for kids and adults (A to Z Animals with Pictures, Videos & Facts https://www.activewild.com/a-to-z-animals/), which Ken recently discovered online to select their own animal photos.*

Either way, with Ken’s guidance, students will be encouraged to work in an expressive whimsical way, or in a more classical manner (learning about the contours, cross contours, planes and underlying forms that make representational drawings look volumetric). 

Before each class, students will email the image or images they plan to work from (with a note about their choice of style) to Ken, who will demonstrate, with charcoal, pencil, or paint, the best way to approach the particular subjects in these images. Watching Ken demonstrate from the photos of others will be very informative for everyone and is a great way to learn several varied approaches and techniques. Throughout the class, as drawings and paintings progress, Ken will critique them either privately in a breakout room or publicly so other students can also benefit from the discussions.

Many people already know Ken for his figurative work but are surprised to learn he was also an exhibition designer, at the San Diego Natural History Museum and San Diego Zoo, with an extensive background in wildlife art and ornithology. Ken drew and painted birds for both organization’s magazines, created exhibitions with dioramas and background murals, performed their bird taxidermy, and now brings all of this experience to this virtual ZOOm art class. To see more animal and bird paintings by Ken, please visit https://goldmanfineart.blogspot.com.

*Pick any animal (A–Z) that you’d like to draw and send Ken one of the photos or a screenshot from one of the videos. Actually, search anywhere. The sky’s the limit when looking for photos online!