Kids & Teens Art Classes at Artopia

Artopia offers Children’s Art Classes every Saturday and Thursday.

SATURDAYS:
10 AM to 12 Noon or 1PM to 3PM
Instructor: Colin Dubreuil

About Instructor Colin Dubreuil

Colin was born, raised, and educated in Calgary, Alberta. He completed a Bachelors of Fine Arts (BFA) with Distinction in 2010 from the University of Calgary. He also received a second degree in Zoology (BSc) in the same year.

Colin's interest in art began when he was young, and he nurtured his interest through various school programs throughout junior high and high school. His interest in an art degree was developed while attending Chinook College, where he discovered oil painting for the first time. Upon entering the Faculty of Fine Arts, Colin developed his skills in both drawing and painting. During his years at the University of Calgary, he also experimented with other mediums, including printmaking, photography, sculpture, and acrylic painting.

After finishing his degrees, Colin continued pursuing his technical development with various teachers and mentors. At this time, he began working in an art supply store, where he had the opportunity to further his knowledge of artist's tools and products. Colin was a leader with the Boy Scouts of Canada for several years, and has also taught guitar. His interest in teaching soon fused with his love of art, and he began teaching art to both children and adults in 2011.

Colin works primarily in oil and acrylic painting, though he continues to draw, and print as well. He enjoys painting a multitude of subject matter, including landscape, wildlife, and portraiture. His experience in the fine arts program at the University of Calgary also nurtured an interest in less conventional approaches to composition, color, and texture. He continually attempts to create art that is not only technically challenging, but that attempts to challenge the conventions of style.

Colin has taken part in multiple exhibitions held in the little gallery, and at the open space. He has also shown his work at the Nickel Arts Museum, and twice at the absolute art show held at Davis LLP. Besides his success in selling works through exhibitions, Colin has also done numerous commissioned pieces.

CLICK HERE FOR GENERAL INFO AND SUPPLY LIST

Hello students (and parents).

This is Colin Dubreuil, your art teacher from Artopia Studios. This document is just a quick outline of some information about prices and supplies for the art classes I hold on Saturdays. Students can start classes at any time. By this, I mean that there is not a "start date" or "end date" for my classes. This allows students to get started at their convenience.

I currently teach two Classes. Thy are both held on Saturdays, with a morning class from 10:00am to 12:00pm, and an afternoon class from 1:00pm until 3:00pm. Each class is $20 per week, but I do require you to 'reserve' your seat in the class at the start of each month by paying for the month in its entirety. On average, a month will come to $80, however, months with a fifth week will total $100. If for whatever reason we miss a class (holidays for instance) the price for that month will reflect this missed class ($20 off the price for that month).

Commonly, my students work in pencil to start off, and quite often move into acrylic painting as we move forward. Of course, if anyone wants to try out other art mediums as we go (pastel, water color, pencil crayon etc…) we can move into those areas as well! I tend to start students with pencil and then painting as those are my passions and of course my favourites to teach!,/p>

Below is a list of supplies, broken into drawing then painting supplies that I like my students to bring to class.

YOU CAN PURCHASE THESE SUPPLIES AT ARTOPIA.

Drawing:

Artist quality pencils (these are different than your typical HB pencils that you use at school),
Specifically, I like my students to have AT LEAST one soft (dark), one medium, and one hard (light) pencil. I find a 4H, an HB and a 4B pencil are a great start.
A kneadable eraser
One white vinyl eraser
A sketch book. There are two important considerations here. First, the dimensions (how big a sheet of paper is) and second is the weight (how THICK is that paper). I like my students sketch books to be at least 9x12 inches (11x14 is also good) in dimension, with a paper weight between 90-110 lb. This weight of paper is great, because we can use both pencil and watercolor/water soluble pencil crayons. If you can't find a sketch book from 90-110 lb, 70-80 lb will do.
Tracing paper. This also comes in a book (like the sketch book).

Painting:

In my children's classes, I do not allow the use of oils, as there are issues with both fumes and overall clean up. We will use acrylic paint as a substitute.
I only ask my students to buy 5 tubes of paint, as we can mix any color we will need from those 5 colors:
- - Black
- - White
- - Primary cyan (also known as primary Blue, pthalo blue, pthalo blue green shade, process blue, process cyan)  technically, pthalo blue is a different color, but it works quite well
- - Primary magenta (also known as primary red, Quinacridone magenta, Quinacridone red, process red, process magenta)  technically, Quinacridone magenta and red are different colors, but they both work well
- - Primary yellow (also known as process yellow, Hansa yellow medium)
Canvas: This can be stretched canvas or canvas board. Canvases closer to the size of your sketch book makes transferring a drawing to a canvas MUCH easier and is recommended.
Brushes: I like a type of brush called a filbert. I like my students to have one small (1/4inch), one medium (1/2 inch), and one larger (3/4 inch) filbert brush. Also, a one inch flat brush is great for filling in larger areas with paint.

Reference material:

This is a tricky one. Most working artists work from photographic reference. That is to say that they work while looking at a photograph for reference. This in itself isn't difficult. What can be tricky is finding good quality photos from which to work. A drawing/painting can be doomed from the start by a bad reference photo. We are looking for Clear photos. Also, since this is a class for children, too much going on in a photo can be very overwhelming for a student. I recommend simpler photos to start, of an animal, still life, flowers etc… There are no real rules here, just some suggestions. I am slowly amassing a collection of old calendar photos of wildlife/landscapes etc so that I can help out students who can't find good reference photos.

Our address is:

106, 61st Ave. SW Calgary T2H 0B2

You can contact me (Colin) at cjdubreu@gmail.com or by phone at 1-403-990-6277

THURSDAYS: Monart Method Art Classes at Artopia

10 AM to Late afternoon/early evening – see below
Instructor: Khalpana Nindrai

Monart is more than a method that teaches people how to draw.

Leading educators recognize Monart as a teaching system that helps students to focus and concentrate, make decisions, solve problems, sequence and develop hand-eye coordination. In a peaceful environment students learn that drawing is a teachable subject in which anyone can be successful.

Just as we are taught how to combine basic phonetic rules to read, musical notes to play an instrument, and dance steps to dance, the Monart Method teaches the individual to draw using the five basic Elements of Shape. Once students recognize these elements, they are guided as to how they might combine them on paper so that their drawings represent what they see. Each week students work with a highly qualified, supportive instructor on projects designed to teach the Elements of Shape and to create a unique and fully-developed composition. Students explore a wide range of subject matter, media, and artistic techniques so that students may continually develop their skills at their own pace.

Discover the Monart Difference

What sets Monart apart from other art education programs is that these classes seamlessly integrate relevant, age-appropriate academic curriculum in inviting and interesting ways. Students not only learn to draw, for example, a toucan, but they also learn about its features, habitat, and feeding habits. Every student receives a well-designed art lesson, individualized attention and academic information of interest.

About Instructor Khalpana Nindrai

Creating art at ANY AGE is a rewarding experience! It spurs a creative outlook and enables unique individual expression!

Khalpana have always been passionate about learning how to create visual arts of all kinds and exploring the use of various media. She has her Master Degree in Computer Technology but her passion is art. "When I became a parent, I found my first student in teaching my young daughter, I realized that drawing increased my little girl's creativity, skills of observation and concentration - all while we were just having fun!"

Khalpana Nindrai, completed the eduArts Certification Training course in Monart Method with Mona Brookes at her studio in Berkeley, US in 2012. This certification allows Khalpana to use the Monart methodology and to purchase and use the Monart Curriculum and project plans designed by Mona Brookes.

Khalpana has also finished her Drawing Certification in Bow Valley College, Canada and attended many professional Art workshops in India and Canada with famous Artist like Jenny Baker, Danielle Barlette, Johnson, Bala, Jayashankar.

REGISTER FOR ONE OF THESE CLASSES:

Preschool Arts: (Age 3.5 – 5 years) – 60$ per month (4 classes)
Every Thursday (10-10.45am)

A class for 3-5 year olds that encourages visual perception and eye hand coordination skills. Students will learn the visual recognition of the 5 Elements of Shape and how to use them in the recognition of simplistic drawings of creatures from nature. All materials are provided

SAMPLE: Alicia age 4

Basic Arts: (5-8 years) – 75$ per month (4 classes)

Every Thursday (5-6pm)

An introduction to representational drawing geared to the attention span and motor coordination. Students quickly learn to recognize the elements of shape and are introduced to various choices of how to interpret the lesson, in their own creative rendering of the subject and background. All professional art materials are provided. Media: Markers, Pastel, Watercolour

SAMPLE: Saloni age 6

Drawing Fundamentals: (9-13) – 75$ per month (4 classes)

Every Thursday (6-7pm)

A class for 9-15 year olds who have achieved the skill level of working independently on projects. Geared for the student who has mastered the basic skills in line, shape, proportion, perspective, and the ability to create volume through light logic,using 3-D objects. All professional art materials are provided. Media: Various Medium

SAMPLE: Isabella age 10