The Art & Life of Contrast Course
The Art & Life of Contrast is a brand new immersive course that blends practical art-making with deep inner work. If your art sometimes feels a little meh, contrast is your way back to resonance—visually, emotionally, and energetically.
Through 20 hands-on lessons, you’ll explore contrast not just as an art principle, but as a tool for more satisfying creative decisions, deeper emotional impact, and a stronger personal voice. With bold mark-making, subtle shifts, and guided journaling, you’ll build trust in your instincts and create work that feels more honest, more alive—and unmistakably yours.
Each module ends with a journaling prompt, because what shows up in the studio always echoes somewhere else in life. When we apply the principles of contrast beyond the canvas, everything becomes more vivid, more true, and more fulfilling.
This course is perfect for beginners building confidence and for experienced artists ready to break ruts and deepen their creative voice. You’ll sharpen your instincts, make braver marks, resolve uncertainty, and create not just better art—but a more satisfying process.
Even if you love subtlety in your work—maybe especially if you do—this course isn’t about abandoning it. It’s about discovering what happens when you let it sit beside something bold. Something wild. Something loud, tender, or unexpected.
The Art & Life of Contrast is about making room for difference—in your art and in yourself. Because contrast doesn’t cancel things out—it brings them to life. It’s the difference between something you look at… and something you feel.
And if your art or your days have felt too quiet or too same-same, this is your invitation to stir the pot, stretch your palette, and create with more boldness, joy, and truth. This isn’t just about making better art. It’s about shedding old patterns of people-pleasing, reclaiming your energy and voice, and finally feeling free to show up as your whole, honest, and nuanced self—on the canvas and in your life.
COURSE BEGINS SEPTEMBER 13, 2025
*ALL COURSE CONTENT, INCLUDING LESSON VIDEOS, WILL BE DOWNLOADABLE so you will be able to have permanent access to them even if the classroom closes.
The Art & Life of Contrast is a brand new immersive course that blends practical art-making with deep inner work. If your art sometimes feels a little meh, contrast is your way back to resonance—visually, emotionally, and energetically.
Through 20 hands-on lessons, you’ll explore contrast not just as an art principle, but as a tool for more satisfying creative decisions, deeper emotional impact, and a stronger personal voice. With bold mark-making, subtle shifts, and guided journaling, you’ll build trust in your instincts and create work that feels more honest, more alive—and unmistakably yours.
Each module ends with a journaling prompt, because what shows up in the studio always echoes somewhere else in life. When we apply the principles of contrast beyond the canvas, everything becomes more vivid, more true, and more fulfilling.
This course is perfect for beginners building confidence and for experienced artists ready to break ruts and deepen their creative voice. You’ll sharpen your instincts, make braver marks, resolve uncertainty, and create not just better art—but a more satisfying process.
Even if you love subtlety in your work—maybe especially if you do—this course isn’t about abandoning it. It’s about discovering what happens when you let it sit beside something bold. Something wild. Something loud, tender, or unexpected.
The Art & Life of Contrast is about making room for difference—in your art and in yourself. Because contrast doesn’t cancel things out—it brings them to life. It’s the difference between something you look at… and something you feel.
And if your art or your days have felt too quiet or too same-same, this is your invitation to stir the pot, stretch your palette, and create with more boldness, joy, and truth. This isn’t just about making better art. It’s about shedding old patterns of people-pleasing, reclaiming your energy and voice, and finally feeling free to show up as your whole, honest, and nuanced self—on the canvas and in your life.
COURSE BEGINS SEPTEMBER 13, 2025
*ALL COURSE CONTENT, INCLUDING LESSON VIDEOS, WILL BE DOWNLOADABLE so you will be able to have permanent access to them even if the classroom closes.
The Art & Life of Contrast is a brand new immersive course that blends practical art-making with deep inner work. If your art sometimes feels a little meh, contrast is your way back to resonance—visually, emotionally, and energetically.
Through 20 hands-on lessons, you’ll explore contrast not just as an art principle, but as a tool for more satisfying creative decisions, deeper emotional impact, and a stronger personal voice. With bold mark-making, subtle shifts, and guided journaling, you’ll build trust in your instincts and create work that feels more honest, more alive—and unmistakably yours.
Each module ends with a journaling prompt, because what shows up in the studio always echoes somewhere else in life. When we apply the principles of contrast beyond the canvas, everything becomes more vivid, more true, and more fulfilling.
This course is perfect for beginners building confidence and for experienced artists ready to break ruts and deepen their creative voice. You’ll sharpen your instincts, make braver marks, resolve uncertainty, and create not just better art—but a more satisfying process.
Even if you love subtlety in your work—maybe especially if you do—this course isn’t about abandoning it. It’s about discovering what happens when you let it sit beside something bold. Something wild. Something loud, tender, or unexpected.
The Art & Life of Contrast is about making room for difference—in your art and in yourself. Because contrast doesn’t cancel things out—it brings them to life. It’s the difference between something you look at… and something you feel.
And if your art or your days have felt too quiet or too same-same, this is your invitation to stir the pot, stretch your palette, and create with more boldness, joy, and truth. This isn’t just about making better art. It’s about shedding old patterns of people-pleasing, reclaiming your energy and voice, and finally feeling free to show up as your whole, honest, and nuanced self—on the canvas and in your life.
COURSE BEGINS SEPTEMBER 13, 2025
*ALL COURSE CONTENT, INCLUDING LESSON VIDEOS, WILL BE DOWNLOADABLE so you will be able to have permanent access to them even if the classroom closes.
Here’s a closer look at the modules inside the course—each one an exploration of contrast that will stretch your creativity, sharpen your instincts, and bring new life to your art. Each lesson will be followed up with a few journaling prompts to help you explore how the contrast theme has real life application for creating more vibrant and honest self-expression in all areas of life.
Why Contrast Matters
Contrast is what catches the eye, stirs emotion, and brings your work—and your life—fully alive. Whether you’re drawn to softness and nuance or bold, high-impact marks, contrast is what gives your work its energy, clarity, and pulse. In this opening module, you’ll begin to see how shifts in tone, texture, or intensity can create depth, movement, and resonance in everything you make and everything you feel.
The Nuance Of Contrast: Sharp vs. Subtle
Sometimes contrast shouts; sometimes it whispers. In this module, you’ll explore the power of both—how sharp, high-impact contrast grabs attention, and how subtle shifts create depth, nuance, and quiet resonance.
Expanding the Frame: Context, Contrast, and the Power of Perspective
Contrast doesn’t end at the edges of the artwork—it’s shaped by where and how the piece lives. In this module, we’ll explore how framing, placement, and environment influence meaning, and how the same is true in life: sometimes all it takes is a shift in context to see things in a new light.
Module 1: Light vs. Dark
Explore the emotional and visual weight of contrast through the most fundamental principle of contrast: value. We’ll play with extremes and transitions to create drama, depth, and clarity in your work.
Module 2: Bold vs. Soft
This module invites you to explore what happens when power is met with tenderness and to balance assertive marks with gentle ones to discover how both can hold presence.
Module 3: Bright vs. Dull
High-chroma color next to something muted can spark magic. You’ll learn how saturation shifts mood and energy, and how both intensity and restraint serve your vision.
Module 4: Rough vs. Smooth
Texture comes alive when opposites meet. You’ll explore visual and tactile contrast—combining grit with softness, and rough marks with clean surfaces.
Module 5: Opaque vs. Transparent
Play with layering and luminosity as you contrast solid color with translucent washes. This is about what you reveal—and what you let stay partially hidden.
Module 6: Complimentary vs. Analogous Colors
Dig into the emotional impact of color relationships—whether they clash with vibrancy or whisper in harmony. You’ll learn how hue and harmony guide the eye and shift the mood.
Module 7: Warm vs. Cool
Color temperature has its own emotional language. You’ll practice using warmth and coolness to create push, pull, comfort, and tension in your compositions
Module 8: Defined vs. Obscured
Sometimes clarity is powerful. Sometimes mystery is more magnetic. This module invites you to explore the space between precision and suggestion.
Module 9: Chaos vs. Calm
Let loose, then rein it in. You’ll explore energetic mark-making alongside quiet restraint, discovering how tension between the two brings your work to life.
Module 10: Impasto vs. Honed
Thick, sculptural paint meets polished, integrated layers. You’ll learn how contrasting application techniques can shift emotional tone and surface dynamics.
Module 11: Close vs. Far
Use contrast to create depth and spatial illusion. You’ll experiment with foreground intensity and background subtlety to guide the viewer’s eye through space.
Module 12: Large vs. Small
Scale changes everything. You’ll explore the impact of proportion and how shifting between large and small elements adds rhythm, hierarchy, and energy.
Module 13: Movement vs. Stillness
Play with rhythm, repetition, and whitespace. This module explores how contrast in energy and silence creates visual breath and flow.
Module 14: Defined vs. Undefined
Explore what happens when crisp edges dissolve. You’ll blend line and shape to create areas of clarity and ambiguity—and learn how they hold different kinds of attention.
Module 15: Dense vs. Airy
Pack in detail, then let it breathe. This module shows how to balance fullness and spaciousness for compositions that feel alive and intentional.
Module 16: Loose vs. Tight
Explore expressive freedom next to careful control. You’ll move between looseness and precision—letting each one inform and support the other.
Contrast as a Creative Compass
In this final module, you’ll gather everything you’ve come to understand in exploring contrast themes and begin to see it not just as a technique, but as a creative compass. You’ve practiced holding tension, trusting nuance, and showing up more fully in your work. Now, it’s about letting all of it be welcome on the canvas and in yourself, and using it intentionally to create art and experiences that are deeply expressive and fulfilling. Your unique rhythm, instinct, and voice will take shape from everything you dare to feel, notice, and create.
