If you think you can’t draw, this course is for you! This jumpstart into drawing expands the student’s ability to perceive and render the world around them. You will be introduced to contour drawing, gesture, mark-making, approaches to basic portraiture and figure drawing without measuring, and more. Don’t worry, you don’t need to know what all of this means!
No experience necessary. 😉
SUPPLY LIST: Bring your 2B pencil, an eraser and pencil sharpener, and a stack of inexpensive paper or a sketchbook
TUITION: $95 incl GST
TO REGISTER: Please email val@valnelson expressing your interest. Then, an E-transfer secures your spot! Please send to val@valnelson.ca
LOCATION: 2270 Cliffe Ave #228b, Courtenay, BC
Cancellation policy: Please provide 7 days’ notice if you need to cancel, at which point you can receive a credit toward a future class.
Six 3-hour sessions: THURSDAYS 4-7pm: Apr 11, 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16
Tuition: $425
Location: Val Nelson Studio, 2270 Cliffe Ave, Suite #228b
I so love teaching this class because I get to watch my students quickly move forward with their painting technique. My goal is for you to gain confidence to paint independantly in your home studio, and have some fun.
Not sure if this class is for you? Below are some common questions I am asked that I hope will inspire you to jump right in and get the paint flowing:
“Do I need to have painted before?” Some of my students are taking up their paint brush for the first time. We all knew how to make art when we were children. We were born creative! It’s just that some of us kind of forgot somewhere along the way! Be assured, it does come back with a little coaching. Some of you have enjoyed playing with paint and experimenting, but may have felt frustrated because of some technical questions you just couldn’t find a way around. That’s where I come in!
“I don’t really know how to draw.” Don’t worry! Learning to paint is largely allowing yourself to open up your perception. I take you step-by-step through a process that helps you train your brain to learn how to see more deeply. It’s super cool. In fact, you might even notice that as you expand your abilities in painting, you see the world around you differently too.
“What will I learn?” In six information-packed three-hour sessions, you will learn important steps to building an acrylic painting using a loose, impressionistic approach. As you paint a simple still life, I give demonstrations to help you understand the block-in, develop your work with more detail, and learn about how value, basic colour theory, edge control, and brushwork can be used to create a dynamic painting with strong structure. By the end of the class, you will have begun and possibly completed your own personal project.
Below is the final project of a student who had only “dabbled a little with watercolor” and done some introductory drawing with me before completing this course:
“Yikes, that sounds complicated!” Nope. The class begins with limited colour and gradually expands to full-colour projects. And the class size is small, so you get plenty of one-on-one instruction.
“I have a crazy schedule. What if I have to miss a class?” If you must miss a class, I will do my best to fill you in when you return.
“Great! When does it start, and how much does it cost?” Classes start Thursday afternoons, 4-7 pm beginning Apr 11, 2024.
TO REGISTER: Please email val@valnelson expressing your interest. Payments made via E-transfer to : val@valnelson.ca 778-865-2650
SUPPLY LIST provided upon registration
Cancellation policy: Please provide 7 days’ notice if you need to cancel, at which point you can receive a credit toward a future class.
I offer in-person classes at my professional art studio in Courtenay, Vancouver Island. Check the Classes menu above for current offerings. These often include Painting for Beginners, Intermediate Painting, my One-Day Drawing Crash Course, Landscape Painting, and sometimes my Loosen Up! painting course. If you have a class idea you would like me to offer you or your art group, let me know.
I also offer private lessons, lessons for two, drawing and painting demos, mentorship for serious students wanting to build a professional art practise, and art talks. I am also offering Zoom classes depending on space in my schedule. See below for details. 🙂
Feel free to reach out if you would like to learn with me! val@valnelson.ca778-865-2650
Landscape Painting Weekend
One-Day Drawing Crash Course
Painting for Beginners
GIFT OF ART Coupon: Do you have a loved one you would like to inspire through gifting them with a class coupon? Email me and we can set that up! val@valnelson.ca
CUSTOM PRIVATE CLASSES for Individuals and couples – Bring a friend, family member, or co-worker! I design lessons just for you, based on your needs and your schedule. You get plenty of personal attention in these intimate classes! Choose from some of the lesson ideas in the Class Menu, or let’s chat and come up with a plan.
Privates: $120/hr / Package of 4 hours $425
Classes for two: $160 / Package of 4 hours $640
Group Classes: $400 half-day / $750 full day (half-day is 3 hrs/full day 6 hrs)
I offer customized in-person group art sessions for art groups, to nurture corporate and small business staff team-building.
Mentorship/Critique: $120/hr
Artist talk: $350
Painting Demo: $350
*Cancellation policy: Please provide 7 days’ notice if you need to cancel, at which time I will be happy to credit you toward a future class within a year of your class purchase.
About the Instructor: For Val, painting is an act of devotion, offering a profound pathway to self-realisation and transformation. “Pigments have a consciousness. When I paint, I imbue these materials with the focussed energies of my heart, mind, and gestures of my body. The pigments absorb these energetic frequencies, and project them back out to the viewer. Painting is its own language, beyond words and the limitations of the logical mind.”
A former professional ballet dancer, Val went on to study at Emily Carr University, where she graduated in 1988 with honours and received the Helen Pitt Award. A finalist in the Royal Bank Painting Competition, Val has been painting full-time since 2003, exhibiting for a number of years at Bau-Xi Gallery in Vancouver and Toronto, and Galerie de Bellefeuille in Montreal. She has attended residencies at Vermont Studio Centre and St Georges’ Senior School in Vancouver, and has taught painting at the Shadbolt Arts Centre, Emily Carr University, Vancouver Island School of Art, and since 2009, out of her private painting studio. Her work is in public collections including Canada Council Art Bank, Surrey Art Gallery, Vancouver General Hospital, and many private collections. Val has 1800+ students and five-star reviews for her online painting course with Craftsy.
Lovely artwork by a 12-year old student who has been studying oil-painting with me. Her choice of subject matter was the family dog. How can that not be inspiring?
I teach online and in-person group and one-on-one painting and drawing classes . My classes include Painting for Beginners, Painting Landscape, Colour Theory, Drawing, and sometimes Open Painting Studio for artists to keep the momentum going in their practice in the company of others artists (see the Class menu at the top right of the page).
My home studio is in Courtenay, about a half-hour south of Campbell River on Vancouver Island, and just a little over an hour north of Nanaimo. Private sessions are customized to the student’s specific needs. I teach all levels, from age 11 to adult. The focus for the sessions may include general painting technical training, critiques and/or coaching, to help students with their creative process. My approach is positive and constructive; I teach painting in oil or acrylic.
I also love performing demos for painting groups and art stores, such as the Opus Art Supplies demos I have done over the years.
Do you have an idea for a class you would like to see that is not listed above? Shoot me an email or give me a call and perhaps we can set something up for you! Class fees under “Other Options” in Classes drop-down above. 🙂
