A lesson at an hour you choose, on the painting you actually want to finish, with Lorraine at your shoulder the whole time.
How it works
You tell her what you want to work on and when you can get to the studio. There are two arrangements: a standing Wednesday evening slot at her studio in Southbury, and a one-to-one lesson at a time the two of you agree on. Both are oil or acrylic, at any level.
Nothing is set out in advance and there is no exercise to get through. She works on the painting in front of her, so the lesson starts wherever you actually are: the canvas that has been stalled since spring, or a blank one and a photograph you have not worked out yet.
Her own work
Lorraine Skelskey-Chapin paints landscapes, gardens, coastal scenes, still life and animals herself, so whichever of those you bring in is not a detour for her. There is more of it here, and her work is on exhibit at The Barn Gallery in New Fairfield and the Lyme Art Association.
Two ways to book
Wednesday evening
Wednesdays, 6:30pm to 8:30pmClass size on requestAsk about current ratesSouthbury, CT
Private or semi-private. How many easels depends on who is coming, so ask first. It is a standing slot at the end of the day, which suits people who work through the daytime hours and want the same hour every week without arranging it again each time.
One-to-one, on your schedule
Scheduled around youOne to oneAsk about current ratesSouthbury, CT
No fixed day and no standing hour. You work the timing out with her directly, which is what people need when their free hours move around from one month to the next.
What changes one to one
You bring the subject and you set the pace. The photograph from the coast, the garden you keep meaning to paint, a still life off your own kitchen table, a dog. If a color takes forty minutes to mix because you have never mixed it before, it takes forty minutes and nothing is lost.
One problem can also take the whole session. Edges. Skies that turn chalky. Getting values right before you touch color. Drawing a boat so it sits in the water instead of on top of it. In a full room, two hours on one painter's sticking point would be unfair to everyone else. On your own it is simply the lesson.
Reasons to choose one to one
If you are coming back to painting after years away, relearning in front of a dozen strangers may not be how you want to do it. If you have work due for a submission or a juried show, most of what is left is judgment calls about which piece is finished and what to frame, and those go faster with one person at your shoulder.
Then there are the weeks that will not bend. Shift work, a commute, someone at home who needs you at particular hours. The group timetable does not move. A private lesson does.
And some painters simply cannot think with an audience. A few private sessions first and the group later is one way through. So is never joining the group.
Semi-private
Two or three people working in the same room with her moving between them. More of her attention than a full class allows, plus company, which some people want and some do not. Class size on request: what is free depends on who booked the slot that week.
What it costs
Ask about current rates. Say whether you mean the standing slot or something arranged around your schedule, and Lorraine will quote you. Materials are your own: the oil and acrylic lists say what to bring. Ask her before you buy anything.
Questions
- What does a private lesson cost?
- Ask about current rates. Say which of the two arrangements you have in mind when you get in touch.
- Can I bring a painting I have already started?
- Yes, and it is one of the better reasons to book. She works on the painting in front of her, so a canvas stalled for a year is a good thing to arrive with.
- Do I need to have painted before?
- No. Private lessons run from complete beginner to advanced, in oil or acrylic. A first timer and someone coming back after years away get very different lessons, which is the point of teaching one to one.
- Can two of us book a lesson together?
- Yes. That is what semi-private means here. Class size on request, because how many easels fit depends on who booked the slot, so ask about the week you want.
- Where do private lessons take place?
- In her home studio in Southbury. Painting outdoors is a separate arrangement: the outdoor sessions run through the warmer months, weather permitting.
If a group would suit you better
Plenty of people are better served by the weekly classes, where you learn something from watching the canvas beside you. The class schedule lists every session, where each one meets and how many places it holds. If you are not sure which suits you, say so when you get in touch and she will tell you which room you would be happier in.