Art Class Schedules

Vincent Van Gogh and Frank Weston Benson are powerhouses of Impressionist style. We are going to look at many Impressionist examples of water reflections, and use stamping to create our own composition.

Maud Lewis was a folk artist from Nova Scotia. Her untrained paintings captured people’s attention, including art collectors from around the world. Let’s create a pure expression of art: colors, symbols, and childlike simplicity.

The Lunar New Year will inspire our lesson with the wonderful medium of clay. Let’s learn how to form different shapes, and create a friendly clay dragon for good luck.

Corresponding to the current exhibit at the VMFA, we will look at artists depicting music and musical instruments. Children will create a painting of a stringed instrument after seeing “The Banjo Lesson” by Henry Ossawa Tanner. 

Roses are the symbol of love! Let’s paint of bouquet of colorful roses using some very unexpected tools: the cut end of a bunch of celery. Henri Fantin Latour knows roses, so let’s look at the soft colors and textures of his paintings.

Portuguese artist Paula Rego painted “The Dance.” We see the artist paint herself dancing in the many stages of her life: childhood and beyond. Children will dance, move, and then create their own portraits of themselves: past, present, and future!

Claude Monet, THE French Impressionist of the 19th century, captures the beauty of snow and shadows. What do you notice about “The Magpie” that is quite unusual? Let’s paint snow and shadows too!

Moving our focus down to Africa, we will look at the art of the African masks. Many are inspired by animals and give the wearer a new identity when they are worn. Let’s use fun colors, paper, and materials to create a wearable piece of art.

Vincent Van Gogh and Frank Weston Benson are powerhouses of Impressionist style. We will look at many Impressionists examples of water reflections, and begin our own painting by creating and stamping a mirror image.

Adding the details to last week’s painting, we will work on the details of the foreground. Students may opt to use different mediums to create contrast and definition.

The Lunar New Year will inspire our lesson with the wonderful medium of stoneware clay. Let’s learn how to handbuild different shapes, and create a friendly clay dragon for good luck. 

Clay dragons will have become “leatherhard” as they slowly dried from last week. Students will add underglaze colors to the details of their dragons. Dragons will be fired in a kiln and returned, but please be patient… pottery cannot be rushed!

It is time to work on our drawing skills. Let’s look at the beautiful and complex rose. Henri Fantin Latour is a master of roses, the symbol of LOVE.

Let’s develop a painting from our hard work. Using the developed composition and study of shapes and values from last week, let’s create a watercolor painting of the colorful roses.

Claude Monet, THE French Impressionist of the 19th century, captures the beauty of snow and shadows. What do you notice about “The Magpie” that is quite unusual? Students will begin with a black canvas and learn a reverse method of painting.

Let’s look at the tradition of the African masks. Many are inspired by animals and give the wearer a new identity when they are worn. Let’s use fun colors, paper, and materials to create a wearable piece of art. Three-dimensional paper sculpture meets engineering! 

Vincent Van Gogh and Frank Weston Benson are powerhouses of Impressionist style. We will look at many Impressionists examples of water reflections, and begin a miniature painting. Introduction to the main project: proposal of a piece to hang at Sunken Well. Their plans will be treated like an Individual Study project. Each student will choose a two-dimensional project and develop the plan all the way through to completion! Artwork will hang and be displayed Feb. 9th at Sunken Well Tavern on 712 Littlepage St.! (More details to come.)

Adding the details to last week’s painting, we will work on the details of the foreground. Students will fill out a proposal and present a plan for their piece of artwork. Instructor will discuss what materials and medium, as well as subject matter. Students will fully develop a plan and practice sketch, so that next week they will begin work!

 Students will begin their “Individual Study.” Drawing, painting, collage, pen & ink, or mixed media will be facilitated. Instructor will assist and coach as the students develop their piece.

A work period for the Sunken Well Show Piece. Students should plan to be almost finished with their artwork during this work period!

The finishing touches of the Sunken Well Show: prepare our pieces: signatures, fixatives, give pieces a title, prepare them with mattes, frames, appropriate hanging hardware… If time allows, students will develop drawing skills with sketches of roses.

Let’s develop a watercolor painting from our sketches of roses. Henri Fantin Latour brought out the beauty of peonies and roses: a symbol of love. 

ART OPENING NIGHT, Feb. 9th! If you meet on Thursday, please plan to come to Sunken Well before or after your class to be at the Art Opening! (5-9pm)

Let’s look at the tradition of the African masks. Many are inspired by animals and give the wearer a new identity when they are worn. Let’s use fun colors, paper, and materials to create a wearable piece of art. Three-dimensional paper sculpture meets engineering! 

Week 2 of our three-dimensional masks. Now that the base is built, what details can we add using paper and/or mixed media? Students will be encouraged to develop their own ideas for enhancing and finishing the masks.

Join us from 5-9 at the Sunken Well Tavern at 720 Littlepage Street! (Just 7 blocks from our studio!). The students will have their work exhibited for the month, and the Art opening will be held this night.  If you have class this night, join us before or after for light food and drinks.  Bask in the fame of being a famous local artist!