Events at Push/Pull Ballard

This is a paid class that requires registration. Sign up here.

Learn the art of capturing the natural environment on paper while getting to know one of Ballard's most beautiful spaces.

Maxx Follis-Goodkind will show you how to look at plants in a scientific way to improve your art. You'll also learn cultural and historical information about plants to help you better appreciate their context in the garden. Beyond drawing, you'll get guidance in selecting paint colors and watercolor sketching techniques.

Classes meet Fridays at the entrance of the Ballard Locks at 11am, rain or shine! We will walk together to a location in the garden/park area to draw and learn. Class ends at 12:30pm.

Get the most out of this Botanical Sketching course by signing up for our Botanical Watercolor classes!

Suggested supplies: Small sketchbook, small watercolor pad or sketchbook, round and flat/wash watercolor or mixed media brushes, variety of graphite pencils, variety of charcoal pencils, pencil sharpener (with container to capture waste), variety of erasers, container for water, watercolor paints, a board to clip work to in the field, clips to hold paper. (Show a copy of your ticket confirmation at Push/Pull to receive a 15% discount on class supplies)

This is a paid class that requires registration. Sign up here.

Come create paintings with a medium that uses elements of both drawing and painting--oil pastels!

Oil pastels are wonderful for capturing a scene in a more impressionistic way. In this workshop, students will learn about value and color, as well as ideas like temperature of light and temperature of shadow. We will review how oil pastels work, including fundamental techniques like layering, mixing, and scumbling. Students will also learn how to blend the oil pastels. We will go over the differences in creating an image that is entirely in the same color family using analogous colors, how complementary colors can be used to great effect in a piece, and how the principles of color theory can help bring together all the elements of a finished oil pastel illustration.

There will be demonstrations during class and the option to draw either a full still life, a full repetitive pattern illustration, or focus on a single flower or fruit in your own drawing. You will be experimenting and having fun with the medium, learning how to use it, and coming away with one or more finished pieces.

All materials are provided, but if you have an object from home you'd like to draw in the workshop, you're welcome to bring it in. This class is recommended for ages 13 and up.

Donna Letterese (she/her) is a Cartoonist and Illustrator who loves color and the feeling of "painting by drawing" using oil pastels! They are a wonderful medium for being expressive and free while still capturing the color and form of flowers, objects, and the world around us.

****PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR THIS EVENT. Please register in advance here.****

Figure drawing sessions are back! Push/Pull now hosts live-model figure drawing after our store hours. Settle in and develop your studies on the human form in a unique art space on Market Street.

Push/Pull provides some drawing supplies, or you're welcome to bring your own favorite materials.

We have a nude model; for this reason, students should be 18 and up.

This event takes place on the third Friday of each month.

This is a paid class that requires registration. Sign up here.

Draw your own set of bookplates and print them with Risograph in this hands-on workshop session at Push/Pull!

Bookplates are a fun vintage way to flex on your library and get your friends to return your books when you so kindly lend them out and share your great taste. Historically bookplates had themes based on the library owner, such as coats of arms, personal symbolism, family crests, or other personal quirkiness.

In this class we will design our own set of bookplates and print them with Push/Pull's Risograph machine for a retro look. Each student will leave class with a set of 36 self-designed bookplates.

Rosie Pringle (they/she) is a Seattle-based artist, graphic designer, and chronic serial murderer of ink pens. She started her own illustrated fantasy merchandise company Supernature in 2020 before her move to Seattle in early 2024. Over her career, she has worked as a design consultant as well as an illustration freelancer and art instructor.