BIDDEFORD — Engine will present Abstract Figure Drawing & Painting: Beyond the Literal workshop by artist Bess Cutlerfor an immersive creative experience. Abstraction, in this class, is seeing and composing the essence of the model’s pose, to go beyond the literal, to see them in terms of shapes, gestures, lights and darks, and not the details. Instructor Bess Cutler will teach students to analyze anything from figures to landscapes, etc. abstractly and to learn how to organize them as compositions. Understanding the dynamics of composition will be a focus of this class. It’s a unique approach, not like typical life drawing classes. Models will hold yoga-type poses from one to 15 minutes creating dynamic, exciting shapes with tension (twists and turns) helping to see the figure as an abstract form. The workshop will also cover mark-making, materials, and distortion as well as analyze well-known contemporary artists’ figurative work. Realizing and building an abstract drawing or painting will be a step-by-step understandable process. This is a two-day workshop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, March 21 and 22 at Engine, 163 Main St. in Biddeford.

Cutler is an MFA graduate of The School of the Museum of Fine Arts/Tufts in Boston, and has a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis and further undergraduate studies at Bard College. Her teaching experience includes Maine College of Art (MECA), DeCordova Museum, The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and regional Adult Education programs. Cutleris a former NYC and Boston contemporary gallery owner and art consultant to corporate and private collections.

For more information, contact arts@feedtheengine.org or (207) 494-7125.