Beginner Painting: Express Yourself in the Studio!

Explore, experiment and create like never before in our easy-going, supportive and fun painting class! Learn about mixing color, adding light and shadow, brush techniques,  and more while building confidence and artistic intuition in a real artist’s studio setting with other creative friends!

🌱 Class Snapshot 🌱

🎈Say hello and share art from the past week
✏️ Step-by-step, guided drawing.
🎨 Step-by-step, guided painting: Learners encouraged to ask questions and get feedback
🎈 Share: No one will ever be pressured to share, no big deal to pass 
🎈 Goodbyes

✨ Thinking like an artist ✨
Our weekly practice will include discussions on color theory, mixing and color relationships; shading and tinting for value design; opacity, texture and layering, depth and dimension, water control, basic strokes and textures, stippling, dabbing, dry and wet brush, value and light sources, blending and gradients, adding fine details, caring for brushes, sealing up paints and more!

🌼 Weekly Subjects 🌼

Week of May 5: Minecraft - cubes and shadows -  paint or pastel (requested)
Week of May 12: Clouds - washes and water plumes - any paint (requested)
Week of May 19: chibi dragon - paint or pastel
Week of May 26: A mountain landscape - paint or pastel
Week of June 2: Snoopy - paint or pastel
Week of June 9: A bear - paint or pastel
Week of June 16: Pride & Other Flags - paint or pastel
Week of June 23: Botanical - paint or pastel
Week of June 30: Abstract - paint or pastel
Week of July 7:     Portrait - paint or pastel
Week of July 14:
Week of July 21:
Week of July 28:

More dates and subjects are added ongoing, and learner requests are incorporated!

✨  Growth Mindset ✨

In our classes, we are building a multi-layered scaffolding of the love of learning that is rooted in the idea that we can find inspiration every day to start again right where we are, finding satisfaction and pride in seeing our progress! Learners who stick with our classes over time come to believe that experimenting, problem solving, setbacks, re-trying and breakthroughs among the support, kindness and inspiration of peers and qualified mentors leads to more flexibility, innovation, courage and self-confidence in not only their art skills, but in all other areas of life! And we have a lot of fun doing it!

We use conversation prompts to create an inspiring atmosphere where artists learn to trust their intuition. We use targeted practice to break down the mechanics of a complex and difficult skill like art into easy, achievable steps, while having fun and building connections and friendships over what we love and struggle with in the art process!

✨  Classroom ✨ 

Our classes are anchored in kindness, affirmations and fun! We do not use competitions or comparing. Constructive, hamburger-style critiques are offered by the teacher. There is a variety of skill level in each group, and we validate and help kids feel good about wherever their skill is. Kids love to share their art and bond over what they love and struggle with. We teach learners how to find joy and delight in their practice, which motivates them to do it more.

🎨  MATERIALS (see recommendations in the materials section) 🎨

• Learners are welcome to use the paint and pastels they have at home! The teacher will help each learner know how their material might sometimes act different! Examples: Acrylic, gouache, watercolor, oil pastel, soft pastel

• A couple Round brush sizes, one or two flat or filbert brush sizes, fan brush optional
• Paper, thicker than printer paper or it might rip
• A rag or paper towel, 
• water
• something to mix paint on