For the last 1000 years, people have been painting everything from walls, to canvas,
wood, objects and each other. When we look back 500 years at old paintings and countless artifacts, we cannot help feel it was a different time and energy. Artists back
then engaged in making art so it would last a life time which meant they where patient and skilled artisans. The intricate designs and beautiful colors tell a story of a
sophisticated people who where inventive and creative in the most amazing ways. Their skills astonish and entertain our imagination with themes of the human spirit,
magic, decoration, story telling, ideas and inventions. These people were spiritualists, artisans, artists and inventors who represent the very soul of the human race.
They were unique individuals born from a child's heart and the brain of a dreamer whose insights appear to be special. It can be said they possess the secrets of the
universe, sensitive to the slightest nuance, experience the deepest of emotions and observe the smallest detail down to the most bizarre psychological concerns.
In so many words these same qualities and skills can be developed in most of us today. Paint although relativity thin flows like magic from an experienced artists
fingers. Their brushes are made from the raw ends of wild animals and secret formulas which help release colors equal to the unimaginable images of the future. Painting and
paint are tools that respond to the mysterious sense of illusion, balance, style, tension and aesthetics. The act of creativity, painting and the making of art appear to be part
of a unique world. The reality, painting straddles two plans of existence. One side takes place on the creative side and the other on the practical side. It is the difference
between invention and applying paint to cover a surface with a notion of permanence. It is a perspective of seeing new images and being skilled at painting.
From the practical side, paint comes in many forms, which represent pigments combined with a vehicle that permits color to be applied to a surface. When we think
in modern concepts paint is defined as a 1. Physical pigment suspended in a liquid and 2. A mental idea referring to how color is applied. In the second definition the very
dynamics of color can be considered paint in a computer program. When you consider conventional applications of color, think of vehicles like water, oil, enamel, acrylic,
resin, gums, glues and other natural or synthetic elements. It is these vehicles that determine how the paint dries and how it reacts to a surface material. In other words,
we study the characteristics of a given paint so we know how to apply it correctly. From a creative side, painting is a means to apply color that engages our emotional
brain function. Artists paint using new ideas and old painting traditions. Current art materials provide artists freedoms in painting that have never been experience before
in our history. It can be also said that the new generations of painters continue to reinvent what it means to be an artist and painter. Today fine art painting is a creative
act and not a craft to decorate something. We see all kinds of work being produced from traditional portraits to abstract arrangements of color. Contemporary examples
of fine art or what is a good painting confuses most of us and we are at a loss to understand what is right. The truth, fine art today is meant to engage our deepest
senses and ideas of perception. Without proper study it will always be elusive to the uneducated Many painting techniques have been developed that are directly applicable to the
invention of new art materials and ideas. Most art material choices and painting techniques are available in the studio. Mentors in the studio guide and assist students
in all aspects of painting according to age, interest and experience. 
Beginning Oil Painting
Beginning Acrylic Painting
1. Materials 2. Mixing principles 3. Brush techniques 4. Painting using glazes 5. Blocking in color 6. Using a knife 7. Imagination painting 8. Composing a painting
Beginning Watercolor:
1. Materials 2. Mixing principles 3. Brush techniques 4. Blocking in color 5. Using salt 6. Imagination painting 7. Composing a painting
8. Realism techniques
Classic Painting, Indirect Painting
1. Materials 2. Mixing, fat over thin 3. Value Theories 4. Painting development, beginning, middle, end 5. Techniques,
Imprimatura and chiaroscuro 6. Developing a concept 7. References, models and props 8. Drawing or cartoons 9. Studies
10. Color theories 11. Developing a composition 12. Thesis
Direct painting:
Focused Painting Styles:
1. Portrait painting 2. Landscape painting 3. Still-life 4. Life 5. Narrative 6. Surrealism 7. Impressionism 8. Classical 9. Figurative
10. Animal 11. Floral and plants 12. Abstract 13. Color 14. Master artist studies
15. New avenues, example: Frottage, Decalcomanias, Gattage, Tape, Oscillation
Advanced Painting
1. Concept 2. Art in history concepts 3. Formulating processes 4. Patterns 5. Abstract thinking 6. Color theory 7. New avenues 8. Creative thinking, problem solving and paradigms 9. Thesis
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