Bay Area Drawing & Painting Groups

We have compiled this list of drawing and painting groups around the Bay Area as a service to artists and to promote drawing and art-making from the live figure. If you would like your group included, please let us know here!

San Francisco Groups

  • Oddists Drawing, Odd Fellows Building, 26 7th St. San Francisco CA. Richard “Luckey” Perri & Kim Froshin, organizers. Every Sunday 1-4pm. Pre-register or walk-in.

  • Gay Men’s Sketch, San Francisco, CA (address upon registration) or online. Mark Chester, organizer. Every Tuesday 6:20-9:20pm. Registration required.

  • Studio 203 Figure Drawing, Bryant St. Studios, 1890 Bryant St. San Francisco CA. Linda Joy Kattwinkel, organizer. Every Saturday 9a-12p. Walk-in or pre-register.

East Bay Groups

  • Linden Street Figure Drawing, Lightning Coyote Studio, Oakland CA (address upon registration). Sebastian Hyde & Lee Whitfield, organizers. Every Tuesday 7-10pm. Registration required, space is limited.

  • Golden Gate Atelier, 4432 Piedmont Ave. Oakland CA. Full-time program dedicated to the highest standards of drawing and painting. Through rigorous project work, and daily mentorship and support, students progress from the foundations through to mastery at a pace that is optimized for them. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 9:30am-12:30pm. Andrew Ameral, instructor. Pre-registration, tuition and references/screening required.

  • Studio 55 Martinez, 55 Howe Rd. Martinez CA (upstairs). Gestures and a long pose. Jill Landau, organizer. Alternate Thursdays 12:30-4pm. Registration required, space is limited.

  • Pence Figure Drawing Group, Pence Gallery 212 D Street, Davis CA. Second and Fourth Wednesdays of each month 6:30-9:30pm. Registration required, space is limited.

  • Sacramento Figure Drawing Group, Patris Studio and Art Gallery, 3460 2nd Avenue, Sacramento CA. Tuesdays 6:00-9:00pm (short poses), Sundays 10:00am-1:00pm AND 1:45pm-4:45pm (long pose). Patti Miller, organizer. Walk-in.

  • Friday Figure drawing at Sac Arts, Sacramento Fine Arts Center 5330 Gibbons Dr. Carmichael CA. Fridays 9:00am-12:00pm. No instruction provided. Walk-in.

Peninsula/South Bay Groups

  • Figure Drawing at Art Bias, 1700 Industrial Road, San Carlos CA, Studio 114. Fourth Thursday of each month, 6:30-9:30pm. Matthew Lipson, organizer. Registration Required.

  • Palo Alto Art Center Figure Drawing & Painting, 1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto, CA. Darren Kerr, organizer. Tuesdays 1:30-4:30pm (Costumed model, long pose), Tuesdays 6-9pm (nude model, short poses), Thursdays 1:30-4:30pm (Nude model, long pose). Drop-in or pre-register, space is limited.

Marin/North Bay Groups

  • Riley Street Figure Drawing, Riley Street Art Supply, 1148 4th St. San Rafael CA. Thursdays 7-10pm. Walk-in.

  • The Portrait & the Figure, Portrait painting class. Novato Arts Center, 781 Hamilton Parkway, Novato CA. Kathleen Lack, instructor. Thursdays 10a-1p. Reservation/Registration required.

  • Sonoma Figure Arts Open Studio, Sonoma Community Center, 276 East Napa Street, room 200, Sonoma CA. First and Third Saturdays of the month, 10:00am-12:30pm. Sean Baskin, organizer. Walk-in or pre-register, space is limited.

  • Sebastopol Life Drawing Meet-Up, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High Street, Sebastopol CA. Mondays 6:00-9:00pm. Walk-in or pre-register, space is limited.

  • Mendocino Figure Drawing Collective, Mendocino Art Center. 45200 Little Lake Street, Mendocino, CA, Stevenson Studio. Wednesdays 1:30-4:30pm. Dale E. Moyer, organizer. Walk-in or pre-register, space is limited.