As the dormant grass and bare trees serve as a reminder of winter, artist Brenda Pinnick is thinking ahead to the spring and wants fellow artisans to join her.

The Atlanta woman will teach a floral painting class from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at the Helen Arts & Heritage Center. The class fee is $75.

Participants will work from several different floral still life set-ups with dramatic lighting. A range of informative topics will be covered through demonstration as well as assistance on demand throughout the day. Some of those areas will include underpainting, design, values, color harmonies and discords, edges, brush and knife work and personal expression.

Each student will receive a handout covering the topics discussed.

A lifelong artist and Michigan native, Pinnick works in plein air and in her home studio. She studied fine art with an emphasis on painting and later in life graduated from the prestigious Creative Circus in Atlanta with a certificate in design and a professional portfolio of her work.

After graduating, she was recruited by Hallmark Cards to work as a hybrid designer creating gift wrap and gift bags, party ware and invitations utilizing her skills as a colorist and pattern designer. She later went to work for Plaid Enterprises, a manufacturer of crafting supplies including its widely known paint brands. She led the paper crafting design team and created art for stamps and scrapbooking. 

She left the company in pursuit of creating beautifully colored surface designs, delightful icons and unique product configurations. Pinnick partnered with an experienced manufacturer to produce crafting kit which sold millions of dollars on QVC and later, HSN. After reaching that level of success, she decided it was time to return to her passion of fine art painting.

In 2013, she said goodbye to her agents and returned to daily painting. 

For more information about Pinnick, visit brendapinnick.com. For more information about the center, visit helenarts.org.