If you do not live near my hometown, Boulder, Colorado, but wish to take art lessons from me, there is a solution - correspondence art lessons. It is possible to teach through the mail or through the internet. It is especially convenient and inexpensiive to work through the internet if you have a digital camera or know how to scan your artwork or photographs of your artwork.  It is a bit more expensive through the mail due to the cost of shipping.

My lessons teach how to observe, as well as how to make good well-constructed paintings. As a student you will learn to see your subject matter in a new way and learn to create artwork that includes "art secrets" such as balancing soft , hard, and lost edges. You will learn to make "simple
shapes" that won't confuse the eye, how to devise exciting compositions, and how to work with lighting and reflected light. Most of the lessons can be done in any medium that is convenient to you, although pastels are the easiest and quite fun to use.  These lessons are not basic "how to draw" lessons, but lessons for the somewhat experienced artist.

Do you ever get to a certain point in a painting and just give up because you don't know how to finish it or how to fix what is wrong? If so, these lessons are for you.

Application

If you would like to apply for correspondence art lessons, please follow these instructions:

1. Paint a still life in any medium you like. It must be in color and must include the following items: A red apple, a medium blue cloth and a white ceramic bowl or cup. Send an image of this painting by email to me at one of the email addresses listed below. You can also send the original art or good photos of the original art by regualr mail to me at the address listed below.

2. Send, along with the image (or original or photos) of the painting above, image samples (or originals or photos) of approximately 4 pieces of artwork that you have previously done. The image files should be approximately 6 - 700 pixels (7 - 10 inches) in width or height , and 72 dots per inch (dpi) resolution. Please send only two image files per email and put "art lesson application" in the subject line. Please do not send very large original artworks to me via regular mail. If you have large artworks that you would like to show me, good photographs of these would be fine. There is an additional shipping and handling cost for lessons sent by regular mail (see Lesson Fees below). If you are sending original artworks, arrangements can be made to insure return packages.

 

Lesson Fees

Individual Lessons _______________$30 plus shipping and handling charges for regular mail submissions
10 Lesson Package ______________$250 plus shipping and handling charges for regular mail submissions
Shipping and Handling Fee_____ $10 per assignment (additional fee for excessively large or heavy artworks)
Note: Payments must be made at the time of the application or submission of lesson assignments

Contact information for questions or applications

Gina Blickenstaff
3050 Baylor Drive
Boulder, Colorado 80305
303-494-4462
gina@ginablickenstaff.com or gblickenstaff@comcast.net