Core Curriculum & New Pathways
The Core Program is Gage’s way of helping you find your path to making great art. From Drawing to Painting, water or oil, Figure work or Color, within each there are core concepts and skills that every artist would do well to know. The Core program offers you accessible pathways towards these essential skills and a way to move beyond, into real expression.
It All Starts Here
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Core Drawing is Gage’s “front door”; an introduction to core concepts, materials, tools and techniques used in observational drawing. These skills are useful in virtually all classes and activities taught at Gage. We recommend this class to every student who wishes to get better at making art and to any who wants a comprehensive and strong grounding or refresher in core competencies. Appropriate for raw beginners as well as those getting back into art after a hiatus.
Fall 2026 Classes:
Pathways
A natural follow-up to core drawing, or a starter for those wanting to embark on a path of artistic study. Core pathway programs offer grounding in essential skills that are applicable in a variety of media and subjects. Color theory, Figure Structure, Painting in general. All Core classes are entry level and designed to make any student comfortable and well prepared for their journey.
Core Figure
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↵The Core Figure Pathway is a series of classes designed to introduce students to drawing the human figure through observation, gesture, structure, and construction. Building on the foundations introduced in Core Drawing, the program includes courses focused on figure lay-ins and gesture, constructive approaches to the figure, structural anatomy, and the fundamentals of massing and painting the figure. Across the pathway, students learn to simplify complexity, think structurally, and understand relationships between forms while developing core skills applicable to both drawing and painting.
Designed for both beginning and continuing students, the Core Figure Pathway serves as an entry point into the broader world of figure study and prepares students for more specialized exploration in figure drawing, painting, sculpture, and imaginative art.
Fall 2026 Classes:
Core Color
The Core Color Pathway is a series of classes designed to introduce students to the language of color. These courses build a practical understanding of color theory as a foundation for creating meaningful images.
Fall 2026 Classes:
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Core Painting
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The Core Painting Pathway is a series of courses designed to equip students with essential technical and observational skills for representational painting. Students will discover how to mix, manipulate, and apply paint—one of the most versatile of artistic mediums—using a variety of tools, techniques, and processes.
Through this sequence, students will develop core perceptual and color mixing skills to accurately depict likenesses and learn how to create illusions of light, three-dimensional form, texture, and atmospheric depth on a painting surface, progressing from technical exercises to still-life, landscape, and figurative subject matter from observation. This pathway is ideal for anyone eager to learn the art of painting and various painting approaches in a structured environment and will prepare students for more advanced levels of study.
Fall 2026 Classes:
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Class Levels
Here are some definitions to help you navigate which class is best for you.
Core:
Gage’s “front door;” an introduction to core concepts, materials, tools and techniques. These classes lead to other core pathways that offer grounding in essential skills that are applicable in a variety of media and subjects.
All Levels:
Classes so labeled are appropriate for students of a wide variety of skill and experience levels. The instructor may assume that you have a sufficient understanding of Core concepts, tools and media, in order to effectively apply instruction on specific techniques as needed for the class.
Next level:
Classes for students with more experience to focus on or stretch into a more specialized medium or subject under supervision of a seasoned practitioner. Instructors will expect working knowledge and comfort with basic subject matter and medium. Classes will focus on themes of specialized technical development and theoretical instruction.
Ateliers:
Atelier students will immerse themselves in a collegial learning community that fosters dedication, skill development, and a commitment to fine arts as a career or life practice. Applicants should be motivated to learn and committed to a long-term (1-4 years) journey of artistic development. All Levels are welcome, however as in all Gage programs raw beginners would be well served by starting in Core programs.
Please feel free to reach out for assistance or advice in deciding what level is best for you! Email info@gageacademy.org or call 206.323.4243.