Classes 

At The Charles H. Taylor Visual Arts Center, we believe the best way to keep the arts in your life is by creating art throughout your life. Our educational programs allow visitors and students to broaden their understanding and appreciation of art by interacting with art, artists, and instructors, while expressing themselves through the creation of their own artwork.

The Arts Center has approximately 20 classes in various media throughout the year on a quarterly basis. These include drawing, watercolor, painting, photography, and other media. Both one day workshops and multi-week class sessions are offered. Our award winning artist instructors exhibit widely throughout Hampton Roads and have 10 to 40 years of teaching experience.

Fall 2022 Class Schedule

Beginner Watercolor Painting with Alex Drewry
Tuesdays, Sept. 20 to Nov. 8, 1:00pm to 3:30pm
Price: $160 (HAL: $155)
Join Alex Drewry in exploration of watercolor painting. Students will be engaged in applying techniques and learning the basic fundamentals of watercolor. Working alongside the instructor, students will find their own unique style and be able to fluidly apply both basic foundations and your own creativity. Dress for a mess is encouraged and basic drawing skills are not necessary, but welcomed!

Delving Deeper into Watercolor Painting with Pam Oden
Wednesdays, Sept. 21 to Nov. 9, 10:00am to 12:30pm
Price: $160 (HAL: $155) $15 Live Model Fee paid to Instructor
This class is designed for students who already possess basic fundamental skill in handling watercolor. Students will be encouraged to ‘delve deeper’ into Design, Value, and Color. Class topics will include still life, collaging a landscape/seascape, ‘figure’ design adding pattern, and non-representational abstract design. We will look at design principles employed by contemporary artists for inspiration. Students will work from ‘live’ setup and from their own photos.

Introduction to Mixed Media – Small Art Making with Alex Drewry
Wednesdays, Sept. 21 to Nov. 9, 1:00pm – 3:30pm
Price: $160 (HAL: $155)
Small art is a fun way to practice presence, to explore big ideas and to invite small acts of creativity into your daily life. Small art is playful, challenging, rewarding, and easy to complete. This class offering will provide several drawing, painting, and embroidery techniques that invite you to immerse in play, creativity, and mindful art making. This class is designed to deepen artistic practice and work with a variety of different media (drawing, watercolor, mono printing, acrylic painting, and more)

Assemblage with Alex Drewry
Thursdays, Sept. 22 to Nov. 10, 1:00pm to 3:30pm
Price: $160 (HAL: $155)
Join artist Alex Drewry and explore the infinite possibilities that is assemblage. Assemblage, or found object art making, repurposes natural and manufactured objects into artistic representations. After a brief introduction into the history of assemblage, students will begin with a simple arrangement focusing on color. Throughout the course, students will explore assemblage art making through five unique hands-on projects: color gradient, neighborhood finds, thrift store grab bags, editions, and shadow boxes. Participants will learn how to gather and prepare items, select proper attachment tools, and use problem-solving techniques that are required when working with found objects. Assemblage is a unique artistic endeavor, which will leave students with a new perspective on everyday items and their environment.

Introduction to Printmaking with Alex Drewry
Thursdays, Sept. 22 to Nov. 10, 4:00pm – 6:30pm
Price: $160 (HAL: $155)
Join artist Alex Drewry in the exploration of Printmaking. Students will be exposed to a variety of different techniques and create abstract and or bold graphics. The students will learn to use different tools such as rollers, sponges, lino-plates, and textured plates to create their prints. Don’t miss this opportunity to dive into and come out with unique prints!

Introduction to Alcohol Ink with Tammy Burgett
Thursdays, Oct. 6 – Nov. 10, 10:00am to 12:30pm
Price: $125 (HAL: $120)
This class is designed for anyone that desires to learn more about alcohol ink as an art medium. The class will cover the fundamentals of alcohol ink: introduction to alcohol ink and the various mediums you can work on, tools and techniques to move inks and create texture, brush handling, and preservation of your work. We will briefly talk about composition, shape, line, value, color and texture as we work with the inks to create abstracts, florals, landscapes and seascapes. Alcohol inks are wildly unpredictable – this can be either a lot of fun or very frustrating! Come with an open mind and a chill attitude. Because of the nature of the inks it’s almost impossible to exactly duplicate a piece, so it’s guaranteed that no two creations will be identical but they will all be beautiful. Your individuality and uniqueness in creative expression is strongly encouraged.

Fall 2022 Workshop Schedule

Mask Making Workshop with Alex Drewry (Part I & Part II)
Saturdays, Oct.1 & Oct.15, 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Price: $65 (HAL: $60)
Join us for a two part workshop with Alex Drewry as we dive into the process of Mask Making! Throughout history, masks were worn for a multitude of purposes; ceremonies, war, burials, and more. Part I of the workshop will focus on the process and creation of the physical mask using plaster and paper clay. Part II will focus on incorporation of mixed media to decorate your unique mask. Dress for a mess and enjoy a fun, unique experience in the exploration of Mask Making!

Painting from Realism to the Abstract Form with Ken Wright
Saturday, October 22, 11:00am – 2:00pm
Price: $65 (HAL: $60)
Join instructor Ken Wright in diving into the wonders of abstract painting. Participants will learn how to transform realism to abstraction in working with both acrylics and oil paints. Hear the Melody, See the Movement and Feel the Emotion. The process of teaching is to help students develop their painting skills, and understand better the abstract image.

Charcoal Oil & Cold Wax on Paper with Eloise Shelton-Mayo Workshop
Saturday November 5, 11:30am – 3:30pm
Price: $75 (HAL: $70), plus $15 material fee paid to instructor in class.
Join us for this fun and unique workshop where you’re introduced to the processes that Eloise has discovered to create paintings where charcoal is the star. This workshop has been fun and successful for students too. Contrast, value and composition considerations will be addressed. We’ll create a series of pieces that show the drama and intrigue that can be created with this medium. Students will be working on a series of 3 pieces in the workshop which can be set up ahead on cardboard or other rigid support using painters tape to tape off 3 5” x 7” or 6” x 6".

Holiday Christmas Tree – Alcohol Ink Workshop with Tammy Burgett
Saturday, November 12, 10:00am – 1:00pm
Price: $65 (HAL: $60)
The holidays are upon us and as you’re decorating your home and your own Christmas tree, let’s create a beautiful painting of a Christmas tree you will be able to display in your home year after year. Using alcohol ink on a specially prepared 8x10 canvas you’ll incorporate two different techniques for working with the inks - wet on wet and dry brush – to create your own masterpiece. You can add some metallic inks to enhance your tree or the packages underneath. This piece can be framed in an 8x10 frame (without glass) and displayed yearly in your home. Or get a head start on your gift gathering and give it to a loved one.