Cooley Studios

These mini-workshops are a truncated version of the full summer workshop. These mini-workshops will run from April 28 through May 30. They are meant for students that can study only one day of each week for the month. Each mini-workshop will consist of five three hour classes for the balance of the month of May. Register on or before April 18 and receive a 10% discount. For more information on the workshop you are interested in, click on the link below.

Registration and enrollment for workshop classes below:
* Please contact Cooley Studios to ensure your registration click here.
* Material list will be sent to you by email after you successfully register.

Drawing fundamentals and beyond: (limited to 8 students)
This 5 day mini-workshop will introduce the beginner and intermediate artist to basic drawing fundamentals from an academic approach. For workshop information click here.
– Monday: April 28, May 5, 12, 19, 25 (last class on Sunday 25th due to Memorial Day)
– Group 1: 9am to 12pm/ Group 2: 1pm – 4pm
– 5 days/ $200
– Instructor: Michael Cooley
– Registration due, 4/25/2025

Painting Fundamentals: for beginners & intermediate artist’s (limited to 8 students)
This 5 day mini-workshop will introduce students to the basic fundamental principles of oil painting. For workshop information click here.
– Tuesday: April 29, May 6, 13, 20, 27
– Group 1: 9am to 12pm/ Group 2: 1pm – 4pm
– 5 days/ $200
– Instructor: Michael Cooley
– Registration due on or before 4/25/2025

Understanding Color: how to make it work (limited to 8 students).
This 5 day mini-workshop will introduce students to the concept and practices for understanding color and how to make it work. For workshop information click here.
– Wednesday: April 30, May 7, 14, 21, 28
– Group 1: 9am to 12pm/ Group 2: 1pm – 4pm
– 5 days/ $200
– Instructor: Michael Cooley
– Registration due on or before 4/25/2025

Black and white to color: (limited to 8 students)
This 5 day mini-workshop will introduce students to the concept of the grisaille under-painting leading to painting in color. For workshop information click here.
– Thursday: May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
– Group 1: 9am to 12pm/ Group 2: 1pm – 4pm
– 5 days/ $200
– Instructor: Michael Cooley
– Registration due on or before 4/25/2025

Portrait drawing: from photo reference (limited to 8 students)
This 5 day mini-workshop will introduce the student to basic concepts of portrait drawing. Using the block-in approach, the student will be learn to construct an accurate linear representation of the subject. Once the linear drawing is complete, the student will move on to massing in tone and eventually to rendering form and detail. For workshop information click here.
– Friday: May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
– Group 1: 9am to 12pm/ Group 2: 1pm – 4pm
– 5 days/ $200
– Instructor: Michael Cooley
– Registration due on or before 4/25/2025

Cooley Studios will be hosting a series of on-going rotating mini-workshops from September 2023 through May 2024. These workshops will cover the same drawing and painting training we offer the students in our atelier program. If you are interested in studying with us, contact us via phone 614-547-7900, email at cooleym21@gmail.com or info@cooleystudios.com or through our contact page. We look forward to working with you. The phone is a landline, so no texting please.

Drawing Fundamentals – and beyond (how to begin and become good at it).
This mini-workshop will introduce the beginner and intermediate artist to basic drawing fundamentals from a classical approach. For more information click link.
– Mondays, 6pm – 8pm
– September 11, 18, 25, October 2, 9, 2023
– 5 weeks – Tuition: $150
– Limited to 10 students

Oil Painting I (for beginners & intermediate artist’s)
This mini-workshop will introduce students to the basic fundamental principles of oil painting. For more information click link.
– Wednesdays, 6pm – 8pm
– September 6, 13, 20, 27, October 4, 2023
– 5 weeks – Tuition: $150
– Limited to 10 students
* This mini-workshop is meant for oil painting but if you only have acrylic, that’s fine.

Oil Painting II – Understanding Color (how to make it work).
This mini-workshop will introduce students to the concept and practices for understanding color and how to make it work. For more information click link.
– Thursdays, 6pm – 8pm
– September 7, 14, 21, 28, October 5, 12, 2023
– 6 weeks – Tuition: $175
– Limited to 10 students
* This mini-workshop is meant for oil painting but if you only have acrylic, that’s fine.

Cooley Studios is offering on-going monthly non-curricular and curricular art classes.

Non-curricular classes: June 5 – August 30
Students can draw or paint their own assignments or accept assignments to work on. The instructor will assist each student to ensure that they can learn and complete their assignment(s).

Days: Mon, Wed.
Times: 10:00 am to noon, 1pm to 3 pm, 6 pm to 8 pm.
Limit: 4 to 10 student limit.
Ages: 14 and up and adults.
Cost: $120 mthly (1 class each week/ 2 hrs per class session/ 4 classes per mth). 

Curricular classes: Year round.
Students will follow an academic curriculum of study, learning to draw leading to painting. The variety of assignments include drawing fundamentals, cast drawing and painting, portrait draiwng and painting and figure work as well.

Days: Mon –  Fri.
Times: 9:00 am to noon, 1pm to 4 pm, (6 pm to 9 pm M, T, W night).
Limit: 4 to 10 student limit.
Ages: 14 and up and adults.
Cost of study:
– 1 three hour class per week each week/ each wk/ 4 classes per month/ $175 mthly
– 2 three hour classes per week each week/ each wk/ 8 classes per month/ $285 mthly
– 3 three hour classes per week each week/ each wk/ 12 classes per month/ $400 mthly

To register for classes and to obtain the materials list, click here.

Here are a few recent drawings I made. The first one is a cast drawing, Russian Academy master copy and a commissioned portrait drawing. The cast drawing is a rendition of The Apollo Belvedere bust. The next one is a master copy of a drawing by master artist Ilya Repin (1844-1930) and the third drawing is a depiction of Bill Zahn and his little sister. Zahn is a professional gospel saxophonist. He is now 75 and his sister is 73. I really enjoyed making this graphite pencil portrait. He loves it, as do I. 

Always good to satisfy your client but more important to love what you do.

Michael A. Cooley, Apollo Belvedere Bust, 2018, Graphite. © M Cooley

Michael A. Cooley, Repin Drawing, Master Copy, 2019, Graphite. © M Cooley

Michael A. Cooley, Bill Zahn and Lil Sis, Portrait, Graphite, 2019. Graphite

Until next time. 

Congratulations! Cooley Studios have been chosen by the Expertise Community two consecutive years (2017, 2018) as one of the top art schools and best painting and drawing instructors in Columbus Ohio. Of 173 painting and drawing instructors serving Columbus, Expertise selected Cooley Studios in the top 15.

We are proud to be chosen as one of Columbus Ohio’s top art schools once again. We teach our student artists drawing followed by painting from the time honored classical method that produced so many of the great masters. We welcome any serious student artist willing to dedicate their time and talent to work through our classical curriculum.

Here are only a few samples of the quality of work our students are producing at Cooley Studios.

Cassidy Boyuk, Portrait, 2017, Charcoal and White Chalk

Cassidy Boyuk, Still Life-Tenobrism, 2016, Oil

Cassidy Boyuk, Still Life-Perishables, 2017, Oil

Cassidy Boyuk, Still Life, 2017, Oil

Edi Wadkins, 2017, Oil

Edi Wadkins, Yarn and Books, 2015, Oil

Edi Wadkins,Federal Duck Stamp Entry, Oil

Edi Wadkins, Tiger, 2017, Oil

Edi Wadkins, Leopard, 2017, Oil

Christine Kwon, Figure, 2015, Graphite

We would love to have you join our community of student artists. Here is a link to an appreciative father of one of my former students, Cassidy Boyuk who is presently studying under Daniel Graves at The Florence Academy of Art. Here are a few testimonials from some of our students.

Hello, Cooley Studios is hosting a 4 day mini-workshop on understanding color and learning how to make it work for you. I hope some of you artists in Columbus and surrounding cities in Central Ohio will join us. We will be covering the 3 components of color theory which are value, hue and chroma. We will also be doing exercises that will help each student better understand the theory behind color.

Workshop: Understanding Color and how to make it work for you.

Where: Cooley Studios (www.cooleystudios.com)
870 N High Str., Ste 11
Worthington OH 43085
614-547-7900

Dates and Time:
Group A: January 26, February 2, 9, 16 (6pm to 9pm), 4 consecutive Friday evenings.
Group B: January 28, February 4, 11, 18 (1pm to 4pm), 4 consecutive Sunday afternoons.

Registration: space is limited to 10 students per group so register ASAP. Call Cooley studios at 614-547-7900 or email to secure your spot (cooleym21@gmail.com).

Cost for mini-workshop: $50.00

Content of the workshop:
* this workshop is meant for oil painting but if you only have acrylic, thats fine.

This workshop will introduce students to the concept and practices for understanding color. They will learn the 3 elements of color (hue, value and chroma), how they work together, how to mix color and use strategy to get the visual impact they desire. Each student will make value and color charts and learn to match colors to objects using new invaluable learned skills. Upon finishing the workshop, the students will be ready to begin making educated successful paintings.

Materials List: contact Cooley Studios for the list of materials at 614-547-7900 or cooleym21@gmail.com.

June 12, 2017

To future artists and whom it may concern, I can say, without any
shred of hyperbole, Michael Cooley is a Columbus treasure.

The American art world, and Central Ohio with it, is awash with
opinions about what exactly constitutes beauty, and therefore what is
valued and praised as fine art. For the last 100 or more years,
ingenuity has reigned over technique resulting in pieces and
installations that are solely designed to provoke the viewer’s
sensibilities without any indication of traditional artistic talent.
And if you failed to understand a piece of “modern” art, then it was
you who was deficient, not the art.

Gone was the effort to capture a realistic representation of the human
condition on canvas, called classical realism. That is until recently.
In the U.S. and abroad in art capitals like Paris and Florence, there
is an exciting resurgence of art created in the tradition of
Michelangelo and Bouguereau.

That is what I wanted for my daughter. I wanted her to learn the
techniques of the masters. I wanted her to understand light, form and
tone. I wanted her to learn brush technique and the “tricks of the
trade.”

We had tried the local art college’s summer classes and found them to
be simply a celebration of creativity without any real rigorous
approach to learning the craft. We tried numerous known and reputable
venues in the area with the same results. So many of them collect your
money, give you materials and assignments, but never teach you how to
achieve the result you want. It was like grown-up finger painting or
summer school for bored children.

Our goal was to raise her skill to a level that would earn her
admission and substantial scholarship dollars at the nations top art
schools. We wanted the art equivalent of a personal coach – but one
that really understood HOW to teach.

That’s when we found Cooley Studios. We met with Michael and explained
our objectives and he then explained how he could help.

Finally. I heard what I’d been waiting for. Here was an approach that
would take the time-tested lessons of the masters and adapt it to her
personal skill level and progress.

I will leave you to learn how Michael’s program works, but know that
it stems from the classic atelier approach that is supported by the
Art Renewal Center. Columbus is beyond lucky to have this instruction
available to us. There are far too few available in the whole of the
United States.

In her years with Michael, my daughter learned solid fundamentals and
progressed from simple graphite forms to oil based still life’s and
portraits. Her work has earned her two first-place Congressional Art
Awards and her pieces have hung in the U.S. Capitol. She also won the
regional Winston Art Scholarship, from the National Society of Arts
and Letters.

She was accepted to every U.S art school she applied to with generous
scholarship offers from SAIC and others (about $100,000 in total).
Ultimately, we found that even at the college level, the classic
approach is not emphasized. So we searched in France and Italy. She
was accepted (with advance placement) to the Angel Academy in Italy
but finally accepted the invitation to attend the Florence Academy of
Art’s three year program in Italy.

So much of her success is directly attributable to Michael. His
guidance, tutoring and proven approach have set her on her way to
becoming a Living Master. We are deeply grateful and eternally
indebted to him and his vision.

I wholeheartedly encourage you to learn more about his program and
trust in his tutelage. He will teach you what the masters knew.

Peter Boyuk,
President and Founder
Boxer Rebellion LTD
Marketing and Design

Cooley Studios is proud to be hosting summer workshops in Central Ohio this summer 2017, June through August. We are offering classical drawing and oil painting classes. Space is limited, so if you’re interested in studying in one of our summer workshops, don’t hesitate. Contact Cooley Studios at 614-547-7900 or info@cooleystudios.com. A materials list will be sent to you after you register and pay tuition.

For dates, time, cost and registration for the summer workshops listed below, please click on this link (Summer workshops 2017).

These summer workshops are for ages 16 to 70 and up, from beginner to experienced.

We look forward to having you join us!!!

Block-in drawing, (limited to 8 students)
     – June 3, 10, 17, 24

Drawing fundamental, (limited to 8 students)
     – June 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Cast drawing, (limited to 6 students)
     – June 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

Grisaille painting, (limited to 8 students)
     – June 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

Portrait drawing, (limited to 6 students)
     – June 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

Color theory, (limited to 8 students)
     – July 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Color Glazing – grisaille to brilliant color, (limited to 8 students)
     – July (dates and times to be announced)

Grisaille to color, (limited to 8 students)
     – July 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31 August 1, 2, 3, 4

Classical portrait painting, (limited to 6 students)
     – August 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (Sat. Museum visit), 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

Figure drawing & painting, (limited to 6 students)
     – August 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

Michael A. Cooley, Highbanks Metro Park #1, 2017, Oil. © M Cooley

Here is a painting I made from photo reference of Highbanks Metro Park in Columbus, Ohio. I dont get the opportunity to make landscape paintings that often and its been a number of years since I painted my last one. I did enjoy making this painting and will do more.

Until next time,
Michael

Michael A. Cooley, Michelangelo’s Lips of David, 2012, Graphite. © M Cooley

I made this drawing a couple of years ago but rushed through it. I always wanted to go back and touch it up a bit. 

Until next time,
Michael