Basic Drawing for Mosaic Art with Darcel Deneau

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Course intro and interview with Darcel Deneau and Tami Macala

Darcel shares her many tips and tricks on drawing basics for mosaic art!


Are you ready to tackle your fears and insecurities about basic drawing? Are you ready to have a knowledgeable and talented artist take you step-by-step, teaching you the techniques that make drawing easy and achievable?

NOW is your chance to take those fears and turn them into successes.

In this course, exclusively for Mosaic Arts Online, Darcel Deneau takes the daunting and overwhelming out of drawing simple images with perspective. Using the grid method, you will learn how to draw an organic image from a reference photo and two images with one-point and two-point perspectives.

This course is intended to teach how to draw for mosaic art, but there is no reason you can’t use these drawing techniques in various other mediums, including painting and charcoal.

This course will transform the way you look at drawing. No longer will you be looking at a whole image; instead, you will see and draw lines and marks. By watching and learning how Darcel breaks down this process, you will have the skills to succeed in drawing each time.

In this course, you will learn the following:

  • How to crop an organic image for the best composition
  • The grid method for proportional scaling
  • How to add highlights, shading, and details
  • How to draw a one-point perspective street scene
  • How to draw in details with scale
  • How to draw a two-point perspective
  • How to use the horizon line and vanishing point for proper perspective

If you are a student of Darcel’s Perspective in Stained Glass Mosaic or Urban Landscape Mosaic, this course will enrich your skills and take you further, giving you even more confidence in drawing your designs for mosaic art.

Darcel has provided her suggested tools, materials, and resources in a downloadable PDF.



It was a treat learning from such an accomplished artist. Thank you for sharing your expertise on creating the proportion correctly using the grid and for guiding me through the one and two-point perspective drawing. It was a good review for me. Laura M.

Your Instructor


Darcel Deneau
Darcel Deneau

Adversity illuminated the importance of art for Darcel Deneau and without hesitation she redirected her life’s journey in pursuit of painting. In 2002, she earned a BFA from the College for Creative Studies. A native Detroiter, Deneau has been intrigued with painting images of the city for several years. In the last few years Darcel has transitioned her Detroit Landscapes into a new painting medium by painting with tiny bits of glass to create mosaic landscapes.

The switch to mosaics has proved to be a positive move earning her a prestigeous Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellowship Award this year and last year a Best in Show Award at the Anton Arts Center in Mount Clemens, Michigan in their Michigan Fine Art Competition juried by Detroit Institute of Arts Curator, Salvador Salort-Pons.

Deneau works daily in her studio and is actively involved in the Detroit art community. She has served as chairman of the board for the Detroit Artists Market, (DAM), and since has been elected as a member of the honorary board. Additionally, she is a member of the alumni council for the College for Creative Studies, (CCS). Since graduating nineteen years ago she has produced an impressive body of work, exhibited in numerous juried and curated exhibitions, including 13 solo exhibitions.

Deneau has earned a notable reputation for her Detroit landscapes and has been pursued for many commissions, including the 28th Detroit International Jazz Festival poster artwork, a large-scale Detroit landscape for the Hudson-Weber Foundation and a 29’ x 7’ mural for Garage Restaurant and Fuel Bar, in Northville, Michigan.

Deneau’s work has been widely collected by private collectors as well as corporate venues. Most recently, TCF purchased and installed a large mosaic for their permanent collection, which reflects a broad cross-section of art and artists from, and around, Detroit.


Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 14 days and we will give you a full refund.

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