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2026 Summer Session
in 2026 Education Session
Mindful Landscapes: Acrylic Basics
with Emily Thomson
2026 is the year to focus on your mental and physical health, and this Wellness series is the perfect place to start!
Come and paint a beautiful landscape scene using acrylic! Painting a landscape scene can be relaxing and a great pleasure to view. Emily will go step by step to show how to paint an outdoor landscape, including mixing colors, adding texture, and techniques for the use of acrylic paint.
Ages 15+
Tuesday, June 9th
6-8 pm
Class Fee: Free!
This free wellness workshop is brought to you in partnership with UVA Health.
Visual Storytelling: Emotion, Figure, and Space
with Nick Austin
Ages: 13 - 18
This six-week painting course explores how narrative can be built through the relationship between figure, environment, and color.
Working in acrylic or oil, students will develop one narrative painting from concept to completion, beginning with brainstorming personal or imagined stories and translating them into visual form through thumbnail sketches and compositional planning.
As the course progresses, students will focus on blocking in figures and spaces, using gesture and body language to clarify meaning, and exploring how color, limited palettes, and atmosphere can communicate emotion.
The final weeks emphasize refinement, symbolism, and visual cohesion, culminating in a group critique centered on storytelling, emotional readability, and narrative impact.
All supplies will be provided via the supply fee.
Ages 13-18
Tuesdays 6-8 pm
June 9 - July 14
Registration Fee: $228
Foundational Oil Painting: Confidence from Canvas to Clean-up
with Christine Raymond
Join us for a beginner-friendly workshop designed to remove the mystery from oil painting. Learn how to mix paint, control consistency, apply color with intention, and care for your materials properly. From setting up your palette to cleaning your brushes, this workshop gives you the practical skills and confidence you need to paint whatever subject excites you.
Have you always wanted to try oils but felt intimidated by the “rules”? n this 5-hour immersive workshop, you’ll:
• Understand how oil paint actually works
• Mix clean, luminous color
• Avoid common beginner mistakes
• Learn proper brush care and studio habits
• Leave with a finished small painting and a repeatable process
No overwhelm. No confusion. Just clear steps and confident painting.
Please note that other than a canvas supplies will NOT be provided for this class. A list of recommended supplies can be found here.
Ages 13+
Saturday, June 13
11:30 am - 4:30 pm
Registration Fee: $150 Canvas Fee: $5
So Much Drama: A Screenwriting Course
with Katharine Hanifen
Ages: 13 - 18
So Much Drama is a weeklong generative stage and screenwriting course for teenagers that explores the structure and forms around both playwriting and film writing. Throughout the week, we’ll practice getting down the structure and format, discuss our favorite plays and films, and create our own short works ready for the stage and screen.
By the end of the course, you’ll have a collection of fresh writing, peer feedback, and practical tools to continue your writing journey beyond the workshop.
Come ready to write, share, and grow.
This workshop is open to writers of all levels and genres.
Ages 13-18
Monday-Friday
June 22-26
Registration Fee: $285
Quiet Spaces: Painting Personal Moments
with Nick Austin
Ages: 13 - 18
This class invites students to paint intimate scenes inspired by memory, relationships, and everyday life, with an emphasis on mood and emotional clarity over technical precision.
Working in acrylic, students will translate personal moments into visual scenes through thoughtful composition, cropping, and simplified forms. The course explores how interiors and personal spaces can act as emotional containers, and how color, atmosphere, and figure/environment relationships contribute to meaning.
Students will develop one or two small-scale paintings over the course of the class, refining cohesion and narrative focus, and will conclude with a supportive group critique centered on emotional resonance and visual connotation.
All supplies will be provided via the supply fee.
Ages 13-18
Fridays 6-8 pm
June 26 - July 17
Registration Fee: $152
Anime Basics
with Leaf Lemon
Ages: 13 - 17
For teens who are passionate about anime, this camp offers an opportunity to learn the art of drawing anime-style characters, scenes, and stories.
Students will explore character design, backgrounds, and unique anime techniques while refining their skills with step-by-step instruction.
Whether new to anime art or looking to enhance their style, this camp will help teens develop their own creative voice in the world of anime!
Ages 13-17
Monday - Friday 1-4 pm
June 29 - July 3
Registration Fee: $285
Digital Alchemy: The Art of the Edit
with Lydia Bratton
Ages: 13 - 18
Evolve beyond standard presets and discover the limitless potential of the digital powerful lines of the historic railroad, the vibrant character of unique storefronts, and the hidden gardens tucked away among the city’s historic architecture.
Using your own smartphone or digital camera, you’ll hunt for inspiration in everything from rusted textures to blooming nature. Back in the lab, your digital device is just the beginning; you'll learn to transfer your images to the desktop and use Krita’s professional-grade tools to deconstruct and reimagine your shots.
Whether you are crafting surrealist dreamscapes, painterly portraits, or bold “glitch” art, this week is about total creative independence and mastering the modern alchemy of digital expression. Capture the world in all its details; then, entirely on your own canvas.
Ages 13-18
Monday - Friday, 1-4 pm
July 6-10
Registration Fee: $285
Acrylics Basics and Beyond
with Michele Frantz
Join artist Michele Frantz for a 4 lesson session in acrylic painting!
Versatile and forgiving, acrylic paints may be manipulated with a wide array of techniques, applied to many different surfaces, and modified with various additives.
Students new to acrylics will learn introductory basics; experienced students will improve their skills and explore new directions.
Class is offered throughout the year with a different approach presented in each session.
Click here for a list of supplies. Canvases and boards will be provided by the instructor.
Ages 15+
Tuesdays 10:30-12:30
July 7-28
Tuition: $152 Canvas Fee: $5