Course curriculum

    1. Art Supplies List for All About Abstracts

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Are You Getting In Your Own Way?

      FREE PREVIEW

    1. Communicating With Color: Getting Started

    2. The 2 Color Wheels

    3. Muted vs Saturated Color

    4. Sophisticated Colors, Shades and Tints

    5. Beautiful Blacks, Plus Warm, Neutral and Cool Grays

    6. Color Swatch Exercise (for use with next video)

    7. Color Swatch Video

    8. Harmonizing Your Color Palette

    9. Artist's Hack: Quick Trick to Harmonize Colors

    10. The Magic of Limiting Your Color Palette

    11. Intro To Limited Colors & Harmonized Palettes

    12. Limited Color Palette Charts

    13. Limited Color Palette Charts Video

    14. Preparing Your Paper for A Color Study

    15. Painting A Color Study Video

    1. Intro to Creating Composition

    2. Your Most Powerful Tool

    3. Fixing Student Work: Never Throw Out Another Painting

    4. Studying My Own Compositions

    5. Creating Composition: Next Steps

    6. A Few Words About The Following Demo

    7. What Colors Did I Use?

    8. Improving Composition Demo: Video 1 of 8

    9. Improving Composition Demo: Video 2 of 8

    10. Improving Composition Demo: Video 3 of 8

    11. Improving Composition Demo: Video 4 of 8

    12. Improving Composition Demo: Video 5 of 8

    13. Improving Composition Demo: Video 6 of 8

    14. Improving Composition Demo: Video 7 of 8

    15. Improving Composition Demo: Video 8 of 8

    1. Tools & Techniques Introduction

    2. Texture Mediums: Video 1 of 3

    3. Textured Mediums: Video 2 of 3

    4. Texture Mediums: Video 3 of 3

    5. Brushes Demo

    6. Special Effects Mediums Demo

    7. Silicone Wedges, Etc. Demo

    8. Palette Knives & Scrapers Demo

    9. Mark Making Tools

    10. Gel Mediums

    1. Putting It All Together Introduction

    2. Final Demo: Video 1

    3. Final Demo: Video 2

    4. Final Demo: Video 3

    5. Final Demo: Video 4

    6. Final Demo: Video 5

    7. Final Demo: Video 6

    8. Final Demo: Video 7

    1. Preserving Your Art For a Lifetime

About this course

  • $199.00
  • 51 lessons
  • 5.5 hours of video content
Watch Intro Video

Multiple camera angles make following along easy.

You'll be able to see Kathleen's hands at work, and colors and materials are conveniently captioned in each video. This makes this course ideal for all levels of students -- beginners as well as advanced!
Buy it now!

Here's what my students are saying:

5 star rating

A Wonderful Experience

Cindy Nolt

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. It was thorough and so well presented.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. It was thorough and so well presented.

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5 star rating

All About Abstracts by Kathleen Rietz

Linda Johns

This course was fantastic. Even though I have finished it I keep returning to it. I learned so much about color mixing and composition especially in abstract...

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This course was fantastic. Even though I have finished it I keep returning to it. I learned so much about color mixing and composition especially in abstracts. I haven't found another course that teaches composition for abstracts and Kathleen has done it so well. I would highly recommend this course to anyone wanting to take their abstract paintings to another level.

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5 star rating

All About Abstracts

Susan Drost

Really enjoyed the course. I learned so much and look forward to reviewing the course again and, of course, practice, practice, practice.

Really enjoyed the course. I learned so much and look forward to reviewing the course again and, of course, practice, practice, practice.

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5 star rating

For the love!

Rachel Dummeldinger

I took Kathleens course All About Abstracts and genuinely learned so much. Kathleen is very generous with the volume of information she methodically passes o...

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I took Kathleens course All About Abstracts and genuinely learned so much. Kathleen is very generous with the volume of information she methodically passes on. I enjoyed her honesty, and the little glimpse into the real side of an artists life. She is very relatable. 10/10 with my hopes for learning more for the sake of my own career.

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5 star rating

All About Abstracts

Anna Krause

All About Abstracts is a fantastic course I highly recommend. No matter what your abilities you will find useful information and application to further your ...

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All About Abstracts is a fantastic course I highly recommend. No matter what your abilities you will find useful information and application to further your painting. training. The course is very comprehensive leading to understanding colour harmonies, composition, tools and techniques. Kathleen has laid it all out very well in a step by step process emphasized with videos showing her practical application. I appreciate that she is always available for prompt feedback through her Facebook group. This is a course you can go back to repeatedly for practice and reference to learn the abstract process or to loosen up your painting style.

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star rating

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5 star rating

A Wonderful Experience

Cindy Nolt

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. It was thorough and so well presented.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. It was thorough and so well presented.

Read Less
5 star rating

A different way to approach abstracts

Cindy Baertson

I'm not the biggest fan of abstracts but I do love shabby chic. This course shows how to bump your abstracts up a notch to make pretty abstracts. I especia...

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I'm not the biggest fan of abstracts but I do love shabby chic. This course shows how to bump your abstracts up a notch to make pretty abstracts. I especially love the part in the course where Kathleen shows how to improve old paintings you may have. Very helpful! Never throw a painting away!!

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Did you know that Composition is the #1 principle of design that students report struggling the understand? Kathleen Rietz will explain Composition as well as Color Theory and Tools her step-by-step creative process.

This course is so packed with important content, many students find themselves returning to it again and again. Once you purchase the course, it is yours to keep as long as you wish. This course is 3 courses in 1.

You will learn to mix limited color palettes, create small color s compositions on paper, and then take those sketches and from them you will create your final paintings. Kathleen demos the entire process from start to finish.
Buy now!

Learn about color harmony and the value of using a limited color palette.

Never paint dull, drab paintings again!

You may struggle with color and not even know why. Perhaps your paintings seem dull and the colors are unexciting. I'll show you how to make the colors come alive in your paintings. And it's not about simply using the brightest colors you can, but rather knowing when to gray some areas while leaving other colors saturated. Creating paintings using a limited color palette will bring harmony to your colors as well. I'll teach you how to mix an endless number of colors from just 4 or 5 straight from the tubes.
Get started now!

Here's What You'll Find In This Course:

  • 3 Chapters, including Creating Composition, Communicating With Color and Tools & Techniques.

  • More than a dozen helpful, downloadable PDFs for you to keep and refer to over and over again.

  • More than 30 videos with 6 hours of content!

  • Once you purchase the course, it is yours to keep and use forever, so you never have to fear a time limit on your learning for the course. Watch it and use it as many times as you desire.

  • Free Facebook group for all of my students, where you will be able to post your artwork, questions and get support form me and a helpful and supportive community of other students!

  • Helpful hints from my years of experience as an artist and art instructor.

  • 2 full length painting demos where you can watch me paint and teach about my process, materials, tools, colors and compositions from start to finish.

  • Appropriate for all levels of artists. Whether you are just beginning to explore the possibilities within abstract art, or desire guidance for pushing past whatever may be holding you back from making the quality of art you want to make, this course is for YOU.

  • This course is in English.

  • This course is self-paced to encourage you explore in a manner that will make it possible for you to develop your own style and unique voice I abstract art. The course never expires.

Tools, techniques and mediums are labeled to make it easier to follow along.

Supplies are also listed for your reference.

Is this course for you?

Let's find out...

The answer is YES if you are seeking a course to help you work past artistic roadblocks so you start creating your best artwork ever. You'll learn how to create stronger compositions so you stop feeling stuck wondering if your painting is finished, or why it feels unbalanced. You'll learn how to rework those discarded paintings you have sitting in the back of your closet, making them worthy of hanging on your walls. You'll learn how to mix colors in a way that make sense and will wake up your paintings so you stop either making mud or using colors that clash. You’ll have fun using less colors to make better paintings and create cohesive bodies of work so you’ll never run out of ideas when you approach a blank canvas. Lastly, you'll learn about countless mediums, techniques and tools to get your creative juices flowing so that you'll be able to better express the style all your own that is waiting to be expressed on canvas. This course is designed for all levels of artists. Whether you are just beginning to explore the possibilities within abstract art, or desire guidance for pushing past whatever may be holding you back from making the quality of art you want to make, this course is for YOU.

Student Work

Here is a sampling of some of the work posted in the Facebook group by my students.

Such a beautiful and diverse variety of work by students.


Do you know that I offer a private Facebook group for students to post coursework and receive feedback?

When learning anything new, it can feel as though you are all alone, perhaps unsure if you are headed in the proper direction. Kathleen offers her time to students in her FREE Facebook group. This group is open to all students enrolled in a course.

The Joyful Colors Facebook group is a private group for students enrolled in Kathleen Rietz's online art courses.

Are you ready to embark on a whole new creative journey for yourself in "All About Abstracts"?