A watercolor painting depicting a brownstone building surrounded by trees. A person is walking a dog along a sidewalk in front of the building, capturing a serene urban scene.

Art Toolkit Workshops

Brooklyn Brownstones

Explore Cityscapes in Color with Gavin Snider.

Brooklyn Brownstones

Live workshop with Gavin Snider.

Choose your level of participation:

Workshops are not eligible for discount.

This is a recording of the live workshop from January 2025, Brooklyn Brownstones: Explore Cityscapes in Color with Gavin Snider! Our upcoming live workshops are posted at the top of our Workshops page.

In this workshop, Gavin guided participants through painting Brooklyn’s iconic brownstone architecture by building up from light to dark and carving out a city scene with increasing detail.

You will focus on buildings and everything around them: stoops, fire escapes, shadows, bicycles, cars, and trees as Gavin shows you how to harness the unexpected and go straight to the blank page, embracing the idea that you’re not really creating a painting; you’re documenting an experience.

This workshop will be available for purchase until January 25th, 2026 after which you will have access to it for one year after your purchase.

A charming three-story building with architectural details, surrounded by lush green trees. The facade features large windows and a welcoming entrance with steps. Nearby, other buildings and parked cars are visible, showcasing a vibrant urban scene.
A hand holds a watercolor painting depicting a brownstone building with a large tree in front. The artwork features soft colors and a clear blue sky, capturing the architectural details and greenery.
A hand holds an artistic watercolor illustration of a city street with colorful brownstone buildings. The scene features people walking along the street, adorned with festive decorations. The background shows a historic building facade, and the signature "Gavin Snider" is visible at the bottom.
A watercolor painting of a city street featuring brownstone buildings in various colors. A person on a bicycle rides past, while a glass of wine and a watercolor palette sit beside the artwork on a wooden table.
A cyclist in a red helmet and backpack rides along a city street, passing colorful brownstone buildings and a traffic light. Soft watercolor strokes illustrate the scene with a sunny ambiance.
A watercolor painting of a brick building with a prominent ground-floor carpet shop. The storefront features large, red signage reading "Hemin Carpet." Sidewalk pedestrians walk by, and there are fire escapes on the building's facade. The sky is blue with a few clouds, enhancing the urban scene.
Colorful row houses with intricate architectural details line a tree-shaded street. The scene captures the charm of urban residences with steps leading up to each entrance. Green foliage frames the top of the image.
A hand holds a watercolor painting depicting a street scene with colorful buildings and a pizzeria. In the background, the real street view shows similar architecture and parked cars.

Registration Details

To register for this workshop, add to your cart. Important: you are not registered until you have completed checkout.

We will send you a payment receipt by email. If you don’t see it, please check your junk mail folder, and add hello@arttoolkit.com to your contacts.

When you have completed checkout, you’re in!

You will receive an email with an invite link to our learning platform Circle. If you already have an account, this link will add your new workshop to your Dashboard. The syllabus and recording will be under your Course Dashboard.

Questions? Please send us an email and we’ll help you out.

“
The Brooklyn Brownstones workshop with Gavin Snider was an enlightening and enjoyable experience. As someone who rarely paints direct watercolor, it gave me the opportunity to work through the process. Gavin's step by step modeling provided insight and a learning opportunity that I will take with me into my practice moving forward. Thanks Gavin, Maria, and the Art Toolkit team!
” —Lynne Beattie

About Gavin Snider

A person with a beard and long hair is focused on painting at a table, wearing a hoodie. The room is dimly lit, with bookshelves in the background and paint supplies scattered around.

Gavin Snider lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, where he paints to slow down the world and draws to better understand the places and people around him. With a background in architecture, much of Gavin’s work focuses on buildings and cityscapes. A few times a week, he picks a location—whether a famous landmark or an unfamiliar neighborhood—packs up a notebook, and goes to paint. In a way, his paintings are a form of urbanism, the study of city life.
An artist sites on a rock, dipping a paintbrush in a Pocket Palette.

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