Teaching Private Art Lessons

Teaching Private Art Lessons

One of my favorite things to do is teach a student to paint with acrylics one on one.

It's so nice to be able to explain each step without interruptions or feeling rushed.

I have the student pick their subject beforehand and bring the size canvas they want. They bring a picture or a drawing. Usually we can complete a painting in two hours (16 x 20 or smaller). I charge by the hour, and the price includes all supplies except for the canvas. I'm always amazed at the results when you can instruct one on one! The steps I follow are: applying the wash to background, and while that is drying we sketch out what we want to paint and talk about the challenges and color schemes. Next we sketch out our painting with a small brush and some watered down paint in a lighter color. I never let students use a pencil on canvas. Then we mix our palette, select proper brushes and get to work painting. Acrylics dry so fast that we usually just paint wet on wet. I just make sure they don't have any clumps of paint. I always have a piece of paper hand so I can demonstrate how to paint something if they are challenged and then let them try. I never paint on their painting unless it's to smooth out areas at the very end.