Drawing & Painting

Is your child drawn to pick up a pencil? Hey! Don’t let them brush off their painting skills! Build abilities upon traditional basics. Even the youngest students can explore the challenges of figure drawing, simple perspective, composition, and expressive mark making. We believe drawing from observation is the most important tool in opening the world of art. Your child will work with a choice of professional materials such as acrylics, watercolor, pen and ink, pastels, and charcoal. Draw from still life, costumed models, and work from imagination while learning important stuff like proportion, perspective, composition, and hatching/cross hatching for value. Our still-life collection is guaranteed to surprise and inspire. They might even see Wyatt, our Studio dog! Supplies and model fees are included. This is our most requested class!

The Art Class

This is the class that put Studio Arts on the map. It’s the ideal environment for making art because it supports kids’ creativity, builds self-esteem, and rewards parents with art work created by their children that they’ll treasure forever. In this project-based class, kids use a variety of professional artist media balancing 2D and 3D to explore classical art techniques and traditions. Clay, mixed media, drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, weaving, bookmaking, illustration ideas and experimental fun is had in this class. If you can keep coming each semester, you may get to try it all. We rotate projects and mediums as the classes move along. Such a good foundation/intro to find your passion in art. GREAT for beginners who aren’t quite sure where their art mojo lies – also great for those who like creative variety – or those stuck in one medium who wish to expand and play.

Young Illustrator

Does your child enjoy drawing in pen and pencil? In fact, are they pretty much addicted to it? Then they might be headed for a career in illustration. We will offer projects to learn to express characters/action/place/style. These exercises could turn into either an entire comic or several illustrations (like for a book/ or an advert / a poster design / etc), depending on student’s interest. We also support future advertising artists, game creators, and manga masters here. Illustration, you know! We love supporting comic / manga in this class and often focus on new ways to approach a finished piece. This class really helps your digital work!

Wheel & Hand-build Clay

This class is fantastic for kids for so many reasons. Developmentally, working in clay assists hand-eye coordination. Give a kid a lump of clay and their brain slows down to allow inspiration to manifest. Our projects are designed with fun and learning in mind. Kids 8+ will have expert instruction in hand-building that will support their experience on the wheel. All materials included. Please note that all clay must be picked up within two weeks of the end of class end. Look for your clay on the back table outside.

Drawing & Painting

For Teens we now teach Drawing and Painting in our Work from Observation / Digital Art Exploration  / Young Illustrator and Art School Prep Classes. Choose one below.

Young Illustrator

Do you LOVE drawing in pen and pencil? In fact, are you pretty much addicted to it? You might be headed for a career in illustration! Take any good book as your subject matter and discover new ways to express characters/action/place/style. This class is sort of a book club for drawing geeks. We also support future advertising artists, game creators, and manga masters here. Illustration, you know! We love supporting comic / manga in this class and often focus on new ways to approach a finished piece. This class really helps your digital work!

Art School Prep and Portfolio Classes

The Portfolio Class, Pre and Post Portfolio Classes, for Admission to Booker T. Washington HSPVA, and Art School Portfolio Prep for College and High School classes are all available. For 30 years our studio has supported teen artists as they create individualized portfolios to prepare to audition for Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, other local high schools with portfolio requirements, and first-choice colleges and art schools for soon to be high school graduates. Art School Prep Class is year round. Portfolio Class Part 1 starts in March – it’s the Booker T Prep class for seventh through ninth graders interested in pursuing Portfolio class and continues in June for Part 2. Our College Portfolio offering called Art School Prep Class continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Barley Vogel, Studio Arts director, and her teacm have created a safe space that allows art students to gather as they build relationships and continue their transformation into creative, successful, young-adult working artists.

Please visit our Portfolio Preparation page for detailed information! Email Barley Vogel at Studioartsregistrar@gmail.com for more info.

Work From Observation / Drawing and Painting

Work From Observation

This classical training program supports a student to draw and paint like a pro!  Working from life – be it portraiture / still life / interiors / figure / buildings and landscape (sans screens or printed photos) but looking at actual things develops the connection between brain and hand and confidence. This class offers of loads of demonstration with focus on one on one support and traditional group critique. We use traditional and non traditional / experimental mediums to explore mark making and painting ranging from useful exercises to beautiful completed work. Our studio philosophy is rooted in learning to work from observation. A great class solo or in addition to porfolio preparation for for any level of art student.

Digital Art Exploration Class (Photography, Illustration, Editing, Procreate, Adobe)

Digital Art Exploration Class (Photography, Illustration, Editing, Procreate, Adobe)

Class Description & Objectives

This course is designed for students passionate about digital creation and eager to expand their skills in modern digital art platforms. Through hands on practice, learners will explore photography, digital illustration, photo editing, and creative software applicaitons such as Procreate, Adobe Photoshop, and other emerging digital tools. Bring a tablet/laptop to class with your favorite program.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

Navigate major digital art platforms including Procreate, Adobe Creative Cloud, and other creative apps used in professional digital art workflows.

Apply digital illustration techniques such as layering, brush customization, color blending, and stylization.

Capture and edit photographs using digital cameras or mobile devices, focusing on composition, lighting, and post‑processing.

Create polished digital artwork through guided projects that integrate illustration, photography, and digital editing.

Develop a personal digital art style by experimenting with tools, techniques, and creative approaches across multiple platforms.

Build a digital portfolio showcasing completed projects, process work, and creative growth throughout the course.

Understand modern digital art careers including content creation, illustration, animation, graphic design, and digital media production.

This class prepares students to confidently create in a digital world and supports those interested in pursuing digital art professionally or as a creative passion.

Young Illustrator for Teens

The perfect class for budding cartoonists, super fans of animee, inventors of endless characters, and lovers of graphic novels. This class is a great choice for those artists who wish to make their own illustrative work with traditional / experimental mediums and for those digital junkies who need a bit of pencil to paper art class skills to support their goals and passion for digital art.