10-student limit in classroom with professional instructor.
• Students participate in the Art Show in June.
• Encouraging atmosphere.
• At the end of the year for the kids, there is a final group 3-D Spring painting project.

In-depth:
This class is for students who have a passion for art. Whether the just love to create for themselves, or may even be considering a career in the commercial arts, or as a fine art painter. 2 years of Foundations is usually required, but the class is open for consideration to individuals who submit a portfolio and already have learned some of our foundational concepts. The style and strengths of each artist is developed and encouraged. The goal in this class is to continue creating a personal expressive direction, and build up a portfolio of work that reflects this. We also touch on the less creative but important aspects of art, such as presentation and even legal issues that artists should be aware of. Sometimes we will explore new media, such as block printing, conte crayons, oils, and watercolors if the student wishes to head in new directions. (The supplies for these are not on the list and are optional purchases, as are larger canvases.)

Tuition: $900 for a 35-session curriculum.
or 9 monthly payments of $100 (there is also a once-a-year $25 registration fee)

Art supplies are available from Firstlight
Save time, money and gas with our 15% off msrp supplies.
You can download a list of supplies for Expressions & Foundations HERE.

PAINT COLOR LIST:
(please use exact names listed) YOU CAN GET ANY BRAND!! The cheaper brands are good for beginners and are called “student grade”. They cost less, and since young students tend to waste more paint and don't like to mix as much, it's the best choice for them. The expensive tubes are the same colors, but they have more actual pigments in each tube. I use Golden Acrylics, but I extend the color by mixing with lots of white. Golden is the top of the line professional brand.

Safety note: Please do not get actual Cadmium or Cobalt colors. Cadmium and Cobalt are toxic heavy metals, similar to lead. However, if the name includes the word, “HUE” it is ok, because it means that it does NOT have these toxic metals in them, but are just trying to mimic the hue of the paints that do use the metals. If you're unsure, ask the sales people to help you. Single pigment paint is best.

1 White (titanium) - get a large tube. We use a lot of white. DO NOT buy a student grade white, though. A professional tube will be more opaque and cover other colors better, making techniques much easier.
2 Non-cadmium light yellow, such as Hansa Yellow or Cadmium Hue
3 Non-cadmium warm red. Pyrrole Red or Napthol Red Medium or Cadmium Red Hue Medium.
4 Magenta red, or quinacridone magenta.
5 Pthalo Green (if noted, get blue bias, or blue shade, not green). Do not get the pretty greens as these are all mixable using pthalo and other colors.
6 Non-Cobalt bright blue, such as Cyan Blue or Curelean.
7 Ultramarine blue
8 Dioxazine Purple or Winsor Violet, (the Van Gogh or Amsterdam brand is called permanent blue-violet)
9 Burnt Umber
10 Raw Sienna

You can bring other colors, but we will not use them for most of our projects, as the palette will be too complex and/or it is harder to learn how to mix.

Some class notes:

• Please wear painting clothes or bring a good smock
• Bring your supplies in some kind of bin or carrier to keep them organized
• There is no room at the academy for students to store supplies
• Always bring all of your supplies to class
• Brushes should be kept in something that will prevent their being bent.
• We have drinks and some snacks for $1 each for afterschool empty stomachs!

Mr. D talks about supply cases

There are a lot of special bins in art stores, but my favorites are flat compartmentalized bins, which we have available to purchase, or hardware bins that you'll find at Lowe's or Home Depot. These hardware bins are very good storage for the price. I like the ones that are flat, with a lockable lid, and that have customizable cubbies using removable dividers. We have one like this, and there are some at every hardware store last I checked. You can make these work for brushes, paints and all your supplies except for the pads. Whichever you choose, it is a very good idea to have some sort of good case for transporting and arranging all of your supplies. We sell of of our things for at least 15% off msrp all the time.

You can also get a nice suitcase style tackle box, as long as you don't get the kind with the 2 or 3 trays that pop up and back as you open it. These fall over easily. The best of these is found at sporting stores and has a big main open case area, and an extra latch or two that opens up a flat storage area within the lid. Be careful to not get a small bin, or a typical ART BIN brand, as these will not accomodate the 13 -14 in. long handle brushes we use. The brush compartment should be around 15 inches wide.

For pads, when you come and go, you can grab the whole stack, placing all your work within the largest pad, but you can also get a portfolio case with a handle that makes it easier to move them about without damaging the corners or having them slip out and fall. We have some nice black nylon portfolios and some smaller plastic ones.