Beginners are most welcome! We offer 2D visual art classes for adults at any skill level seeking a hands-on, immersive learning experience within a vibrant community (in-person or live online).
Learn, Create, and Cultivate!
We teach drawing, sketching, painting, mixed media, collage, and printmaking in multiple techniques with various aesthetics at multiple studio locations in Tucson, Arizona.
Enpower adults at any skill level to learn, create, or practice the 2D Visual Arts within a vibrant community!
Our Mission
Whether you're a beginner exploring fundamentals, a novelist, intermediate to advanced, or mastering your craft, our instructors are here to inspire and guide you within our learner-driven curriculum.
No prerequisites are required, except a willingness to learn or, at the very least, a sense of humor.
Our Story
We are a vibrant community built on the energy and enthusiasm to express an idea (" — the verve").
How We Got Our Start?
On a sweltering summer day in 2015, a local art organization in Tucson, Arizona, received an unexpected donation.
After providing dance every Saturday night since 1972, "Singles & Friends," a nonprofit organization, donated its building, well-suited for a dance hall, to the Tucson Pastel Society (TPS).
Conveniently located at 1st and Grant, this building offers ample open space totaling 1,832 square feet, making it ideal for studio art classes and workshops.
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Artwork by Stacy Egan |
Upon receiving this generous donation, the Tucson Pastel Society, an existing 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, would seek the surrounding community's help in raising maintenance funds.
In the spring of 2016, a small group of independent artists began teaching art classes at the site to help maintain and renovate the building, bringing it into compliance with city code.
Those classes were well-received, and students requested more; as a result, the Art Verve Academy became a reality.
How Are We Unique?
We operate as a small business or member-managed educational service provider. We're a private organization that does not work for profit; everything we make goes back into our community.
We strategically partner with other art-related organizations, non-profits, or small businesses to cultivate Tucson, Arizona's vibrant local Visual Arts Community.
What's an Art Verve?
Verve is synonymous with vigor, the energy or enthusiasm that drives the expression of an idea. It is vital in the creative process! Whether they know it or not, artists need this stuff to keep creating. Notice how we said, "Keep on creating."…
It's not an energy drink or a rock band…' verve' is a noun synonymous with 'vigor', defined as the following:
- Energy or enthusiasm in expressing ideas, especially in artistic performance or composition. An example would be "the revival lacked the verve of the original musical."
- vitality; liveliness
Have you ever taken a class and created something you liked or were really proud of, then thought, "I can do this!" You then left the class, motivated to go home or out into the world and create even more. Do you envision yourself making a massive quantity of work or practicing day after day, honing your skills to become a master, only to find yourself a few weeks later staring at all of your art supplies and collecting dust?
You may need the artistic verve!
Folks who create art, whether they are new to the process or masters, need inspiration, support, or a community in which to build their work. No one tells you that in art school, there is a romantic idea that you will graduate with your degree in art, step into a workspace, start creating, and presto. You become a professional artist!
On the other hand, beginners or self-taught artists have many reasons to create, but they are not making art within their workspace. This is similar to what's commonly called writer's block, but for visual artists. The secret ingredient is a community or collective group of people, and you need that to be inspired, create with vigor, or generate enthusiasm for an idea.
Whether you recognize it or not, you get the verve when participating in an art class. This event is what motivates you so much that you feel inspired beyond attending class or doing your homework. Art Guilds can also have the same effect. They facilitate events for people to draw or paint together.
History repeats itself over and over. Ever wonder why all those famous artists were always found hanging out with one another? A great example of this was the French Impressionists and their artistic movement. They all knew each other, hung out together, and sometimes even shared studio spaces. Together, they changed the world!
Some of the most famous artistic movements were spawned by art schools where students collaboratively shared ideas and inspiration. The Bauhaus was a renowned art school in Germany that exemplified the integration of the visual arts with crafts. In the early 20th century, their students were responsible for the Art Deco movement and its incredible architectural designs that are now permanently reflected in New York's Chrysler Building.
These individuals, whether consciously or not, share artistic techniques and use each other as sounding boards for new ideas. Together, they form a "verve" for one another, motivating their community to continue creating over time. Barbara Streisand said it best in the movie Funny Girl: "People who need people are the luckiest people in the world."
Take a workshop or class, or join our community to experience the "verve" that will propel your artistic journey forward!
Our vibrant community evolved organically. We take pride in making our local community a better place. It's how our organization started, our roots are all in human connection.
Our Story
Our Staff
Our Instructors love to share their techniques and are known for creating a supportive classroom environment.
Why We Love What We Do!
Our vibrant community evolved organically. We take pride in making our local community a better place. It's how our organization started, our roots are all in human connection.
Our Instructors
Our instructors act as guides, emphasizing community, collaboration, and practice, rather than promoting a specific artistic style or common aesthetic.
They do not endorse any specific artistic style or unique aesthetics. Individuals are encouraged to improve their skills and explore their own artistic style or creative abilities. Click here for a list of our current instructors.
Our Administration
The administration is responsible for facilitating events, scheduling classes, financial transactions, and maintaining accounting records.
The director provides, enforces, and evaluates academy policies, guidelines, or studio locations. Our current director is Christy Olsen.
Cultivate the local 2D Visual Arts community of Tucson and Southern Arizona!
Our Vision
Testimonials
We foster creativity, collaboration and personal growth within a hands-on studio environment, where instructors provide one-on-one instruction or individualized feedback, tailored to your particular needs, learning style, or goals.
What Learners Are Saying
We've been providing outstanding educational services in Tucson, Arizona, since 2016, and we're proud to share the feedback from our lifelong learners. Explore their experiences to see how we helped them achieve their goals.
Our Partners
We're an educational service provider that partners with other local businesses or organizations to cultivate Southern Arizona's vibrant Visual Arts Community.
Community Partners
We partner with other small businesses or organizations that share our vision or support a worthy cause.
Strategic Partners
Most locally owned art supply stores offer a 20% discount to students enrolled in an Art Verve Academy class. Be sure to call ahead or ask at checkout.
We partner with local art suppliers in Arizona!
Partnerships are brokered between the Art Verve Academy and small business art supply stores in Tucson to provide awareness, leverage collective resources, or introduce new products, materials, or art supplies.
Our local strategic partners include Arizona Art Supply Store and Postner's Art Store.
