I can't tell you how many students come to me who have had years of art school and have never been "taught" how to paint! But their frustration ends at our front door!

Whenever an Artist speaks about a "linage" of instruction, it is a proud declaration of where their knowledge came from. Ours is a fusion of Northern European, Classical Italian and California Impressionism. With this background we can hone in on an individual's choice of style once foundations in painting are achieved.

The first “initiation” exercise that students in this class must accomplish is our Compass Rose exercise. This skill-based exercise teaches the student so many lessons; first, basic skills like brush strokes, values, color mixing, blending, glazing and much more. We work with a limited palette of colors and then modern pigments for final glazing. At the end of this project the student will be introduced to a new way of “seeing” and develop a visual language which will last a lifetime. The next exercise is a tradition that has been practiced for centuries... copying old master paintings. It’s as if Di Vinci himself were sitting on your shoulder and speaking to you, revealing his secrets from centuries past...and is now your teacher ...and all you have to do is listen.

After a series of master paintings, I encourage students to explore many other styles. Palette knife paintings, landscapes, still lifes and to explore images that move them in some way but to continue to use and apply the principles that they have learned in their previous exercises.