LIVE ONLINE WORKSHOP
Understanding Composition
with Sheldon Greenberg, Master Artist & Mentor
Creating strong interesting compositions with impact.
Tangents
Saturation
Values
Simple/Complex
Understanding a clear focal point
Practice a first and second read
Using saturation for emphasis
Size variation
Playing with perspective
Effective use of various color schemes
Incorporating pattern for variety
Mixing pattern, abstract shapes and realism
Audience: Fine Art Painters
Medium: All Mediums
Stages: This workshop is suitable for creatives at any stage.
Session Dates & Times:
January 9, 16, 23, 30, February 6, 13
6 pm-7 pm CST / 7 pm-8 pm EDT
11 am-12 pm AEDT
(Jan 10, 17, 24, 31 Feb 7, 14)
$220.00
7 in stock
WORKSHOP Description
From the beginning to the finish of your work. All mediums are encouraged.
A strong composition does more than make a painting look balanced—it helps determine where the viewer looks, what they notice first, and how their eye moves through the work. When a composition isn’t working, you can often feel it before you can explain why. Something feels awkward, the focal point gets lost, or every part of the painting seems to compete for the same amount of attention.
In this workshop, master artist and educator Sheldon Greenberg will help you understand the decisions that make a composition feel intentional, interesting, and visually strong. You’ll explore how artists use values, saturation, size, perspective, pattern, shape, and complexity to create emphasis and variety, and how seemingly small issues—like an unintended tangent—can affect the way a painting reads.
You’ll also learn to think about the first and second read of your artwork: what catches the viewer’s attention immediately, and what keeps them exploring after that first impression. Sheldon will show you how to create a clear focal point without making the rest of the painting feel unimportant, and how choices in color, saturation, scale, and perspective can help direct attention exactly where you want it.
Composition isn’t limited to one style or medium. Whether your work is realistic, abstract, or somewhere in between, these principles can help you make stronger decisions from the beginning of a piece through to the finishing stages. You’ll explore ways to combine pattern, abstract shapes, and realism, experiment with different color schemes, and create a better balance between simple and complex areas of your work.
The goal is not to give you a formula for arranging a painting. It’s to help you understand why certain compositions work, recognize what may be weakening your own work, and give you practical tools you can use to make more deliberate choices in future pieces.
🎥 WORKSHOP RECORDINGS available for 1-YEAR after the workshop ends!
🎥 NOTE: Workshop Recordings may be offered for sale at a future date at Mastrius, with the consent of the instructor.
High School, University, and College students get 20% OFF. See FAQs at the bottom of page.
Supply List
Any medium, any style, any format.
Instructor Bio
Sheldon Greenberg is a distinguished artist and educator whose career spans decades of creativity and mentorship.
Sheldon holds a Master of Fine Arts from the California College of the Arts and has studied at the renowned Art Students League in New York.
For over 20 years, he has inspired countless students as a professor at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, teaching courses ranging from figure painting and still life to composition and abstract art.
Sheldon’s art is a celebration of moments that evoke reflection and connection. His recent work explores themes of isolation and togetherness, drawing on the contrasts of flat shapes and detailed textures, and the interplay between finished and unresolved areas.
