2026 Painting The Flesh with Sarah Vaccariello

ABOUT THE PROGRAM:

“Painting the Flesh” is a weekend-long oil painting immersion at CoSM lead by artist Sarah Vaccariello. This workshop is dedicated to helping students see and mix color more accurately and with greater satisfaction, and to construct workable and dynamic painting palettes that render the human form with nuance, skill, and reverence. 

Light Body Expansion, Sarah Vaccariello

Students will begin by learning the basics of color mixing followed by instructions on how to create a full ranging and flexible flesh tone palette for all skin tones.. We will then move into painting from a live model, focusing on value, chromatic shifts, edge control, and paint application.

Flesh tone strategy progression, Sarah Vaccariello

Blending demonstration, guided instruction, and hands-on practice, participants will work toward completing a fully realized figure painting by the end of the weekend, as well as developing confidence in applying color mixing principles to the figure and beyond.

Flesh tone palette constructed by Sarah Vaccariello

WHAT TO EXPECT:

This workshop supports both technical refinement and visionary exploration, by honoring the body as a sacred vessel and a timeless muse to artists and art appreciators. 

Whether you’re looking to deepen your understanding of color, improve observational painting skills or reconnect to the human form as an inspiring subject, “Painting the Flesh,” will offer a rich and focused creative experience. 

Intended audience:

Skill Level: beginner to advanced painters (some experience with oils is recommended but not required). 

SCHEDULE:

All times for this 2026 workshop are listed in EDT

Friday, September 4

• 3pm-5pm: Guests arrive by 5pm and check-in to their rooms.
  
• 6pm: Dinner & Orientation are part of the workshop for all participants.
  
• 7:30pm: Opening Circle + Demonstration on how to mix a full flesh-tone palette and prep a painting surface: Grey House Library & Art Lab
  

Saturday, September 5

• 8am - 10am: Self-serve breakfast in the Dining Hall
  
• 10am: Students mix out palettes and begin paintings: Art Lab
  
  • Demonstration on how to start a direct figure painting, paint application and blending techniques
    
  
  
• 1pm: Lunch in the Dining Hall
  
• 2:30pm: Afternoon Painting Session: Art Lab
  
  • Hands-on painting time with one on one support and feedback
    
  
  
• 6pm: Dinner in the Dining Hall
  
• 7:30pm: Optional Open Studio or Integration Time: Art Lab
  

Sunday, September 6

• 8am - 10am: Self-serve Breakfast in the Dining Hall
  
• 10am: Final Painting Session: Art Lab
  
  • Completing the work and refining details
    
  
  
• 1pm: Lunch in the Dining Hall 
  
• 12pm: Group Share & Closing Circle Art Lab
  
• 1pm: Lunch
  
• 2pm: End of Workshop
  
• 6pm: CoSM closes
  

CoSM and Entheon are open weekly on Friday, Saturday & Sunday, 12pm - 6pm when CoSM closes. Tuition includes day passes to CoSM facilities & grounds, during open hours throughout the workshop.

You may extend your stay at CoSM to include Thursday before and/or Monday after the workshop.

YOUR INSTRUCTOR:

Sarah Vaccariello

Sarah Vaccariello is a painter and educator based in New York/ New Jersey. Her work explores nature mysticism, ancestral and elemental presences, and the relationship between body and spirit. Working primarily in oil and or acrylic on canvas, her practice bridges numinous imagery with earth rooted palettes and classical figuration. Her paintings encourage reflection on what it is to be alive here and now and the beauty and wild mystery of being human. 

Sarah Vaccariello earned her BFA in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and graduated with an MFA in Painting from the New York Academy of Art in 2020. During her studies, she received awards such as the Gilbert Stone full tuition scholarship, the SVA Alumni Scholarship and The Elizabeth Greenshield Foundation Grant. She has exhibited widely, including a solo exhibition at Keep Contemporary in Santa Fe NM in 2023 and Ofrendafest at Queens Council on the Arts in NY 2024, as well as several group exhibitions at galleries such as Threyda Gallery, Catalyst Gallery, Tribe13 Gallery, Toronto Visionary Arts and Culture Collective and The New York Academy of Art. In addition to her studio practice, she’s a professor at the School of Visual Arts where she teaches painting, drawing and a thesis course. Sarah has also led workshops locally and abroad in places such as Costa Rica that integrate painting with technique, ritual,and ceremony. Sarah lives and paints in New Jersey, where she continues to develop a body of work examining the interplay of inner experience, outer environment and the human condition. 

Website: sarahvaccariello.com.

Instagram: @sarah.vaccariello

MATERIALS:

Flesh tone palette constructed by Sarah Vaccariello

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

Canvas & Preparation:

• A stretched canvas with an additional 2-3 layers of gesso. (size optional)
  
• Gesso bottle
  
• 1 Foam Brush (3” or 4”)
  
• Black acrylic paint
  

Palette & Palette tools:

• Masterson stay- wet palette box 12"x16"
  
• Glass Table Top Palette, Clear 12" x 16" (not necessary but encouraged)
  
• Grey Matters palette paper 12"x16" **
  
• Palette knife
  
• Palette scraper and razor blades (If you have the glass palette)
  

**Gray palette paper is a required material and relates to the instructional content. 

Oil Paint & Mediums:

(These colors are flesh palette specific but can be added to with recommended colors)

• Cold pressed linseed oil 
  
• Winsor & Newton Indian Red oil paint 
  
• Winsor & Newton Terra Rosa oil paint 
  
• Yellow Ochre oil paint (any brand) 
  
• Raw Umber oil paint (any brand) 
  
• Ivory Black oil paint (any brand)
  
• Titanium White oil paint (any brand)
  

Brushes:

(Brands are recommended but not necessary)

• Silver Ruby Satin Brushes 
  
• Utrecht Mixed Synthetic Brushes 
  
• Raphael Kevrin mongoose synthetic blend (For soft blending)
  
• A variety of your favorite brushes
  

**A note on brushes

Synthetic or mixed synthetic brushes are ideal for smoother brushwork, blending and detail work.

Bristle Brushes are good for laying on thicker paint and creating textured marks. For the sake of this workshop we will be working mostly with synthetic and mixed synthetic brushes in a variety of sizes but you are welcomed to bring any brushes you enjoy working with. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MATERIALS:

A warm and cool of each primary paint color:

• Phthalo blue -green shade (any brand)
  
• Ultramarine Blue
  
• Cadmium red light or medium. (regular or “hue”)
  
• Madder lake deep extra (old holland) or as a cheaper alternative, Alizarin Crimson
  
• Lemon yellow
  
• Cadmium yellow medium or deep (regular or “hue”)
  

Helpful Tools and Mediums:

• Disposable gloves to keep hands clean
  
• Paper towels
  
• Fast dry medium such as Walnut Alkyd oil or Liquin original. 
  
• Masters Brush soap
  
• Winsor & Newton brush cleaner (and glass jar)**
  

**Please make sure all solvents are odorless

Studio Space:

The CoSM Art Lab will provide easels, side tables, chairs and work lights.

CoSM WORKSHOP SETTING:

Class sessions will take place in the MAGI Art Lab —Mystic Artists Guild International.

The Grey House, CoSM's Visionary Victorian guest house, provides accommodations for all participants. 

Residing onsite together is encouraged as part of this immersively creative weekend, providing maximum benefit & enrichment. Accommodations in Grey House are offered in a variety of economies, in addition to the workshop fee. 

Participants are welcome to extend their overnight stay at CoSM to the Thursday before, and/or the Monday after the workshop. 

WORKSHOP AMMENITIES

Available for the duration of the 3 day workshop:

• Healthy meals by CoSM chefs, starting with dinner on Friday and ending with lunch on Sunday.
  
• Coffee, tea and snacks available in the Art Lab between meals 
  
• Access to Grey House common spaces — The Library, The Parlor, The Dining Hall & Gallery Spaces on all three floors.
  
• Yoga mats for self guided practice
  
• Accommodations include private rooms and shared dorm rooms—femme only or co-ed options.
  
• The Wisdom Trail offers a contemplative walk through the CoSM woods, including a labyrinth, outdoor sculptural installations by visionary artists
  

Participation also includes Day Admission to CoSM: Friday, Saturday & Sunday 12pm - 6pm:

• Access to Facilities, grounds and self-touring Entheon
  
• Students are welcome to experience Entheon and Grey House Galleries, including both CoSM Shop & Entheon Shop. 
  
• Beverages and light fare will be available for purchase in the Mushroom Cafe
  

TUITION:

Tuition for the 3-day Painting The Flesh workshop includes lunches & dinners.

• Early Bird: $320 (Limited!)
  
• General Admission: $400.00
  
• Accommodations are separate (breakfast included with overnight stay)
  
• Payment plans available, with all funds due one month before the start of the workshop.
  

For further information, contact [email protected].

ACCOMMODATIONS:

The Grey House, CoSM’s Visionary Victorian guest house, offers accommodations for all participants. Works of art by Alex Grey, Allyson Grey and accomplished artists of the international Visionary Art community are featured throughout the guest rooms and common spaces of the Grey House.

Onsite accommodations are an enriching part of the course experience and are available in a variety of economies. Pricing for the two night stay, arriving Friday, September 4 and departing Sunday, September 6, 2026, reflective of the 10% workshop discount:

• King with ensuite bathroom $495.00
  
• Queen with ensuite bathroom $450.00
  
• Private Queen/shared bath $360.00
  
• Dorm bed: Single $216.00 *co-ed & women’s only options available
  

Participants are welcome to extend their overnight stay at CoSM to the Thursday before and/or the Monday after the workshop. 

Workshop accommodations must be booked directly through the workshop department with confirmation of workshop registration, rather than through the booking engine on the website. After purchasing tuition, you will be contacted regarding accommodations.

Questions about tuition or accommodations, payment plans, travel, retreat amenities, materials etc.?

Contact us at: [email protected] | +1 (845) 297-2323