Acrylic Painting Class Sampler

Here are a few of the paintings produced during fall's Painting in Acrylics course...

August:  The first day we created a color wheel and got to know our palette.  The next class we jumped in and produced this riot of flowers in a glass. 

In September we practiced building form through shadow/highlights and I led the students step by step to paint a simple still life of a brown jug.  Students produced wonderful big red cherries on their own.  (failed to get cherry photos)  :o( 

In October we tackled sunset skies and water... both a challenge.  Pushing through the awkward stage of a painting and learning from failures are important.

Painting birds and other animals... (here's a couple sandpipers)

 
In November students are now using the basics they've learned to paint directly from the resource of their choice (or their imagination!) to create paintings, I am no longer demonstrating the paintings step by step now.  (Not pictured; During one class we dabbled in some traditional folk art techniques known as 'Tole Painting'. WAY back in the 80's I learned Tole from a dear friend.  That was my first experience with acrylics as a medium.) 

This week we had our final class of the semester... it has flown by!  These young ladies have grown so much in their skill and confidence!

What a blessing it is to cheer my students on in their pursuit of creativity!  :)  Can't wait to see where it leads them. This is just a small sampling of the artwork done during the semester. 

I anticipate having a fresh load of students in Beginning drawing in fall of 2014!   In the meantime I'll be refreshing my own growth and tweaking my year long course for Drawing and helping to oversee a statewide Art Contest for next years Homeschool Convention!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my past students, their fabulous art encouraging families and to those of you out there who may be future students!

I'm back!

I'll be offering just two classes for 2013's fall semester.   So new folks checking out the website aren't confused here is the latest.

I'm teaching a 2nd/3rd year painting class on Thursdays... this class is technically 'full' as it is only open to past students who have completed a full year of drawing.

The class that is open to new students is Beginning Drawing... it will be held either on Tuesdays or Fridays (bi-weekly) beginning in September and going through early December.  I can teach a morning class from 10 am to 12:30 pm, OR an afternoon class from 1pm to 3:30 pm.  One day and one time will be chosen.  Classes are $25 each, which is $50 per month, due at the first class of each month.  It is open to students aged 12 - high school.  (studious 11 year olds will be considered and women aged 18-99 desiring to learn to draw are also welcome).  Class is limited to 6 students total.  3 student minimum to make a class happen. 

If you are interested please leave your email in a comment and I'll get in touch with you as soon as possible.  You must be available for one of those 2 days and times... other days/times are not up for discussion at this time. 

Please scroll down to earliest post to learn more about the content of this class.

Thank you! 

Painting Class in Progress.

It's been great adding a painting class this year.  It's for students who completed a full year of drawing previously.  Here are a couple of the demonstration paintings done recently, and then a photo showing a sample of the students' just turned in homework assignments.

Neocolor wax pastels on black, of a fall still life...

Watercolor lesson on retaining whites...

Student's first paintings...

Homework; watercolor tinting in one hue, wax pastel 'vibrant' birds, pastel flowers on brown paper.

  

Meet the Teacher!

Here I am, getting the dining roo...er, Class-room ready for a new semester of drawing and painting fun. 

Class Information

DRAWING CLASSES  (and Painting)

I am a recently 'retired' homeschooling mom (13 years, graduating our youngest in 2011) now offering drawing classes for middle-school through high-school homeschoolers (age 11 and up). These are foundational drawing classes which focus on the elements of art and composition.  Primarily using pencils and charcoal, students will develop and strengthen observational skills and learn to draw a variety of subject matter realistically. Classes are appropriate for experienced or beginning students.  The classes are bi-weekly and include detailed homework assignments to complete between classes. Each semester course earns a half credit on the high school transcript. Classes are small and personal with a maximum of 5 students per class.  

DATE / TIMES:

Thursdays; This class will be held the 1st and 3rd Thurs. of each month, beginning Sept 6 - Dec 20th. Class time is 1 pm to 3:30 pm. (class closed/in progress)

Mon, Tue OR Wed;  I'm taking names of families who would like a Mon, Tue or Wed. class (bi-weekly). If 2 students' families would prefer the same day/time I'd like to open another class (exact day & times tbd).  Please email me asap with the day(s) of the week which work for you and whether you would need morning or afternoon classes.  I do not teach evening classes.

Fridays; I teach a Painting class on Fridays (2nd and 4th Fridays, each month) which starts August 31.  This class is actually designed for my second year students who are ready to begin mastering color (pastels/watercolor) and any new student interested will need to already have foundational drawing skills and some understanding of art terminology.  A student with strong drawing skills should be fine. I will need to see some samples of an interested student's drawings as a prerequisite to acceptance in this class.(class closed/in progress)

LOCATION: Classes are taught in our home near I-10 and Ray Road, in Phoenix, 85044.

COST: The fee for each 2.5 hour class is $25 per student, totaling $50 per month. 10% discount for siblings.  Plus required supplies.  A deposit of $25.00  to hold your student's place is required, and will be applied to the first month's payment.

CONTACT: For more information or to request a spot, email me at AZ Kate @ gmail.com (remove all spaces) or please leave a comment with your email address and I'll respond as soon as possible. 

Scroll down to see samples and more detailed information.  Thank you! 

Samples

 A few samples of student artwork. For this beginning class we do all sketching in pencils and some charcoal.  It is easier to learn the foundational elements working with a simple monotone media, we will delve into color on just a couple occasions for fun.  Second year students will be working in color media.
Here is a student's charcoal still life and next a charcoal study of draped cloth.

A pencil drawing done to practice accurate proportions of people and the next photo is of an assignment to draw a well proportioned facial portrait of a gentleman (assorted pencils on toned paper).  

Before and After

Below are some snap shots of 'before' and 'after' drawings from some of last years students.  During the first class students draw their self portraits having no previous instruction. The second sketch is the same student's self portrait, drawn on their last day of class.  Here are the results!  (Click on the photos to view them at a larger sizer and higher quality)


 (I apologize for the poor quality of ALL these photos, the original drawing was scanned with an average home scanner, which was running out of toner and thus created blotchy spots on some of the copies.  Then I took photos of the scans with my little 'point and shoot' camera... so they lack the crispness and clarity of the original drawings, but you can at least get an idea of the difference in skill levels at the beginning of the year versus the end) :)

These first 3 are from a few of my high school students.  2 had never had any drawing lessons, and 1 had enjoyed drawing as a hobby for fun.

Here are some of my middle and junior high students before and after portraits...

(Again, apologies for the photo quality!  I tried to improve this next batch by photographing the scans individually then creating a collage, it helped a little. :-/ )

As you can see all the students display a marked improvement in their ability to draw realistically, to capture a good likeness of their subject (themselves!), and in adding texture, tone, detail, and shading.  They all had varying degrees of drawing ability when they began, and all of them honed their skills, some a little and some quite a lot.  I helped equip them with the tools they need to get over the notion that 'drawing is hard' or that 'some people are naturally talented and others just can't draw'.  That is not true... some people do seem to intuitively know how to draw realistically, the rest of us just need to be shown the right way to see along with some helpful techniques and we can all draw fairly well.  Any one can draw beautifully if they take the time to learn and practice.     ;)