Drawing with PAAM—a virtual drawing group with Joerg Dressler

Drawing is one of the most basic forms of art making. It can be exploratory with considerable focus on observation and problem-solving. This online class is for artists of all experiences who want to exercise and stretch their drawing skills while developing an ongoing drawing habit through daily drawing challenges. For two consecutive weeks, a photograph will be posted each weekday morning on a private blog. All participants are expected to use the photograph as a prompt to draw, explore and experiment. It will be a place to start and can be rendered in any way or style­­–from a more literal depiction to a freely abstracted interpretation of the photograph. It is up to the individuals to decide how much time is devoted to the daily drawing. These can vary from a 5 minute sketch to a fully realized drawing—all is fair. Participants can use any drawing instruments, from graphite pencil to pen and ink or colored ink brushes. The drawing surfaces can range from paper to card board, mylar, etc.

This class will give you the opportunity to work on your own time. All participants are required to upload one drawing to the blog before midnight each day. This class will be a critique free environment, where the focus is put on learning by doing. However, the comments section will be open to members of the group—constructive comments amongst the participants are welcome. You will learn from seeing your work in context of the various individual responses of your class mates. You will be inspired and motivated by those results. You will also be challenged to draw a given subject matter, even if it does not initially resonate and to overcome hesitation to share a drawing that you may not consider entirely successful. All these challenges will allow you to learn and improve your observation and drawing skills.

Joerg Dressler was born in Hanau, Germany. He received his MFA from the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Offenbach, Germany, in 1994. Additionally, he studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, France. Joerg moved to the United States in 1996. Dressler’s work is driven by nature and how we perceive it. “It is the unpredictability and mysteries of nature that intrigue me,” he says. His evocative, vigorous paintings derive from a sincere dialogue between the representational and the abstract, the conceptual consciousness and pure spontaneity. Recurring themes in his work include the passage of time, impermanence, frailty, and perception. He paints solely from memory; as a result, disjointed experiences of the seen and learned are re-assembled, creating a reality of their own. “Joerg evokes sublime depictions of our confrontation with nature, especially the contrary effects of nature on the human psyche,” writes Christopher Busa in the 2016 issue of Provincetown Arts. “He places tranquility side by side with violence, light clashing with the dark, fragility beside boldness—surprising forces seemingly summoned on a whim, with involuntary energy.” Dressler is a recipient of the Romanos Rizk Scholarship, and his work is included in the permanent collections of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum and the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York. He is represented by Alden Gallery in Provincetown. www.joergdressler.com