Woodward Contemporary

Join us this Saturday from 4–7 PM for the opening reception of Reclaiming the Ordinary ⬇️⬇️

The theme? The ordinary.

The result? Anything but.

Everyday things, familiar places, overlooked details, all reimagined by artists who know how to make you stop, look twice, and think, Wait… why didn’t I see it that way before?

Everyone is welcome. Bring your art-loving friends, your curious neighbor, your spouse, your kids, your out-of-town guests.

📍 Woodward Contemporary
📅 Saturday, August 22
⏰ 4–7 PM

Reclaiming the Ordinary is where ordinary gets a little extraordinary.

We’ll see you there!

--

The Life Above, Ler Chang, Available

📣 NATIONWIDE ART CALL 📣

Quiet Interruption
Application Deadline: August 29, 2026
Notification Date: September 1, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 26, 2026 · 4-7 PM
Exhibition Dates: September 10 - October 10, 2026
Juror: Michael Shemchuk

What happens when something quiet interrupts the ordinary?

Quiet Interruption invites artists to consider the subtle moments that shift our attention—a pause, a shadow, a small disturbance, an unexpected encounter, or something almost overlooked.

We are seeking artwork that creates a moment of reflection, curiosity, discovery, or surprise.

The work may be intimate or monumental, permanent or temporary, material or ephemeral. We welcome approaches that engage with space, light, sound, movement, nature, memory, absence, or the everyday.

Rather than demanding attention, Quiet Interruption asks: What if art could gently interrupt the way we see, hear, move through, or experience a place?

Comment CALL for the 🔗🎨

You’re not stuck. You’re just working too hard on one painting.

You may have already heard that we're bringing Michael Shemchuk back to our studio. With a twist...

This time, he’s bringing something brand new: "Power of 12"— where you'll work on twelve 12" x 12" panels at once! 🎉🎨

You’ll move between them, experiment, make decisions, step back, and keep going. One panel might spark an idea for another. A color, mark, or texture you discover on one might completely change the direction of the next.

And here’s the part we really love: you don’t just leave with twelve paintings. You leave with a body of work that can actually live together.

💥 Only 3 Spots Left 💥

Throughout the workshop, you’ll learn how to look at your twelve panels as a collection and make choices that create rhythm, contrast, and connection. 

Six over six. A long horizontal installation. Vertical columns. Diptychs. Triptychs. Rearrange them, turn them, separate them, bring them back together. Your twelve panels can become one large statement or several smaller groupings, giving you the freedom to install the work in different spaces and change the arrangement whenever you want.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“We found our mojo because we had a great teacher and there were great artists in the group. It was the most amazing gathering of artists I have ever been with."
—Bibby G.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"It was fantastic. I went in as a blank slate and came out with so many ideas, new techniques, inspiration and creative energy. Just what I was hoping would happen."
—Leslie R.

Workshop: Power of 12: Abstraction by Design
Instructor: Michael Shemchuk
Dates: October 1-4, 2026 | Level: All
Tuition: $1095

And along the way, you’ll learn to trust your eye, make decisions with more confidence, and see possibilities in your work that you might have missed before.

Tap the link in our bio to save your spot.

PS. Your tuition includes complimentary daily lunch in the studio, plus select supplies to help you dive right in.

Congratulations Holly Roberts 🎉

Holly's original piece "Hungry" just found its new home through our online gallery.

At woodwardcontemporary.com, we've made it easy to discover original artwork from artists we love, including pieces from past exhibitions, all from the comfort of home.

🚚✨ Find something you love and have it shipped right to your doorstep.

Congratulations, Holly, and to the lucky collector who gets to live with "Hungry" 🤍

Are you ready to find the sweet spot between heart and head? Build abstract work through layers and gestural movement, guided by simple design principles and intuition, with inspiration from gardens, food, and human connection.

Workshop Description

Workshop: Finding Flow
Dates: December 12-15, 2026
Instructor: Nino Yuniardi
Hours: 10am - 4pm
Level: All
Class Size: 10
Tuition: $1600
Includes: Complimentary lunches and drinks served daily in studio

Finding Flow is about loosening up and building work through layers and movement. Inspired by gardens, salads, food, and human connection, you’ll explore gestural marks and simple design principles while staying open to intuition. The focus is on finding that sweet spot between heart and head—feeling your way through the process while making clear, intentional choices—so making art feels more natural and connected.

This workshop is open to all level artists. It’s ideal for artists who want to loosen up, reconnect with intuition, and find more ease and confidence in their process.

We’ll build abstract work through layers and gestural movement, guided by simple design principles and intuition, with inspiration from gardens, food, and human connection. Expect to experience guided demos, simple prompts, plenty of making time, and a supportive, low-pressure environment focused on process rather than perfection. Curiosity and willingness to try are all you need.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"This was truly a wonderful experience! Nino provided the right amount of guidance to keep me working productively and learning."
Darlene Laguna

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Nino is a delightful & talented art instructor. He shares his methods and provides interesting exercises. I found him to be very authentic & generous." -Jeanette Osias

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Wonderful. Loved his demonstrations, pacing of the workshop, and he let us explore and practice with some guidance." -Barbara
Helton

Register at link in our bio.

🤔 Have you ever noticed that the harder you try to make a painting “good,” the more impossible it becomes?

Somewhere along the way, many artists find themselves chasing the perfect composition, the perfect color choice, or the perfect brushstroke. Suddenly, instead of painting, we’re negotiating with the canvas. And honestly... sometimes the canvas wins.

That’s exactly why we are so excited to welcome internationally acclaimed German artist Manuela Karin Knaut for a 4-day abstract painting experience designed to help you step away from overthinking and reconnect with the joy of creating 💫🎨

✈️ Coming to us from Braunschweig, Germany, Manuela brings a lifetime of exploring the unknown through painting, printmaking, photography, and installation. Her artistic practice is rooted in curiosity, transformation, and the belief that some of the most exciting discoveries happen when we stop trying to control every outcome. Her work explores the beautiful tension between chaos and structure, abstraction and recognition, adding and removing, building layers and uncovering what is waiting underneath.

And that philosophy is at the 💖 heart of this workshop.

Manuela invites participants into an open, experimental environment where movement, intuition, color, gesture, and texture become the starting points for new discoveries.

Over four days, you’ll explore what happens when you allow curiosity to lead. You’ll question familiar habits, embrace unexpected moments, and follow the paths that materials and process reveal. You’ll move between control and freedom, structure and openness, learning when to guide the painting and when to let the painting guide you.

Instructor: Manuela Karin Knaut | Workshop: Be Wild For a While
Dates: September 17-20, 2026 | Size: 12 | Tuition: $1,750 | Level: All

Bonus! Includes complimentary lunches and drinks served daily in the studio.

Because here’s something every artist eventually discovers: your most powerful work often appears somewhere between intention and surrender.

Tap the link in our bio to register ✨

🍂 September is for fresh starts in the studio.

It's the perfect time to return to your creative practice, set up your easel, and spend time doing what artists do best: looking, learning, and making.

By popular demand, Carlos Castrejon returns to Woodward Contemporary for "Drawing the Figure: Live N**e Model" — a 4-week class designed for artists at every stage.

Whether you're picking up charcoal for the first time or you've spent years studying the human form, this workshop offers the opportunity to strengthen your skills and deepen your artistic practice.

Working from a professional live n**e model, you'll explore quick gesture studies, longer sustained poses, anatomy, proportion, composition, and expressive mark-making. Experiment with charcoal, conté, colored pencil, and different drawing surfaces while Carlos shares his years of teaching experience through personalized instruction and thoughtful feedback.

You'll develop:
✏️ Confidence drawing from direct observation
✏️ A stronger understanding of human form and movement
✏️ More expressive line work and mark-making
✏️ Greater awareness of value, structure, and composition
✏️ The discipline and consistency that help artists grow

No grades.
No tests.
No pressure to be perfect.

Just your easel, your materials, a supportive studio, and four weeks dedicated to becoming a stronger artist.

September 1-22, 2026
Tuesdays, 2-5 pm
Woodward Contemporary, San Diego, CA
$200

Your fall creative reset starts here! ✨🍎🎨

Registration is open. Space is limited.

Tap the link in our bio ☝🏼

🔴 SOLD! "Spitting Off the Edge of the World" | Cathrine Edlinger-Kunze | 70x58" | Oil on linen canvas

Find that original painting or sculpture you can't live without at woodwardcontemporary.com/shop 👈🏼🛍️🖼️