Improvisation on Canvas with Kathy Kosins
Improvisation on Canvas is a hands-on, three-hour workshop that invites participants to paint while listening to a curated jazz playlist, focusing on abstract expression through texture, movement, and color. Inspired by Bebop-era greats such as Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis, along with other modern jazz composers, this immersive experience encourages students to “hear” color and “listen” for shape.
Led by recognized artist and experienced educator Kathy Kosins, the workshop offers an exciting exploration of sound translated into visual form. Kathy will provide individual guidance throughout the session and encourage experimentation with alternative tools and materials, which she will supply.
Participants should bring a few small to medium canvases, along with paints and brushes they enjoy working with. Acrylic paint is recommended. (Please avoid very large canvases.)
The workshop concludes with an optional group share, allowing participants to reflect on their work, learn from one another, and discuss their creative process.
About Kathy Kosins
Kathy Kosins is an interdisciplinary artist whose work bridges music and visual art through improvisation. While widely known for her critically acclaimed career as a jazz and soul recording artist, Kosins has also established herself in the contemporary art world with abstract acrylic paintings inspired by mid-century modern design, cubism, and surrealism.
Self-taught as a musician, composer, and visual artist, Kosins approaches painting with the same spontaneity as live performance. “My artwork is total improvisation,” she says. “There is no preconceived composition.” Often, her only advance decision is a color palette, allowing the moment to guide the work.
Kosins is known for painting live on stage while musicians perform, translating sound into color and movement in real time. She frequently describes herself as someone who “hears color and sees sound,” a phenomenon associated with synesthesia. The resulting artworks are visual abstractions of the music itself.
Passionate about teaching, Kosins developed Improvisation on Canvas as a clinic to guide artists of all levels through the creative process. She has taught workshops and courses nationwide at high schools, performing arts schools, colleges, and continuing education programs. Her commissioned works are held in private collections across the United States and Europe.
Cancellation Policy: Refunds (minus processing fees) are available up to seven days before the class begins. Refunds cannot be issued within seven days of the class date.