We encourage lifelong learners to embrace their inner artist with the help of the experts at the Art Verve Academy!
Studio Art Classes
We offer art classes for adults within a hands-on studio environment in Tucson.
What You'll Learn
We teach sketching, drawing, painting, printmaking, art journaling, collage, mixed media, color, and design within a variety of mediums.
Who Are Our Courses For?
Whether you are an absolute beginner, novice, or professional, you will find an experience with us in Tucson that will take your skills, knowledge, or understanding of the 2D Visual Arts to the next level!
Top 10 Reasons to Take an Art Class
1. Learn the 2D Visal Arts or Become a Lifelong Learner!
Sketching, drawing or painting is not a talent you are born with; anyone can learn it with some basic instruction and practice.
2. Create within a Studio Art Environment!
Finish a piece of artwork that show or give to your family or friends.
3. Cultivate the Visual Arts!
Make time for cultural activities or get support from a community to nuture or practice your skills!
4. Self Develpment!
You may surprise yourself or uncover hidden passions that you did not know you had.
5. Find Inspiration or Be Inspired!
Surround yourself with other creative types who will inspire you.
6. Find Your Voice!
When you learn under the guidance of a professional instructor, they will encourage you or get you unstuck.
7. Explore, Experiment, or Play!
Expose yourself to new environments, make a mess, experiment with new techniques, or enhance your open-mindedness.
8. Exercise Your Brain!
Enhance motor skills, hand-eye coordination, problem-solving, lateral thinking, complex analysis, or critical thinking skills.
9. Socialize or Connect!
In-person classes or workshops are excellent opportunities to get to know others with similar interests!
10. Relieve Stress!
It's important to remember to take some time for yourself.
Loyalty Rewards Program for Learners
We reward returning students! Collect tuition receipts or get a punch card to track your progress.
If you have taken 5 classes at the Art Verve Academy, you can receive a discount on your sixth class. Please note that you must keep track of your punch card or present your tuition receipts to receive the discount.
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Start Today!
Follow these steps to get started!
Submit Your Contact Information
If this is your first class with us, please complete this one-time required admissions form before the first session.
We'll give you a hard copy in person if you skip the online completion.
Assess Your Skills
Depending on your comfort level, you may enter any class. Each class description will recommended a skill level.
Skill levels vary between a combination of knowledge, understanding, or practice. Below are the definitions or guidance on what level to look for when registering or enrolling.
- Absolute Beginners - May have never been inside an art supply store or need guidance on what materials to purchase. They may have never taken art classes or be unfamiliar with tools, techniques, or studio equipment.
- Beginners to Intermediate - Have some prior experience or have taken some classes.
- Intermediate - Is a novice or comfortable practicing within a studio environment.
For those who need help figuring out where to start, look for anything marked as "Absolute Beginner."
Register or Enroll
Registration or enrollment is required to attend any class or workshop and happens here online. It reserves your seat and ensures the instructor is prepared for your arrival with handouts or materials, etc.
Visit the course catalog to see what is currently available.
Waitlist
You may join a waitlist if your desired class is full. Submit the form, and we will contact you if anyone drops from the roster.
Receive Communications
Depending on how you chose to be contacted when you registered or enrolled, the instructor or administration may email, text, or call you with information or updates about your class, workshop, or event. Please check your spam folder, email, or phone for text or voice messages.
Our Curriculum
We teach drawing, painting, mixed media, or design classes or workshops for adults. We also do on demand classes based on feedback from our learners on what they want us to teach.
Putting students at the center is be key to moving forward and reshaping our curriculum, it puts us in a better position to serve our learners.
Techniques
We offer studio art classes for adults in the following 2D Visual Art techniques.
- Sketching
- Drawing
- Painting
- Mixed Media
- Printing
- Design
Subjects Matter
We offer studio art classes for adults in the following 2D Visual Art subjects.
- Abstract
- Animals / Wildlife
- Figure or Portrait
- Landscape
- Still Life or Floral
Mediums
We offer studio art classes for adults in the following 2D Visual Art mediums.
- Pencils, Graphite, or Colored Pencils
- Charcoal or Sanguine
- Pen & Ink or Painting with Ink
- Soft Pastels
- Oil Painting or Acrylics
- Watercolor or Opaque Mediums (Gouache)
- Mixed Media or Collage
Our Instructors
Love to share their techniques and are known for creating a supportive classroom environment.
They make a respectful environment that is warm, welcoming, and non-judgemental, where learners focus on medium techniques or subject matter, not a specific artistic style or unique aesthetic.
For a list of our current instructors, click here.
Locations
We do not own a dedicated building. We rent spaces in Tucson, Arizona, and the surrounding location. Click here for detailed information on each classroom or studio.
Please check your location's details for instructions on where to park or where to enter the building.
Ages
Adults or ages over 18 are welcome to register or enroll. Ages 16 & up may attend if accompanied by a guardian.
Unfortunately, we do NOT offer youth or teen classes at this time. Please visit the Drawing Studio's website for information on their youth program.
Our Calendar
Our organization revolves around a calendar, designed like a carousel. Any skill level may enter at any time based on their comfort level. Each course description advises the comfort level for each course. Our calendar includes, classes, workshops or events.
Some classes are offered repeatedly yearly or in a series revolving around our seasons or semesters.
Seasons or Semesters
We have a planned schedule of in-person art classes or workshops in the fall, spring and summer.
We determine the studio art classes or workshops to offer based on the demand or requests from our community or life-long learners.
We are seasonal. Studio art classes or workshops are online or planned at a minium.
Weekly Sessions
Weekly class sessions are 3 hours long, including 15-minute or periodic breaks. Start-to-finish times will be listed below the event description.
Workshop Sessions
Workshop sessions are usually all day, from morning to afternoon, including a 1-hour lunch break. Specific terms and conditions will be listed below the event description, which may or may not include a non-refundable deposit.
Calendar
Use the button below if you would like to open our Google calendar in a new window or larger format!
Previous Offerings
Classroom chronicles or "past" classes or workshops were offered previously and are no longer open for enrollment. Visit our blog posts to see photos of student work or demonstrations!
Learning a New Skill
Meaningful learning implies there is a comprehensive knowledge of the context of the learned skills where it is fully understood to the extent that it relates to other knowledge. It contrasts with rote learning or memorizing information that is acquired without regard to understanding.
In-Person Art Classes or Workshops
Formal Learning is a deliberate way of attaining a skill in a classroom or studio environment. The term formal learning has nothing to do with the formality of the learning but rather the way it is directed and organized. The instructors set out the goals and objectives of the learning.
Leaning in person is a traditional process in which the learning environment is created within the physical walls of a classroom or studio environment, where the instructor and learner are physically present together. It has the following advantages of formal learning.
- It may employ any type of presentation, such as visual, tactical, auditory, etc.
- It promotes interaction or networking among the learners or participants.
- Interactions between participants, instructors, and other participants are in real-time.
- It fosters a relationship between the instructor and the learner, which helps fulfill a mentor-mentee-type relationship.
Planned Art Classes or Workshops for Adults
These classes, workshops, or events are facilitated and added per the season. "Open for enrollment" is usually at the end of June or by the end of November.
Click here to visit our course catalog or subscribe to our mailing list for a monthly update on new classes added to the schedule!
On-Demand Art Classes or Workshops for Adults
"On-demand" classes, workshops, or events are facilitated based on the requests of our students or learners. We add them from time to time within a semester.
Contact us or speak to your instructor if you would like to suggest a subject, medium, or technique for a class or workshop.
Self-Directed or Open Studio Format
Weekly classes in an open studio format or independent study are perfect for those who want feedback, inspiration, or the vitality of working with other creative individuals. The instructor will guide you in finding your visual voice, achieving your artistic vision, or cultivating creativity. Informal learning has the following advantages.
Observational learning occurs when the instructor demonstrates their approach, craft, or tools.
Experimentation or play is a form of learning. Adults may learn visual art skills by experimentation or when the instructor allows them to play.
Incidental learning occurs partly as a product of active involvement.
Social Learning is a type of social behavior that proposes new skills that can be acquired by observing and imitating others within a social situation. This learning requires a social model, such as other learners, peers, or an instructor within the surroundings.
Click here for a list of open studio-type format classes.
Virtual or Live Online
"Live Online" events are real-time via Google Meet or Zoom from home. Professional feedback or personalized instruction is intended for adults or older teens who can work independently.
Click to see a list of all the virtual or online lessons offered.
When Learning Occurs
Learning involves far more than thinking: it involves the whole personality - senses, feelings, intuition, beliefs, values, and will. If we do not have the will to learn, we will not learn, and if we have learned, we are actually changed in some way. If learning makes no difference, it can have very little significance beyond random ideas that float through our consciousness.
Learning occurs when we are able to:
- Gain a mental or physical grasp of the subject.
- Make sense of a subject, event, or feeling by interpreting it into our own words or actions.
- Use our newly acquired ability or knowledge in conjunction with skills and understanding we already possess.
- Do something with the new knowledge or skill and take ownership of it.
Mastering a Skill
People may have several skills, some unrelated to each other, and each skill will typically be at one of the stages below at a given time.
The four stages suggest that individuals are unaware of how little they know or unconscious of their incompetence. As they recognize their incompetence, they consciously acquire and use a skill.
Eventually, the skill can be utilized without it being consciously thought through: the individual is said to have then acquired unconscious competence.
Also, note that many skills require practice to maintain high competence or mastery.
The Four Stages of Learning a Skill
In psychology, the four stages of competence, or the "conscious competence" learning model, relate to the psychological states involved in progressing from incompetence to competence in a skill.
The four stages of competence in any skill include the following.
1. Unawareness
"Unconscious Incompetence"
The individual does not understand or know how to do something and does not necessarily recognize the deficit. They may deny the usefulness of the skill. The individual must realize their incompetence and the value of the new skill before moving on to the next stage. The length of time an individual spends in this stage depends on the strength of the stimulus to learn.
2. Awareness
"Conscious Incompetence"
Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, he or she does recognize the deficit and the value of a new skill in addressing the deficit. Making mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage.
3. Learning
"Conscious Competence"
The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires concentration. It may be broken down into steps, and there is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill.
4. Mastery
"Unconscious Competence"
The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become "second nature" and can be performed easily. As a result, the skill can be performed while executing another task. Depending on how and when it was learned, the individual may be able to teach it to others.
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
Mahatma Gandhi
