Zoom April 2025 - Blooms And Blossoms | Painting with Lana Ballot

Paint Expressive Flowers

Learn how to simplify the complex shapes of flowers and create more impact with color.

Capture Brilliant Color

Learn how to make the spring colors glow.

Improve Composition

Learn how to choose a better reference and create a stronger composition and how to simplify complex flowers.

Capture the Beauty of Spring Landscape

with Soft Pastel

April 2025 Zoom Class:

Learn how to capture brilliant colors and light of the Spring season!

You will learn how to choose the scenery for a stronger painting, how to improve the composition and how to use color to better tell your story.

The class will include the combination of quick value/color studies and longer prerecorded demos (for your homework projects during the week). You will learn how to simplify the complex scenery and showcase your main characters.

We will be using toned paper (non-sanded for value studies and sanded for the full project) and neutral color UART sanded paper (for the wet underpainting technique).

The class will meet on Zoom on 4 Thursdays in April

April 3, 10, 17, 24 2025;

2-4pm EST (NY).

*If you cannot make the Zoom meetings you can watch the recordings later.

The Zoom meetings will include: presentations and/or short demos (or videos), discussions of the common problems with the homework projects. The class includes 2 full demos as pre-recorded videos (students will watch the full demo recordings during the week and then do the their homework projects). I will provide a recorded critique for each student individually.

Students can use provided demo references or use their own photos for their homework projects.

*Some of MY PAINTINGS ABOVE ARE ILLUSTRATING THE TYPE OF SCENERY WE ARE GOING TO PAINT.

THE DEMOS WILL BE SIMILAR BUT NOT EXACT.

Register for April Zoom Class:

$240

Zoom Class April 2025

4 Zoom Meetings, 2 full video demos, short exercises demos, April 3, 10, 17, 24 2025

Terms and conditions

The class will combine Zoom meetings (2 - 4pm EST) with discussions and critiques as well as longer video demos to watch during the week (2 full video demos during the month).

The videos and recordings will be accessible through the student's account at teachable.com (by using it the students agree to receive emails from Lana Ballot’s school set up on this site).

The links to the Zoom meetings will be provided a day ahead of the meetings. Each Zoom meeting's discussion will be recorded as a video for the students to review if necessary.

Due to the digital nature of the instruction, the refunds are not given - students will watch the recorded Zoom presentation if they miss a meeting. The students who have to miss a class and have to submit their homework later, will get my recorded critique video the next week after I get their images (during the month of the class).

All material in the course is copyrighted and cannot be shared with anyone (links, pdfs, etc.), unless explicitly allowed by the instructor Lana Ballot.

Sharing images (on social media) of the work completed during the class is appreciated with a mention of the class and @lanaballot

Teachable.com course platform provides unlimited time access to this course - you'll have many years to master the techniques I teach.

Materials

UART sanded paper, 400 grit, neutral color, 12"x18" can be trimmed to a smaller size later

Pastel Premier sanded paper, Clay color, 9”x12” (or you can tone UART paper into warm tan mid tone color)

Mid tone gray sketching paper (for quick value studies)

Hard and Soft pastels (good range of basic colors from light to dark, particularly in greens, blues, browns, etc.)

Isopropyl Alcohol (you can use water instead)

Flat synthetic brush about 3/4"

Bristle brush for corrections

Toothbrush for foam spray effect

Artists' Masking Tape to attach the paper to the board

Foam core board

Glassine or Tracing paper to protect the finished project

Testimonials

What my students are saying about this course and my classes and workshops:

"I’ve signed up for this course, and I’m absolutely blown away by the professionalism, quality, tons of useful information, and priceless tips that Lana is delivering at each session. She is a great educator!

Highly recommended to everybody who wants to improve his painting skills!"

Mena L.

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"In a word, the workshop was “masterful.” But, I will go beyond just one word to express my deepest appreciation of your dedication to your craft. Whether the way you taught, emailed preparatory materials, painted, or critiqued, you exemplified the traits of a master. Thank you.

I learned a lot and plan to take future workshops with you."

Lisa D.

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"I have always admired your work, so I was thrilled to be able to take this class from you. Being a teacher, I can spot a good teacher a mile away, and you have what it takes to do that...you know how to break down the steps needed to get the lesson across to students and help them paint a successful painting. Thank you so much for offering this workshop!

Thank you again!"

Carole P.

Meet Lana

Hi! I'm Lana Ballot.

I'm excited to share with you my passion for the Color and the beautiful medium of pastels!

I am a professional artist and pastel painting instructor, living on Long Island, NY. I have been teaching classes and workshops throughout the United States and internationally.

I have been exhibiting and won awards in National as well as International Juried competitions, including the Pastel Society of America’s annual show Enduring Brilliance and the prestigious Pastel Journal’s Pastel 100 competition.

My work has been published in national and international art magazines, such as Plein Air Magazine, Pastel Issues of the Pratique des Arts, Artists & Illustrators.

I'm a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America and The American Society of Marine Artists.

Blooms & Blossoms

Painting Spring with Soft Pastels

Weekly Zoom Class - April (3, 10, 17, 24) 2025