Masterclass Workshop: Making the Ordinary Extraordinary

 Photo credit: Peter Brown

Instructor: Peter Waite

Date: Saturday, April 25, 2026

Time: 2:30 - 5:30 PM

Ages: Adults

Members: $63

Non-Members: $70

(Registration deadline: April 21)

Description:

If you saw Peter Waite's exhibition, Social Memory: Paintings 1987 - 2025 at the Wadsworth Antheneum (November 2025 - March 2026) you might find yourself wondering how to draw or paint on such a large scale. Join Peter in a three hour drawing class to experience first-hand the challenges, techniques, and subtleties that can impact your practice in remarkable ways. Work will be done on heavyweight kraft paper directly on a wall with charcoal and white Conte sticks. The subject matter will also be provided! 

This workshop is offered in tandem with a free public lecture by the instructor as part of the Masterclass Lecture Series. The lecture will be held the same afternoon prior to the workshop (from 1 - 2 PM). More details available here.

Materials:

All materials will be provided. Participants should bring an apron or workshirt and rubber gloves (optional).

Instructor Bio:

For over 40 years, Peter has made large scale paintings that document his travels — real visits to real places — to sites of the built environment that embody public sentiment or ideological concerns. His interest lies in the intersection of personal and social memory. He has intentionally omitted the figure from the representation to emphasize the viewer’s participation as witness to the moment of perceiving, then remembering, these architectural spaces. In his studio, he works in acrylic on rigid panels and uses an equal combination of photographs, memory, and sketches done on location to complete the painting. Typically, the scale of his paintings is large and can range from 4 feet x 6 feet to 8 feet x 12 feet. His goal has always been to make the known, unknown and the ordinary, extraordinary.

Instructor's website: https://www.peterwaite.com/

All workshops are held at the Five Points Arts Center, 855 University Drive

Workshops may be cancelled due to low enrollment if a minimum number of participants are not met. Registrants will be notified in advance and a refund or credit will be arranged (see workshop polices below for details).

Workshop Policies: Please review the terms of our workshop policies here