Hello and welcome to my teacher profile!

My name is Adria, I am a life-long mixed-media artist with a bachelor’s in art history and studio art. I am an observational and free-hand artist. Observational art is an artistic process that emphasizes visual perception or looking. The first step in being able to draw well is knowing how to look and reference life in one’s personal environment, so I focus a lot on “looking” in my classes. Free-hand art is an artistic process that does not use tools like rulers, protractors, or stencils and instead relies on the artist’s own hand to make all the marks in an artwork. I encourage my students to work manually to create organic and personal artwork. I also believe creating without extra tools reduces the looming stress of “perfection.” I have a passion for the figure and illustration, but also enjoy still life subjects. Most of my classes on Outschool are centered around these genres! 

All the classes young artists take will me are designed with several goals intended to teach artistic methods and techniques, and curate an accepting and friendly classroom environment that is inclusive of everyone regardless of their background, skill level or knowledge. In my classes, I promote creativity, inspire students to master skills, and encourage them to push their art to new heights. After a young artist completes a class with me, I want them to be as passionate about art as I am, I want them to have skills and techniques they can apply to any kind of art they’re interested in, and I want them to become more confident in their work. I meet these goals in every class in a few simple ways. 

1.	I teach art techniques that are applicable to any form of art. These foundational techniques are accessible to artists of any skill level and when implemented, students find themselves more impressed with their work. 

2.	I emphasize that practice makes PROGRESS, not perfection. Many of the exercises we do in class will not produce beautiful artworks by themselves. However, the skills learned through these exercises will make a major impact on students’ work if they practice and implement those skills! 

3.	I encourage artists to be themselves. While some technique teaching exercises must be followed to the letter, most drawings we do in class are completely adaptable to what the learner wants to create. I love to see young artists’ styles shine through their work! 

4.	I do not require artists to show me their work or grade their work. While I love to be able to see student work so that I can provide critique, suggestions, and compliments, I understand that there is a performance aspect to art that can cause anxiety. My critiques focus on what my artists are doing well and occasionally include a suggestion or two for improvement. Artists do not have to change their work if they don’t want to. 

I have always found joy in art, particularly in drawing since I could hold a pencil. All my sketchbooks, even those ones with childish scribbles and inky smears, are displayed proudly on one of my bookshelves. It serves as a reminder that we all start somewhere, and that growth is always possible. Like your young artist, I am always growing. Every art class I teach hopes to provide your learner with all the knowledge and support they need to grow themselves. Even if your learner is not an aspiring artist, they will find they have a lot to gain from drawing and will enjoy the stress-free nature of my classes. Creating art has been proven to reduce stress, promote creativity, improve hand-eye coordination and hand dexterity, and increase concentration in learners. 

My work and teaching are based on several different texts, my experience, and my time spent in higher education. Here are some of the works I look to when creating curriculum:

“Visual Thinking” Arnheim, Rudolf
“About Looking” Berger, John
“Pen and Ink” by Dunn, Alphonso
“Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”  by Edwards, Betty
“Figure Drawing for Artists: Making Every Mark Count”  by Huston, Steve 
“Figure Drawing for All It’s Worth”  by Loomis, Andrew
“Thinking with a Pencil” by Nelms, Henning
“The Natural Way to Draw” by Nicolaides
“How to Draw What You See” by De Reyna, Rudy 
“The Complete Book of Drawing Techniques” by Stanyer, Peter
“Vilppu Drawing Manual” by Vilppu, Glenn 

Thank you for your interest in my classes and myself! Please feel free to send me a message if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. I look forward to meeting your young artist soon!