Woodward Contemporary

Woodward Contemporary Old Town San Diego's premiere arts destination featuring a fine art gallery, fully-equipped artist studios, and community workshop space.

06/18/2026

Here's something we've noticed ⬇️⬇️

People often assume our best-selling figure drawing classes are either for complete beginners or highly skilled artists. But honestly, most people are somewhere in the middle, looking for a reason to improve, stay consistent, or get back into drawing.

And this isn't just a group getting together to sketch.

👉🏾 It's a structured class with an instructor, live n**e model, demonstrations, feedback, and plenty of time to work at your own pace. You leave with more than a stack of drawings. You leave understanding something you didn't understand when you walked in.

The other thing we hear a lot is how much people didn't realize how much they would enjoy being around other 👨🏼‍🎨 artists. Spending a few hours each week focused on drawing, asking questions, sharing ideas, and learning together is a lot more enjoyable than trying to figure everything out all by yourself 🤪

If you've been considering joining, NOW is the time as there are only five spots left for the 4-week July session.

Tuesdays, July 7-28, 2026
Instructor Carlos Castrejon
2-5pm
All Levels
Class Limit: 12
Tuition: $200

April, May and June sold out early, so don't miss the train...

Registration link in bio.

The human body is complicated...Which is precisely why artists study it.Live figure drawing sharpens your eye for propor...
06/13/2026

The human body is complicated...

Which is precisely why artists study it.

Live figure drawing sharpens your eye for proportion, anatomy, gesture, movement, and structure faster than almost anything else. Your stiff, awkward figures start loosening up. Your confidence grows. Your drawings begin to look less like cardboard mannequins and more like actual humans.

And yes, you could use photos.
But photos flatten everything. They lie about light, space, and form in ways a live model never will.

Figure drawing is not about already being good at it.
It is about becoming good at it.

👉🏼 Join us in July for figure drawing sessions with Carlos Castrejon, working from a live n**e model in the gallery. Whether you’re brand new to figure work or ready to sharpen your practice, get ready to grow and make some new friends along the way!

Upcoming Sessions:
Tuesdays, July 7-28, 2026
2-5 pm | $200
Instructor Carlos Castrejon
Live N**e Model

✨5 Spots Left ✨

Come draw something that breathes 👄

Tap the link in bio for dates and registration.

Ready to actually level up your figure drawing?This is the kind of class where things finally click, where you stop gues...
06/13/2026

Ready to actually level up your figure drawing?

This is the kind of class where things finally click, where you stop guessing and start seeing 👀

Yes, those casual drop-in sketch sessions are fun… but this is something different.

This is:
• A focused 4-week experience
• Real-time critique that sharpens your eye fast
• Hands-on instruction you can actually apply immediately
• A reliable live n**e model, every single session
• The kind of structure that leads to real progress

⭐ 4-Week Class: Drawing the Figure (Live N**e Model)
📆 Tuesdays, July 7-28, 2026 | 2-5PM
🙋🏾‍♂️ Instructor Carlos Castrejon
✨ Tuition: $200
📍 Woodward Contemporary, San Diego

Led by Carlos Castrejon (Trust us, you’ll be saying “where have you been my whole life??” about halfway through 😄)

April, May and June sold out! Come find out why...

Tap the link in our bio to level up your figure drawing game 🎯

PS. No experience required.

💥 You don't often get the chance to learn from an artist while standing inside the very exhibition everyone is talking a...
06/10/2026

💥 You don't often get the chance to learn from an artist while standing inside the very exhibition everyone is talking about.

This June, acclaimed abstract painter arrives at Woodward Contemporary for his highly anticipated solo exhibition, Uncontained, a breathtaking collection of monumental works that push the boundaries of scale, emotion, and abstraction.

Known for creating powerful large-scale paintings on raw canvas using unconventional tools, Day's work transforms personal history into visual experiences that are both deeply moving and remarkably alive.

And for four days only, artists will have the opportunity to study directly with him ⬇️⬇️

Workshop Details
Will Day | Relentless: The Alchemy of Emotions and Forms
June 18-21, 2026 | Level: Intermediate to Advanced | Tuition: $1,750 | Lunch Included Daily

👉🏼 What makes this workshop unlike any other?

Participants will receive an EXCLUSIVE PRIVATE TOUR of "Uncontained", gaining behind-the-scenes access to the exhibition, installation, and artistic decisions that brought these extraordinary works to life.

Imagine discussing composition while standing in front of paintings larger than life. Imagine hearing firsthand how color, gesture, layering, and mark-making evolve from concept to finished work. Imagine experiencing the exhibition not as a visitor, but as an invited guest.

Throughout the workshop, Day will share the techniques and philosophies that have defined his career, including:

• Underpainting and glazing
• Palette knife techniques
• Gestural mark-making
• Building visual rhythm and movement
• Creating depth, tension, and harmony
• Translating personal experiences into compelling abstract paintings

Inspired by Day's celebrated Relentless series and the timeless concept of the hero's journey, this workshop explores how resilience, transformation, and joy can be communicated through abstraction.

If you've been waiting for a workshop that combines world-class instruction with unprecedented access to a major exhibition, this is it.

⏰ Only 2 spots left | Reserve your place today and experience Will Day's work from the inside out.

FOMO is real! Tag a friend in the comments to invite them ⬇️⬇️Woodward Contemporary is proud to present Uncontained, a s...
06/09/2026

FOMO is real! Tag a friend in the comments to invite them ⬇️⬇️

Woodward Contemporary is proud to present Uncontained, a solo exhibition by acclaimed abstract painter Will Day.

✨ Will Day: Uncontained
🥂 Opening Reception: Saturday, June 20, 2026 | 4–7 PM
🗓️ Exhibition Dates: June 12 – July 11, 2026
🎟️ Free and open to the public

Join us on June 20 for an evening of art, conversation, and celebration as we unveil a remarkable collection of new work from one of today's most compelling abstract painters. We are expecting a wonderful crowd, so bring your friends, family, colleagues, and fellow art lovers.

Based in Boulder, Colorado, Will Day is known for his monumental, emotionally charged paintings created on raw canvas using unconventional tools and a deeply physical process. His work pulses with movement, energy, and intention, inviting viewers into spaces where chaos, beauty, struggle, and hope coexist.

Day's path to painting was anything but conventional. After his wife survived the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center, he stepped away from a career in finance and ultimately devoted himself to art. That life-altering experience continues to inform a practice rooted in resilience, gratitude, and transformation. His paintings do not simply depict emotion...they embody it.

💬 Art historian Stephanie Grilli, Ph.D. (Yale University), writes:
"Will Day approaches his canvases as an opportunity to bring forth a story in the moment and not as a sequence of events." She further describes his work as possessing "an emotional power based in grand design that yet defies limits."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
writer Noah Sonnenburg described Day's paintings as "monoliths of creative freedom" and noted that his work projects "the sublime powers of color and form."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
highlighted the artist's uniquely immersive process, describing paintings filled with "colorful shapes, impulsive marks and textured layers"

☝🏼 Grab the link in our bio to plan your visit!

Our June 18-21 workshop with is built around one powerful idea: the hero’s journey, as popularized by Joseph Campbell....
06/06/2026

Our June 18-21 workshop with is built around one powerful idea: the hero’s journey, as popularized by Joseph Campbell.

"A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow men." -Joseph Campbell

Using Will’s “Relentless” series as the foundation, you’ll explore how a painting can mirror the hero's journey. A beginning layer, moments of tension and uncertainty, pushing through chaos, and arriving somewhere more resolved. It’s about learning how to stay with a painting long enough to let it transform.

👉🏼 This workshop solves a few big problems a lot of artists run into:
✔️Starting strong but not knowing how to develop a painting
✔️Overworking or stopping too soon
✔️Playing it safe instead of taking risks
✔️Struggling to create depth, movement, and balance

You’ll learn how to build visual rhythm, how to create tension and release, and how to let light, shadow, and space work together instead of fighting each other.

And you won’t be doing it alone 👩🏼‍🎨

You’ll be in the room with Will, watching how he works, how he makes decisions, how he pushes a painting forward. And you’ll be surrounded by other artists who are in the exact same place, figuring it out, experimenting, and growing right alongside you.

If you’re coming from out of town (and even if you're not), it doubles as a full reset. Four days in San Diego, away from your usual routine, with lunch handled each day and nothing to focus on except your work.

Workshop: Relentless: The Alchemy of Emotions and Forms
Instructor: Will Day
Dates: June 18-21, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Tuition: $1750
Included: Complimentary lunch provided in studio daily

Comment WORKSHOP for booking.

Address

3935 Harney Street
San Diego, CA
92103

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Saturday 9:30am - 4:30pm

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