Drawing and Painting Techniques: Charcoal

Rafael teaches from both the brain and the heart to both the brain and the heart. In three sessions, I made charcoal drawings that surprised both me and my son. And if you have things on your mind, this is a vacation from them.

I really enjoyed art history lessons while painting, and the excellent tips that were provided to help guide beginners like myself through the basics of charcoal. Mark-mapping was definitely a helpful and unique way to approach drawing! I loved the ambiance and will definitely go back.

I very much enjoyed this charcoal drawing class. While I had taken some painting classes years ago, I had never taken a drawing class. The environment of the class with artwork everywhere along with objects to draw, is inspiring. The students do their work closely together so they can see each other’s progress. Rafael spoke of tone/value importance in drawing with charcoal in creating form. He guided us through mark mapping in establishing the composition of a drawing. Probably the most enlightening aspect of the class was how he related the process of creating art to spirituality and metaphysics. Highly recommended.

Working with Raphael is a real joy. He's an artist through-and-through and conducts his class in a way that is conducive to hands-on learning. He always has something thought-provoking to say and creates a warm, encouraging, and friendly environment for students to learn various techniques and media in the visual arts. I was very surprised at what I was able to create after only 3 weeks of charcoal drawing classes, especially considering I had no prior drawing experience!!

I came to this class a serious hobbyist photographer who was interested in learning the skill of drawing with charcoal. I was aware that I have never demonstrated any talent in drawing. So I came into this class with a fairly negative attitude and few expectations. The instructor for the Drawing and Painting Techniques, in this using, exclusively, charcoal, was outstanding. He showed students that they actually could draw using techniques that anyone can learn. Instruction was mostly individual and was always, without exception, helpful. At the end of the third class my drawing far exceeded my expectations. Most importantly, I have learned the basics of askill that I can practice moving forward. This class was a personal eye-opener for me. I came out with a sense that I was able to draw in ways that were personally satisfying. This is the second drawing class I have taken in my life. This was one was, by far, the most effective in learning techniques that gave me some confidence that this is not only something I was able to do, but I could derive real enjoyment from it.

this is such a lovely experience, in an intimate environment, with a gentleman artist that one rarely finds these days. the instruction is delivered with a mix of technical and historical context, and you feel like you're in a renaissance workshop of old. rafael is a passionate and professional teacher and a great guy. do yourself a favor and take a course with him!

The teacher is very nice. I’m looking for something very specific which I'm not finding here but it’s not the fault of this class

I had the pleasure of taking professor Raphael-Raúl's charcoal drawing class and is like taking a semester-long class. The amount of learning is impressive and the colloquial, simple manner of his teaching is outstanding. Tips come often and one is able to apply then in-situ. His studio is a treasure trove of art and the location is very convenient. Would recommend to beginners and advanced. Time well-spent.