3 Over 3 – Abstraction by Design | Michael Shemchuk

Workshop: 3 over 3 – An Abstraction by Design Workshop

Instructor: Michael Shemchuk (View Instructor Bio)

Dates: Aug 26-29, 2025

Level: All

Size: 12

Tuition: $1,150

Food/Drink: Complimentary coffee and catered lunch provided in the studio each day.

In this workshop we produce a modular (3 over 3) 9- panel installation. Take home a finished, gallery-ready series!

Goals:

• Design a motif with color, shape, texture, composition.

• Apply the AbD techniques to each panel individually to set up a dialog for all nine panels to work in concert.

• Keep it simple.

• Learn how to stay disciplined in your creative process from start to finish.

What to Expect:

• Learn how to pre-design, pre-mix and pre-select your materials and colors

• Reference your visual triggers, inspiring images, personal notions and ideas of color and composition

• Rely on pre-editing concepts at the very beginning of the project in order to regulate and guide your process

• Selectively add and remove color, lines, forms and shapes incrementally and with purpose

• Compose quiet abstract compositions

• Fully focus on your design and composition skills, while creating a manageable interplay between the panels

• Complete a harmonious body of work, your 9 panel installation

AbD Abstraction by Design

The Abstraction by Design method is the process of exploring collage & painting techniques by layering paint and paper simultaneously on panels. Collaging involves color selection, paper choices, placement, gluing, mark making, composition and surface extraction. Painting involves panel prep, trowel application, brushing, sanding, surface manipulations, paint mixing and texturing. The AbD techniques and the layering of paper and paint enables one to sand, scrape, wet, peel, paint, collage and repeat to create controlled and incidental textured surfaces. We use acrylic polyurethane as a glue to attach papers, as a resist coat, and as a top coat as well.

A.R.R. Action-Review-Reaction

We begin the AbD process with an action i.e. applying paint or collage to our panels. Pause and review

the action. Then react. This requires taking time to observe your work, measure your response to both the controlled (deliberate) and spontaneous (incidents ). Follow these A.R.R principles as a disciplined approach to create your work.

Materials Provided with Registration

Flat white latex house paint

Flat black latex house paint

Gloss acrylic urethane/varnish

Supply List

9-16x16” x 7/8” cradled panels. See Blick item 07044-1616

Collage papers ( Color, pattern, graphics, craft, re-purposed) and color tissue Link

Color paint. 1-6 colors of latex or acrylic artist paint source locally

Black Tissue 20+ sheets 20”x30”

Newsprint 10-16 sheets 18”x22”(Blick) or Packing Paper

2-4 sheets copy/office paper (white)

1-6”wide full flexible joint knife

1-2” putty knife.

1- atomizer (spray bottle)

1- scrubber sponge.

1-2-sheets 80grit sandpaper and 1- sanding block. ( wood block 2.5”x3.5”x.75” works well)

8+ 2” chip brushes

8+ pint/quart plastic mixing containers with covers

2- plastic gallon bucket (for water)

Scissors, utility knife, wiping rags, paint stir sticks, white cards, artist brushes

Optional: hair dryer or heat gun

Optional: Additional cradled panels