Art Lessons
Thank you for your interest in art classes! My name is Emily Anderson, I am an artist with an undergraduate degree in Studio Arts from Rutgers University. I have been making art in various formats through the years with a focus on portrait painting in oils. If you’d like to see the type of artwork I make, check out the "Work" page of this website.
I offer teen and adult art classes in drawing and oil painting in my home studio in North Chatham County, NC (off Mann's Chapel Rd.). Classes are small in order to tailor the instruction to individual student interests and needs. Supplies are not included, see supply lists and current class offerings listed below.
Drawing skills are essential for any artist to carry out their creative vision. My classes focus on drawing from life (still life, portraits, plein air) with the additional use of photos for reference. Life drawing and painting are skills that will train the brain to look at the subject and translate that image to our own personal expression of seeing. Classes are a combination of structured instruction based on the fundamental principles of drawing/painting and self paced working time during which I provide individual support. I keep things very flexible and take cues from the students to tailor the class to their interests and skill levels. Much of the work we do in class is practice. While some finished pieces may be suitable for framing, it is not the intention that they all will be. If you or your student has a fine art project that they are passionate about working on, I can find a way to incorporate it into the class.
2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR
Please contact me for more information. Text @ 919-923-9944 or email kandeanderson@gmail.com. All classes have rolling admission with new students welcome at a time (class sizes are limited).
Teen Drawing: Wednesdays 4pm-6pm, September 6, 2023 - May 29, 2024. We will work in graphite, charcoal, pen and ink, mixed media, and chalk pastels. See class supply list below. Currently room for one more student ages 12+
Teen Oil Painting: Tuesdays 4pm-6pm, September 5, 2023 - May 28, 2024. See class supply list below.
NEW! Oil Painting ages 8-12: Thursdays 4-5:30pm. First class starts 3/14 with ongoing rolling admission. New students welcome at any time. Supplies included for first 4 classes, then refer to supply list below. Currently room for two more!
Adult Oil Painting: Fridays 10am-noon, September 8, 2023 - May 31, 2024. To enroll, email me at kandeanderson@gmail.com, or text 919-923-9944.
Homeschooling Daytime Classes: I'm available 9am-2pm Monday-Friday to help with your homeschool needs. Contact me to request a slot!
TUITION
Rather than a monthly tuition, classes can be purchased in 4-class packages for $160 and can be used any time (a punch-card format). I encourage ongoing attendance and hope my students can make it to 4 classes per month in order to most benefit from the curriculum, but I understand life gets busy, students get sick, rides might not work out, etc., so if a class is missed, it will carry over to the next month. I’ll keep track of your classes and let you know when you need to purchase another package. To register, please email me at kandeanderson@gmail.com or text 919-923-9944.
DRAWING CLASS SUPPLY LIST
I’m including a supply list with Amazon.com links only to give an example of the type of product. Feel free to get other brands or use what you already have at home. The paper sizes are suggestions, no need to buy a new pad if you have one at home in another size. It is nice to have the large newsprint pad for our warm up exercises. You can find many of these items in Walmart. Jerry’s Artarama is also a great place to purchase supplies, often with the lowest prices. They have a retail store in Raleigh and an even more extensive online shop with quick shipping.
A set of graphite pencils, including 2B, 4B, and 6B.
A set of compressed charcoal, soft or mixed set. Nitram brand compressed charcoal would be a step up in quality (variety pack mixed set)
1 or 2 kneaded erasers
Hi-Polymer eraser or Pink Pearl eraser (or any other large eraser)
11x14 (or larger) Drawing Paper
14x17 (or larger) Newsprint Pad
sandpaper sharpener or just regular sandpaper. I have pencil sharpeners in the studio, but if you have a little handheld one you may as well throw it in the supply bag. Helpful when we are working outside.
Optional: bound sketch book, 9x12 or smaller
Optional: Drawing Clipboard. This is great to have, you can find them for $20 at Michaels (search for Field Sketch Board and use that 20% coupon!). They seem to be more expensive on Amazon though you can get a range of sizes to fit your largest drawing pad. A simple piece of Masonite is also great (Home Depot will cut to size for free); you can add your own binder clips. I have several in the studio to use during class but students may want to have their own to transport work to/from class and to use at home.
OIL PAINTING CLASS SUPPLY LIST
You can find many of these items on Amazon.com. Jerry’s Artarama is also a great place to purchase supplies, and often has the lowest prices. They have a retail store in Raleigh and an even more extensive online shop with quick shipping.
12x16 (or larger) Primed Canvas Pad (not canvas paper!)….about $27 at Jerry’s Artarama. If you have stretched canvases at home or would prefer to use them instead of the canvas pad, that’s ideal, you'll just be paying a bit more for them compared to the primed canvas pad. Primed boards are also a good option and are (depending on brand) less expensive than stretched canvas.
16x21 cut piece of corrugated cardboard and masking tape to tape the canvas pad sheets onto…not needed if using stretched canvas or canvas board. If you bought a larger canvas pad, you'll need a larger sheet of cardboard. I often have some cardboard precut in my studio but can’t always guarantee it. A thin sheet of plywood also works well.
9x12 paper palette pad (suitable for oils, you can buy larger if you prefer)……about $10 at Jerry’s Artarama. These come in white or grey toned. Either is fine, I prefer using grey.
Gamsol, 16 oz or larger…..$14.25 at Jerry’s Artarama. Gamsol is Gamblin brand’s Oderless Mineral Spirits (OMS). We’ll use this to clean brushes and thin the paint for under-paintings. There are other brands of OMS (such as Turpenoid) , but Gamsol is widely viewed as the best and most definitely has the least odor. I’ll show you how to reuse your Gamsol so a bottle will last longer.
Gamblin Galkyd or Galkyd Gel, 4 or 8 oz…..$10 for 4 oz, $17.25 for 8 oz at Jerry’s Artarama. This is your paint “medium” which loosens the viscosity of the paint, speeds drying time, and creates glazes. If you have an oil painting medium from another brand, that’s fine, but make sure it is for oil paint, not acrylic. Linseed, walnut, or stand oil can also be used but will not speed drying time.
A container with a tight sealing lid to store your Gamsol solvent and clean your brushes. I use this one from Amazon: Brush Cleaner Prices range from $10-$25. A simple recycled glass container with screw top lid will also work but having some type of screen or metal to wipe the brushes on at the bottom is ideal. For a homemade version, you can flip over a tuna can, poke holes in it, and place it on the bottom of a metal coffee container (such as the old school Folgers cans).
Oil paints, 37ml tubes. I recommend Gamblin 1980 Series for an affordable student grade paint, but any others brands can be used. Professional grade paint will be more expensive because they contain less filler. Utrecht sells their own brand of oil paint which is of excellent quality. Purchase from their website Utrechtart.com.
Titanium White, 150ml tube…..$13.50 at Jerry’s Artarama
Burnt Sienna…$6 at Jerry’s Artarama
Cadmium Red Medium….$9 at Jerry’s Artarama
Alizerin Crimson Permanent….$9 at Jerry’s Artarama
Cadmium Yellow Light……$9 at Jerry’s Artarama
Cerulean Blue……$9 at Jerry’s Artarama
Ultramarine Blue……$7 at Jerry’s Artarama
Yellow Ochre…..$8 at Jerry’s Artarama
Ivory Black…..$6 at Jerry’s Artarama
. Raw Umber (optional)…..$6 at Jerry’s Artarama
Palette knife…..inexpensive, choose one about 1 or 1.5 inches long
Paint Brushes: Can be natural hog bristle or synthetic, or a combination. These shapes and sizes are a recommendation. If you already have others, by all means use them. Please don’t feel obligated to purchase ALL these brushes. You’ll want to experiment and see which types and sizes you prefer using. Creative Mark ProStroke is a good beginner’s choice, and a quality brush.
Bright (flat squared off shape) #2 (1/4 “) and #6 (3/8”)…..optional #4 and #8
Filbert (rounded edge) #2 (1/4#) and #6 (3/8”)……optional #4 and #8
Round #4 synthetic Princeton Dakota 6300 series (or any other sable or synthetic round #4)
Disposable Gloves if you would like to wear them. I always have a box of size medium in the studio and am happy to share.