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.

You're invited 💌✨QUIET INTERRUPTION🗓️Opening Reception: Saturday, September 26, 2026 · 4-7 PM🗓️Exhibition Dates: Septemb...
09/14/2026

You're invited 💌

✨QUIET INTERRUPTION
🗓️Opening Reception: Saturday, September 26, 2026 · 4-7 PM
🗓️Exhibition Dates: September 17 - October 10, 2026
🎟️Admission: Free and open to the public

Quiet Interruption invites you to slow down and notice what might otherwise be missed.

A shift of light.
A familiar object seen differently.
A moment of stillness.
A subtle tension.
Something unexpected that quietly captures your attention.

The stunning works in this national, juried exhibition do not demand to be noticed.

Instead, they create space for looking, lingering, and discovering something new.

Across painting, sculpture, mixed media, and other forms, Quiet Interruption explores the beauty and complexity of those small moments that alter our experience of the everyday. Some works may feel intimate and contemplative. Others may interrupt a space with unexpected scale, material, movement, or presence.

For collectors and art lovers, this is an invitation to look a little longer, to notice what catches you off guard, to discover the work that stays with you long after you've walked away.

Tap the link in our bio to plan your visit.

Featured: A Dream Is a Dream, Gigi Woodward

★★★★★"Bilmes’ work has been dubbed reminiscent of Repin and Rembrandt, both artists whose popularity has survived for ce...
09/09/2026

★★★★★
"Bilmes’ work has been dubbed reminiscent of Repin and Rembrandt, both artists whose popularity has survived for centuries."
—American Aesthetics Magazine

There’s a point in almost every painting where you start second-guessing yourself.

Is the composition working?
Did I push that mark too far?
Where do I go from here?

Daniel Bilmes has developed a very different way of approaching that problem.

🎨 Immersive Portrait Painting
🗓️ January 21–24, 2027 | All Levels
📍Woodward Contemporary, San Diego

For four days, contemporary painter Daniel Bilmes is opening up his process for creating expressive, contemporary portraits that bring together classical technique, abstraction and bold, intentional mark-making.

★★★★★
"His work is at once hopeful and brooding. Realistic and symbolic. Somewhere between the vitality of the Russian circus and the gravitas of a Churchill speech."
—Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

Daniel doesn’t simply start painting and hope everything falls into place.

He uses unique tools and an unconventional planning process to establish the structure, gesture and energy of a painting from the beginning.

That gives you something incredibly valuable: a way forward.

You’ll learn how to make decisions before and during the painting process without taking all the mystery out of it. How to build a strong foundation while leaving room for discovery. And how realism and abstraction can push against each other in a way that makes a portrait feel alive.

This is for artists who want to move beyond simply painting a likeness.

By the end of four full days in the studio, you’ll have:

• New tools for approaching portrait painting
• A repeatable framework for planning a painting from beginning to end
• A stronger understanding of structure, gesture and design
• New ways to combine realism and abstraction
• A fresh perspective on your own painting process

Tap the link in our bio to register.

Before you fire up the grill for Labor Day weekend, submit your art! 😎QUIET INTERRUPTIONApplication Deadline: September ...
09/04/2026

Before you fire up the grill for Labor Day weekend, submit your art! 😎

QUIET INTERRUPTION

Application Deadline: September 5, 2026
Notification Date: September 8, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 26, 2026 · 4-7 PM
Exhibition Dates September 17 - October 10, 2026

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?

Application link in bio.

We are pleased to welcome celebrated American painter Brian Rutenberg for a special evening of art and conversation insi...
09/02/2026

We are pleased to welcome celebrated American painter Brian Rutenberg for a special evening of art and conversation inside our Old Town San Diego gallery.

⭐ Limited to 75 guests, the event will offer a rare opportunity to hear directly from Rutenberg as he presents an illustrated talk exploring his artistic journey, influences, and the ideas and experiences behind his distinctive, color-charged paintings.

The approximately 45-minute seated presentation will be followed by an open audience Q&A, giving guests the opportunity to engage directly with the artist.

The evening will conclude with a hosted w**e reception and catered light bites, allowing guests to continue the conversation with Rutenberg in the intimate setting of Woodward Contemporary.

Known for his richly layered, expressive paintings inspired by the landscape and light of his native South Carolina Lowcountry, Rutenberg has built an acclaimed career spanning more than four decades. His work explores the intersection of abstraction, memory, place and the natural world, combining intense color and physicality with a deep connection to the history of painting.

Art Talk: An Evening with Brian Rutenberg
Date: Thursday, October 22, 2026
Time: 4-7 PM
Tickets: $85
Includes: Seated Artist Talk (45 min.) · Audience Q&A · Hosted W**e Reception & Catered Bites

Tickets are selling quickly ✨🎟️

Visit woodwardcontemporary.com for tickets.

Wait… isn’t that the show from earlier this summer?Yep. 👀We are always a delighted when a painting from a past show resu...
08/29/2026

Wait… isn’t that the show from earlier this summer?

Yep. 👀

We are always a delighted when a painting from a past show resurfaces and catches someone's attention.

🔴 SOLD! "The Woman in Butter Yellow" | Visions Of Venus by Trish V.

If you missed a show, or there was a piece you've been thinking about, you can browse past exhibitions anytime in our online shop.

A little gallery time travel, if you will.
With front porch delivery or pickup right here at the gallery 🏘️

Tap the SHOP link in our bio.

❌ This isn't your average figure drawing meet-up ❌Drawing on years of teaching experience and technical mastery, Carlos ...
08/27/2026

❌ This isn't your average figure drawing meet-up ❌

Drawing on years of teaching experience and technical mastery, Carlos Castrejon guides students in this fun and engaging live n*de model workshop.

Designed for all levels, this immersive 4- week class explores both quick gesture sketches and longer, sustained poses to help you capture movement, mood, and form. You’ll strengthen your understanding of proportion, anatomy, and composition while experimenting with expressive mark-making and dynamic line work.

Workshop: Drawing the Figure (Live N**e Model)
Instructor: Carlos Castrejon
Dates: Tuesdays, September 1-22, 2026
Hours: 2pm - 5pm
Level: All (age 18+)
Class Size: 12
Tuition: $200 (total)

Expect a relaxed, supportive studio atmosphere where curiosity is encouraged and progress happens naturally. Whether you're building foundational skills or refining your personal style, working from a live model will sharpen your observation skills and boost your confidence.

Come ready to draw, explore, and enjoy the creative energy of the figure in motion!

✨What to Expect ⬇️⬇️

✔️Live n**e model
✔️Short gesture studies and sustained long poses
✔️One-on-one and group instruction
✔️Work with a range of materials—including charcoal, colored pencil and conte—learning how each medium can be used to capture the figure.
✔️Thoughtful group critique at the end of the 4-week workshop
✔️Easels, tables and chairs included

✨Goals ⬇️⬇️

🏆Develop a strong understanding of human proportion and anatomy
🏆Improve gesture drawing skills to capture movement and energy
🏆Build confidence drawing from direct observation
🏆Practice short and long poses to strengthen both speed and sustained focus
🏆Explore expressive mark-making and line quality
🏆Enhance composition and spatial awareness
🏆Train the eye to see value, form, and structure
🏆Receive constructive feedback through group critique
🏆Foster consistency and discipline in observational drawing

Tap the link in our bio to save your spot before September 1!

🎬 The credits are rolling...Remember back in the day when the credits ran before the movie?You’d settle into your seat, ...
08/27/2026

🎬 The credits are rolling...

Remember back in the day when the credits ran before the movie?

You’d settle into your seat, popcorn in hand, and there they were:

Starring…
Featuring…
With special appearances by…

Well, we thought we’d do the same thing.

Because before we tell you about Finding Flow, the December workshop with Nino Yuniardi, we’d like to let the reviews have the floor.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
“Nino’s workshop was such a treat on so many levels."
-Jen B.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
"It was so deliciously satisfying."
-Kate J.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
"The workshop with Nino was just what I needed."
-Jo-Anne W.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
“If you have the opportunity to study with Nino, do it.”
-Ree K.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
"Nino was a gentle joy!"
-Lisa H.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
"Nino's process was such an "aha!" for me!"
-Christy V

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
"Super special experience..."
-Lyn F.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
"It was a fantastic week!"
-Ashley O.

FINDING FLOW
December 12–15, 2026 | 10am–4pm
Nino Yuniardi | All Levels | Class Size: 10
$1,600 | Lunch + drinks included daily

Top the link in our bio to save your spot.

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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