A Live Online Painting Workshop with Danny Gregory

You've probably walked past them in the art store without giving them a second thought. Tempera sticks. The things they hand out in elementary school.

Want to know a well-kept secret? They're one of the most exciting painting tools I've picked up in years.

Bright, fast, opaque, and cheap — a full set of 40 colors costs $25–$30 and will last you a long time. In the right hands, they can do things that watercolor can't, and things that gouache won't. I've spent two years figuring out what those things are.

In this workshop, I'm going to show you everything.

What we'll do together:

• Pressure and intensity. The same stick at different pressures gives you completely different results. We'll explore that range.
• The wet window. Tempera dries fast — but before it does, you can layer colors and scratch through the top to reveal what's underneath. You can blend. You can pick up pigment on a wet brush and use it like paint. Knowing that window, and working inside it, is a key to all sorts of effects.
• Opacity surprises. Some colors sit boldly on top of dark backgrounds. Others disappear. I'll show you which is which and how to use both.
• Combining with ink. A brush pen or a Sharpie lets you line as an additional element. We'll try drawing on top of the color, and laying color on top of the lines — and you'll quickly see which approaches sings for you.
• Stencils for clean edges. A pair of scissors and a scrap of paper. That's all it takes to get a crisp line when you need one.
• What doesn't work on top of tempera. Colored pencils, fine-tipped pens — they tend to disappear. Knowing what not to do is half the battle.

We'll also explore two different approaches to composing a flower painting: laying down color first and drawing into it, versus drawing the flowers first and building the background around them. Both produce very different results.

Why tempera?

It's fast. It's forgiving. And it makes you feel like you can't make a mistake — which, when you're painting loosely, is exactly the feeling you want.

It's also genuinely underrated. This is a medium designed for schoolchildren, but as a painter, I find it closer to gouache or acrylic markers — with its own qualities that neither of those have. I've never seen it taught seriously. So I'm teaching it. But you know me, not that seriously.

This may not be for you if...

If you're looking for slow, meticulous, highly finished work — this isn't that workshop. Tempera rewards speed and looseness. That's what makes it fun.

This workshop is great for anyone who draws or paints occasionally and wants a new medium to play with — all the way up to experienced artists who want something fresh.

The details

• Date: Saturday, July 18, 2026
• Time: 9am–12pm Pacific (noon–3pm Eastern)
• Format: Live Zoom webinar with pre-recorded demonstrations and live Q&A
• Skill level: Some drawing or painting experience helpful — all levels welcome
• Replay: Available to all registered attendees
• Supplies: A 9×12 mixed-media sketchbook, a 40-color tempera stick set, a Pentel Pocket brush pen or black Sharpie, Pentel Presto. Almost everything else — a brush, a small palette or dish, a water container, scissors, a pencil — you probably already have.

Meet your instructor