Artist Ruthie V. and City Catering owner Lendy Hensley met as teacher and student a few years ago at an oil painting class at the Pratt Fine Arts Center and quickly formed a close friendship, bonding over a love of art and the energy of the creative community.
Inspired by their shared values, the two formed the Seattle Artist League (Northgate, 10219 Aurora Ave. N; 206.483.9749) in 2016, calling it a “people come first” art school.
How is it different than nonprofit art centers like Pratt or Gage? Its founders see art as a shared activity and put students at the center of their approach to teaching. The one-and-a-half- to four-hour courses take the pressure off of creating perfect artwork; instead, students focus on experimenting with individual styles with the support and fellowship of classmates.
Classes range from figure drawing sessions ($14 per session) to six- to eight-week courses, such as portrait painting ($310), and are offered by a staff of artists and art academics in the morning, afternoon and evening hours to accommodate busy professionals, so that anyone with an interest in art—and connecting with others with similar goals—can pursue their dream.
[image_with_animation image_url=”10178″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Wolfgang Paalen, Austrian, active in Mexico, 1905 – 1959 Smoke Painting (Fumage), 1938 Fumage is a surrealist art technique popularized by Wolfgang Paalen in which impressions are made by the smoke of a candle or kerosene lamp on a piece of paper or canvas. Similar to other surrealist art, the …
Ask nearly any artist “what is the most important thing to have with you at all times?” They’ll say a sketchbook. It’s a place for ideas, notes, and practice. It’s also a place where we can explore and try new things without pressure. A sketchbook page doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, it’s just a …
Can you guess the color? It’s just delicious fun to watch paint get mixed. Painters, notice how long it takes. It’s easy to get impatient with this part of the process when we’re painting, thinking the mix should instantly be mixed so you could get on with applying the next brush strokes, but really what good is the application …
Day 12: George Washington The instructions were to finish an unfinished portrait of George Washington. If you’ve gone into instagram or padlet and searched for #30SAL, you have probably seen some of the fabulous contributions from artists like you. From out of the dozens of interesting artworks responding to this challenge, here are a few. …
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New School Art School: Seattle Artist League Puts People First
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This article appears in print in the February 2018 issue. Click here to subscribe.
Artist Ruthie V. and City Catering owner Lendy Hensley met as teacher and student a few years ago at an oil painting class at the Pratt Fine Arts Center and quickly formed a close friendship, bonding over a love of art and the energy of the creative community.
Inspired by their shared values, the two formed the Seattle Artist League (Northgate, 10219 Aurora Ave. N; 206.483.9749) in 2016, calling it a “people come first” art school.
How is it different than nonprofit art centers like Pratt or Gage? Its founders see art as a shared activity and put students at the center of their approach to teaching. The one-and-a-half- to four-hour courses take the pressure off of creating perfect artwork; instead, students focus on experimenting with individual styles with the support and fellowship of classmates.
Classes range from figure drawing sessions ($14 per session) to six- to eight-week courses, such as portrait painting ($310), and are offered by a staff of artists and art academics in the morning, afternoon and evening hours to accommodate busy professionals, so that anyone with an interest in art—and connecting with others with similar goals—can pursue their dream.
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[image_with_animation image_url=”10178″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Wolfgang Paalen, Austrian, active in Mexico, 1905 – 1959 Smoke Painting (Fumage), 1938 Fumage is a surrealist art technique popularized by Wolfgang Paalen in which impressions are made by the smoke of a candle or kerosene lamp on a piece of paper or canvas. Similar to other surrealist art, the …
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Ask nearly any artist “what is the most important thing to have with you at all times?” They’ll say a sketchbook. It’s a place for ideas, notes, and practice. It’s also a place where we can explore and try new things without pressure. A sketchbook page doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, it’s just a …
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Can you guess the color? It’s just delicious fun to watch paint get mixed. Painters, notice how long it takes. It’s easy to get impatient with this part of the process when we’re painting, thinking the mix should instantly be mixed so you could get on with applying the next brush strokes, but really what good is the application …
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Day 12: George Washington The instructions were to finish an unfinished portrait of George Washington. If you’ve gone into instagram or padlet and searched for #30SAL, you have probably seen some of the fabulous contributions from artists like you. From out of the dozens of interesting artworks responding to this challenge, here are a few. …