Painting Classes
Painting in Oil, WaterColor, and Acrylic, learn the basics all the way to professional level. All ages in both private and group lessons. We paint outside where nature gives us the best light and inspiration, in the painting garden adjacent to the music studio with full amenities. The best of both worlds! Since painting sessions run an hour to 2 or more there is always plenty of fresh tea, drinks, and snacks to keep you going.
Note: Painting Parties for birthdays and such are also available. Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
NEW CLASS!
The 30 Minute Watercolor Class
This Fall 2024
I am so excited to announce the new painting class: 30 Minute Watercolor!
This class has been on the secret menu for a long time and I am finally ready to add it as an official option to my all-inclusive lessons package. Previously painting in oil was only available as a two hour block and only outside in the garden, making it an amazing summer class option, but sadly closed down in the winter time when it is not a reliable time to learn outside. The same with acrylic painting which can only be done in the shortest block of one hour sessions. These sessions can be hard to find unless your been on the waitlist for a while, which is why I am so excited to add the 30 Minute Watercolor option this year!
I love watercolor for its ease of setup, you don't have to don special painting clothes, easy to clean up afterwards saving even more time, and I have designed special projects that are timed to finish in 30 minutes, or to do in 30 minutes stages. And best of all, now we can paint indoors which means it is available all year just like guitar piano ukulele vocal coaching songwriting and recording!
Mini Color Pallette
This is a beautiful class study where we start with color as the inspiration before doing a miniature ( which dries fast and you can take home in one day, also a great gift ) abstract style landscape. Students pick the color palette and landscape. Think of your favorite combination of colors or do a quick Pinterest search for Colo Pallette to get your creative inspiration flowing:)
Artist Tip #1: Anything can be a color palette you do not have to use house paint samples to get mixing, take these macaroons they will make a beautiful summery painting when combined with a field of flowers landscape.
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Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
Cloud Study
Ah, the puffy, creamy, wonderful cloud. One of my favorite things to paint. Learn a few techniques to help you develop the kind of cloud you most want to paint, do you like old antique-style clouds? Or happy puffy ones, maybe storm clouds building overhead? You pick, and as with all classes, everything you need will be here including paints aprons canvas mediums, and snacks:)
Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
On Black
Reverse your entire perspective of color in this fun class on Painting on Black. Every color that you lay down over the darkness absorbs it tenfold, pinks, greens, everything is bolder, more beautiful, different, students as always choose their subject, this is a great one for the study of flowers like a beautiful peach rose in a clear glass or a neon green orchid, for example, you can go bold or delicate, new or old style. Belo is a fun study of vibrant raw Cacao Pods that surely looks better on black than white!
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Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
Shoreline Study
In this class we will study how to make the effects of a shoreline more realistic, there are a few fun tricks to making the bubbling whitewash come up over the sand and back into the deeper blues of the water. A Study is a fun way to work on and learn one single technique you can use for the rest of your painting life. As always students pick their own photo to work from so you can be sure it is inspiring to you.
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Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
Faux Oil
Wondering how to get amazing texture with your acrylic paints? Oil (although my favorite) is heavier, stains clothes need ventilation, and takes a few classes just to get the hang of mixing, using, and applying to canvas. I make my own non-toxic limestone mixture we apply to acrylic to get the best of both worlds. Think of the texture and viscosity of oil with the ease of setup clean up and usage of acrylic- not to mention dries the day of versus weeks or months with true oil.
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Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
Time-Lapse Video
Make your very own time-lapse video that speeds up your hour of painting into a 30-second video to take home with you! A fun way to share your work with others and great posting material. I will set you up with all you need, this is a great time to do a painting style and subject you are familiar with as it does feel like someone is watching you when the camera gets turned on- there is no pausing when making a timelapse, which makes for a quick and easy project:)
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Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
Seed Packet
I love the design principles of the Art on Seed Packets, we get to combine old-world fonts with beautiful types of flowers or vegetables. This is a really fun project to do for yourself with your own name or fun saying "Sophias Magical Unicorn Seeds" or do one for a personalized gift. Start by finding some seed packet art at a local store or Pinterest away, as always the student (that's you!) decides what subject we will be painting.
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Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
Pet Portrait
No surprise this is one of the top most popular class requests. How to turn your favorite furry friend into a painting that I promise you will want to hang! I am always surprised how well these ones turn out, every single one in fact that I have done in my classes has been so adorable we are literally giggling when their cute little face appears on the canvas.
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Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
Spirit Animal
Talk about a FUN class, in this class, we will determine your spirit animal (if you don't already have one) and do a whimsical meets realistic portrait style of your sloth, unicorn, llama, eagle, etc. to resemble your personality with clothing effects, drinks in hand, or any other creative add ons- we start with a matching character wallpaper that goes behind your spirit animal. This si also one that I LOVE to do for gifts!
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Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
Beautiful Skin
I still remember wishing I could paint skin that looked beautiful and not like a cartoon- in this class we will do just that! All classes can be in Oil Acrylic or Watercolor:)
Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
Still Life
This is a beautiful class study where we start with color as the inspiration before doing a miniature ( which dries fast and you can take home in one day, also a great gift ) abstract style landscape. Students pick the color palette and landscape. Think of your favorite combination of colors or do a quick Pinterest search for Colo Pallette to get your creative inspiration flowing:)
Artist Tip: Anything can be a color palette you do not have to use house paint samples to get mixing, take these macaroons they will make a beautiful summery painting when combined with a field of flowers landscape.
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Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
Palette Knife
In this class I share the love for my own style which is a very loose way of painting called Alla Prima (The first! which sort of translates to letting the first smear of paint be the only one in that spot, so you can see every stroke when it is finished) where we use ONLY a palette knife, and yes it is as wonderful as it sounds. This can be done in Oil and also with Acrylic mixed with a thickening agent. You can also see the California Heatwave series in my painting store to see even more variations on this style of painting.
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Artist Tip #2 : When you use only a knife, cleanup is a dream!
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Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
Hills Bushes Flower Feild techniques
This is a study in landscapes where we come across all kind of fun things in one picture, scrub bushes, lakes, trees, hills covered in different plants- as always you pick the picture and we will tackle it in class.
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Artist Tip #3: When you are not sure what pictures to use, go through old trips you have been on, you are sure to want that memory hanging on your wall.
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Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
Plein Air Mini-Outing Retreat!
For the adventurous artist, we will pick a nice place to go down, either to the beach or a vantage point above town, pack a little lunch and head out at the best light. Bring a hat & I will have the rest for us to learn how to paint in the field!
Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.
Artists Choice!
As with all lessons you get to pick your subject and style which I tailor to you & this selection of class is just that- absolutely anything you can imagine, size, medium, style, & subject matter! See you at the easel:)
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Contact here for a Painting Session or email me at Aja@Ajalee.com.