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Painting Classes San Francisco

Discover your inner artist and explore the vibrant world of painting with a variety of classes in San Francisco. From watercolor techniques to oil painting masterpieces, unlock your creativity and gain valuable skills to create beautiful artwork.

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Oil & Acrylic Painting

Art School of SF Bay @ 1601 Irving St, San Francisco, CA

Unlock your artistic potential and master the techniques of oil and acrylic painting at the renowned Art School of SF Bay. Explore the beauty of nature through landscapes, learn to capture emotions in portraits, and develop your unique style. With high-quality art materials provided, embark on a transformative artistic journey.

Tuesday Jan 9th, 6:20–8:20pm Pacific Time

 (14 sessions)

$560

14 sessions

Oil Painting, Old Masters Technique

Art School of SF Bay @ 1601 Irving St, San Francisco, CA

Master the art of creating glowing skin, soft shadows, silky hair, and unforgettable eyes using a traditional oil painting technique from the XVII century. Unleash your creativity and learn to transform your work from a grisaille underpainting to mesmerizing glazes. Join us at the Art School of SF Bay and discover the secrets of the Old Masters.

Thursday Feb 22nd, 6:30–8:30pm Pacific Time

 (6 sessions)

$350

6 sessions

Impressionist Painting

Art School of SF Bay @ 1601 Irving St, San Francisco, CA

Master vibrant colors, vivid brushstrokes, and immersive composition you adore in the works of impressionist artists! Besides the practical studies, learn about the history of the most beloved art movement, and the art styles that grew out of it!

Friday Jan 12th, 6–8pm Pacific Time

 (6 sessions)

$300

6 sessions

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Weekend Wine & Paint Picasso

Yijun's Fine Art Studio San Francisco @ 1120 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, CA

Unleash your inner artist and create a masterpiece while sipping on your favorite beverages in a vibrant and welcoming atmosphere. Join us for a memorable evening of creativity, laughter, and libations at our highly anticipated Sip and Paint Night. Don't miss out on this unforgettable artistic experience.

Friday Dec 1st, 7–9pm Pacific Time

Wild Paint: Abstract Art Day Long Workshop

Living Your Wild Creativity @ 1695 Piner Rd, Santa Rosa, CA

Unleash your creativity and explore the thrilling world of abstract art in this dynamic workshop. Push your limits and make vibrant paintings as you strengthen your intuition, master color techniques, enhance composition, and create solid structures. Open to all levels, this workshop will guide you through fun exercises and provide you with the tools to create your own wild and expressive artworks.

Saturday Dec 2nd, 10:30am–4pm Pacific Time

Color Theory

Art School of SF Bay @ 1601 Irving St, San Francisco, CA

This workshop will help art lovers master their ability to see and understand color as well as light. Learn about the science behind color, color mixing, how to organize a palette and effortlessly pick colors that work well together. Detailed Schedule Day 1: Introduction and overview of color and course: hue, value, saturation, analogous, triadic etc. Moods and emotion in color. Project: create your own munsell color system using paint...

Friday Jan 12th, 6:30–8:30pm Pacific Time

 (6 sessions)

$300

6 sessions

Portrait Workshop

Art School of SF Bay @ 1601 Irving St, San Francisco, CA

Improve your portraiture skills! Students will complete numerous head studies and improve their knowledge of proper head construction. The second half of the workshop will allow students to focus on a project of their choice in whatever medium they choose. We will discuss how to create and/or select an appropriate reference photograph during class. Detailed Schedule Week 1: Introduction + Basic Form of Head Introduction to drawing materials,...

Sunday Jan 14th, 6–8pm Pacific Time

 (5 sessions)

$320

5 sessions

Key Elements of Fine Arts

Art School of SF Bay @ 1601 Irving St, San Francisco, CA

If you are looking to kick-start a new hobby, this course is the best choice. It covers all the fundamentals artists use to draw freely from imagination or real life. Even a complete beginner by the end of this course will be able to paint a portrait and create a composition from scratch. Detailed Schedule Day 1. The Cezanne lesson. Obtaining desired color by mixing. Day 2. The Silhouette lesson. Learning to assess proportions, adjust...

Monday Jan 8th, 6:20–8:20pm Pacific Time

 (13 sessions)

$400

13 sessions

Watercolor 101

Art School of SF Bay @ 1601 Irving St, San Francisco, CA

Unlock your artistic potential with the Watercolor 101 workshop at the Art School of SF Bay. Learn the techniques, science, and styles behind watercolor painting, from mixing colors to creating stunning landscapes and realistic portraits. Join us online and master the art of watercolor with expert guidance and personalized feedback.

Thursday Feb 1st, 6:20–8:20pm Pacific Time

 (10 sessions)

$480

10 sessions

Academic Drawing

Art School of SF Bay @ 1601 Irving St, San Francisco, CA

The atelier approach strengthens the emerging artists technical ability. Learn to draw what you see while learning the same academic method that the old masters learned. This ongoing program works with each individual's desired pace. A project that takes 1 student 1 week can take another 3 weeks which is wonderful for people of all types of learning styles. Detailed Schedule 1st project: Simple Bargue using sight size This project will teach...

Saturday Jan 13th, 4–7pm Pacific Time

 (10 sessions)

$500

10 sessions

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Impasto Painting

Richmond Art Center @ 2540 Barrett Ave, Richmond, CA

Create thick impasto style paintings in acrylic and acrylic mediums. Explore painting with palette knives, direct painting, and wet of wet techniques.    Suggested materials: Canvas or panel  Palette knife Optional: Acrylic media: molding paste, pumice gel   Heavy body acrylic paints, medium  Large acrylic brushes Experience Level: All levels, some painting experience recommended.

No upcoming schedules

Words and Painting

Richmond Art Center @ 2540 Barrett Ave, Richmond, CA

This class will be about the benefits of journaling with painting. Students will learn about different abstract painting techniques based off of specific artists. The students will be encouraged to take notes about the artist and the painting technique. Their notes or journal will also include their own writing: thoughts, emotions, notes, poems, etc. This includes sketches, collage, and paintings of their own interpretations of the painting techniques...

No upcoming schedules
$175

8 sessions

Painting a Portrait

Richmond Art Center @ 2540 Barrett Ave, Richmond, CA

Learn to paint a self-portrait from life by studying in the mirror. We will work on composition, proportion, and strategies to achieve likeness. Some experience recommended.

No upcoming schedules
$270

9 sessions

China Painting

Richmond Art Center @ 2540 Barrett Ave, Richmond, CA

In this workshop you will learn over-glazing techniques for adding incredible detail, depth, and color to surface imagery on ceramics. China painting is done on top of an already glazed and fired ceramic surface. Please come to the workshop with your own glazed and fired pieces, or bring a few thrifted ceramic finds to embellish. All other materials will be provided. Required supplies for this program: Materials fee of $15 due to the instructor...

No upcoming schedules
$155

2 sessions

Beginning Painting

Richmond Art Center @ 2540 Barrett Ave, Richmond, CA

La maestra habla español.  For complete beginners who wish to improve their painting skills while learning to work in the medium of their choice. Each week we will discuss and put in practice a foundational painting concepts. Experience Levels: Beginning to Intermediate What To Bring Grounds Follow your preference for acrylic and oil. You can use a pad paper formulated for oil painting, gessoed cardboard, canvas panel, canvas, wood...

No upcoming schedules
$240

6 sessions

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Discover the Best Painting Classes in San Francisco

If you live in San Francisco and you are looking for a new hobby, painting could be just what you have been looking for. Painting happens when paint, pigment, color, or another medium is applied to a solid surface, and the most commonly used tool to apply paint is a brush, but other tools, such as knives, spatulas, sponges, and airbrushes can be used alone or in combination with brushes. The concept of painting dates back to prehistory, and it is thought that people have been painting for over 30,000 years. No matter your age or life experience, you can learn to paint with a little time and dedication.

Why You Should Learn Painting in San Francisco

Do you need a fun way to relieve the stress that comes with work or school? Painting is an accessible hobby that can not only help improve your mental health, but gives you something to do with your hands during your free time. You may also like the aspect of painting that can be related to doing things for other people. This can come in many forms, such as creating a special gift in the form of a painting that they can hang in their home. This could be a painting of them, their pet, a landscape, or a special memory that is meaningful to them.

All around the world, there are people who enjoy painting as a hobby and as a profession. Once you understand the basics of painting, you might want to research local clubs, groups, events, or organizations where you can meet other people who like painting. These groups could be in-person, but they could also be online, and pretty soon you may find yourself with some new friends who also enjoy painting.

Learning painting is a marketable skill that you may be able to turn into a side hustle or even a new job altogether. You could easily begin selling your paintings through an online marketplace, or in person at a craft fair close to where you live. You may even be able to start taking commissions, where you create custom paintings based on the requests of your customers.

In-Person Painting Classes in San Francisco

If you want to learn painting in-person in San Francisco, CourseHorse can connect you with classes in your area. For example, Portrait Workshop is a six-session class offered at the Art School of San Francisco Bay. In this class, students complete numerous head studies and improve their knowledge of proper head construction. You will select and complete a project of your choice in whatever medium you like during the second half of the class. Abstract Art: Dialogues with Nature is a two-day class offered at Living Your Wild Creativity in Santa Rosa. This course explores your connection with the land while you make sketches and color studies, culminating in an abstract painting. 

Another Art School of San Francisco Bay offering is Oil & Acrylic Painting. In this fifteen-session class, art lovers of all skill levels will master various oil and acrylic painting techniques. You will learn how to represent texture as well as express character and emotions in your work.

Plein Air Oil Painting is put on at the Art School of San Francisco Bay and will teach you techniques and tricks to help you create successful landscape paintings in the field over the course of four sessions. This class is perfect for those trying oil paints for the first time or an experienced painter that wants to improve their craft.

Omi Callings: Painting the Orishas happens at Richmond Art Center in nearby Richmond, CA. This four sessions class is a creative process in which students spend time with the messages and wisdoms pouring forth from three orishas of the Yoruba spiritual tradition. You are welcomed to explore the Yoruba cosmology system and strengthen your personal relationship with art. Another Richmond Art Center offering is Japanese Brush Painting and Calligraphy. This unique course takes place over six sessions and offers increased creativity and peace of mind through learning Japanese ink brush painting and calligraphy, which are deeply related to Zen.

Virtual Painting Classes

When you decide to take an online painting class, you might be intimidated at first, but it is good to remember that they have their pros and cons just like in-person painting classes. Something good about taking a virtual painting class is that you can attend the class from anywhere. Feel free to work on your painting project at home, in your backyard, or even in a public space like a park. You also do not have to commute to a classroom when you take an online painting class, which saves you both money and time. The biggest con about taking an online painting class is that you generally have to supply your own materials and equipment.

If you are interested in online painting classes, CourseHorse has options that will work for you. For example, Beginner’s Intro to Watercolor Painting: Single Session is a class that explores the colorful world of watercolor painting. You will experience learning and fun in this relaxed group atmosphere while you discover your unique form of self-expression. Beginner Watercolor Online is a six-session course focused on botanicals, and you will learn to paint with luminous, sparkling watercolors. Enjoy acquiring new techniques and learning through fun activities that transition into studies and landscapes. Online Painting With Acrylics 301 is a virtual class for all levels in which you will learn the techniques of 20th-century painting masters. These include mixing colors and preparing your canvas for your work.

Private Group Painting Classes in San Francisco

If you live or work in San Francisco, you might be interested in booking a private group painting class for your friends or colleagues. Luckily, CourseHorse offers painting classes for private groups in San Francisco that they can deliver to you. Virtual Watercolor Workshop (Materials Included) takes up to 225 participants at a time, and all materials are provided for the class. You and your coworkers will have fun learning new techniques to create an abstract painting in a relaxing and creative atmosphere. Virtual Acrylic Painting (Materials Included) will take up to 500 participants per course and all materials are included. This class will teach those in your group how to create a painting together on canvas. While you will all be working on the same painting, the end products will be unique to each artist. Virtual Watercolor Georgia O’Keeffe (Materials Included) is another workshop that takes up to 225 people and includes all the materials you need to learn. This unique class will teach your group about legendary watercolor artist Georgia O’Keeffe, and in the process of painting, you will learn her techniques.

If you do not see a group class that interests you listed publicly on their website, CourseHorse can provide a different class for your group. Reach out through the contact form on their website to learn about all available options. And remember that when you book with CourseHorse, you get a multitude of benefits, including the ability to change your group size after booking if necessary. You will also receive a confirmation within 24 hours of your booking, and there are no extra booking fees. Finally, CourseHorse private group classes are supported on multiple platforms, so everyone can join in on the fun no matter where they are.

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