Galveston Art League Offers Varied Workshops; Check Out August and September Schedule By Mary Vinnedge

The nonprofit Galveston Art League wants to nurture your budding talent and artistic interests! The league hosts low-cost workshops to members and nonmembers in downtown Galveston on many Saturdays, including a wide array of offerings during August and September. Held at 2119 Postoffice St., the workshops typically last two to six hours, and fees range from $20 to $65. Class sizes are usually limited to 15 people.
    Workshop registration and requirements ― including supplies and skill levels ― are available online. Just click on the orange Workshops tab on the organization’s homepage, GalvestonArtLeague.com.  
The league welcomes emailed suggestions for workshop topics and is always interested in hearing from someone who would like to teach; the workshop organizer’s email address is [email protected]. Or you may call the Galveston Art League Gallery at 490-621-1008 from noon to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays.
Here’s an overview of what the Galveston Art League has scheduled at its 2119 Postoffice St. workshops on Saturdays during August and September (full details of workshops, which are held year-round, are posted at GalvestonArtLeague.com):
    • Aug. 4: Award-winning regional photographer Ruth Burke will lead “How to Be Creative with Your Camera” from 9 a.m. to noon. Burke is known for capturing the essence of nature, life, and time in her photos, and for elevating the profitability and splendor of images. “My goal is to help you understand what will make a good photograph a great photograph that’s worthy of framing as a fine art print,” she says. Bring your camera gear. $60.      
    • Aug. 18: Artist Karen Knight will teach “Dramatic Backgrounds in Color Pencil” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. She is a lifetime member of the Colored Pencil Society of America and has had several works accepted in CPSA shows. “We will work on blending techniques,” Knight says, to learn to execute smooth, blurred, and mottled backgrounds, with blending done using an odorless solvent and a colorless blender pencil. A complete supplies list is posted on the Workshops webpage of GalvestonArtLeague.com. $65.
    • Aug. 25: Port Arthur artist Albert Faggard will instruct on ways that artists can improve their work by using lessons from the great masters. 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Students bring their own paints and related supplies. $65.  
    • Sept. 1: Award-winning painter Fontaine Jacobs will teach “Watercolor on Yupo” from 9 a.m. to noon. Bring watercolor supplies, a roll of paper towels, and Yupo synthetic paper in medium weight; see the Art League’s Workshops webpage for detailed information and optional supplies. Jacobs says the great thing about Yupo is that if you don’t like what you’ve painted, you can wipe the surface back to white and start over. All skill levels welcome. $30.
    • Sept. 8: Houston painter Carla Gauthier will lead “Simplifying Architecture in Watercolor” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Gauthier’s credentials include membership in the National Watercolor Society. She also has a bachelor’s degree in fine art and art history as well as a bachelor’s in education; she paints in watercolors and oils. For this workshop, bring your watercolor supplies and cotton paper. $50.
    • Sept. 15: Dickinson resident Doug Hiser, an accomplished wildlife painter, will help students hone their skills in “Acrylic Bird Paintings” from 9 a.m. to noon. Hiser’s credentials include a first-place award in the Texas City Art Festival. This will be a fast style of painting on canvas. Bring an 11-by-14-inch or 16-by-20-inch canvas, acrylic paints, brushes, and a reference photo of a bird. $60.
    In addition to its workshops, the Galveston Art League organizes children’s classes, an annual fundraiser gala (Oct. 6 at the San Luis Resort in Galveston), six juried competitions per year (three in Galveston and three at the sister gallery at 611 Sixth St. N. in Texas City), and other events. Find out more at GalvestonArtLeague.com.

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