Art Portfolio

12-18 years old

Develop skills, explore various mediums, and develop a cohesive collection of work that showcases a unique artistic voice.

Thursday: 6:00

Our 90-minute weekly art portfolio class is designed to assist artists, ages 12-18 build a strong foundation in artistic techniques while exploring a variety of mediums and styles. Students will work on developing their skills, refining their creativity, and assembling a cohesive collection of work that reflects their unique artistic voice from conception to presentation . This small group class is perfect for those looking to enhance their personal growth in art or prepare a portfolio for school applications, contests, or exhibitions. We will have artist-grade supplies available to use during class. If you’d like to purchase the supplies to use at home, we will also have a supplies pack available for purchase.

Class Syllabus

Week 1:  What is a Portfolio?

  • We will talk about what an art portfolio is and what makes a good portfolio. After going over this we can begin sketching some ideas of what the students would like to include in their portfolio. 

Week 2: Still Life/Drawing

  • We will create a still life to do some life drawing. I will go over composition and how to create a good drawing/painting. For this first still life we will use graphite pencils and/or charcoal. 

Week 3: Still Life/Painting

  • We will go over different types of painting, using a new still life we will create small paintings in acrylic and watercolor. 

Week 4: Mixed Media

  • We will go over how to combine mediums to create new art, discuss non-representational art and collage as part of mixed media. 

Week 5: Mixed Media cont’d 

  • We will continue to work on our mixed media projects or start a new mixed media piece. 

Week 6: Self Portrait

  • Students will work on the proportions of faces and how to draw people. We will then use mirrors to create a self portrait, most likely this will not be finished in one session so we will continue the next class. Students can choose preferred medium. 

Week 7: Self Portrait Continued

  • Students will finish their self portrait they started the week before, if they finished it they can create a second portrait (either of themselves or a classmate) in another medium. 

Week 8: Student Focus

  • For this week and next the students can choose what they would like to focus on most, medium and subject matter. If they would like to bring in any reference materials they can and I will be there to help them complete their work. 

Week 9: Student Focus

  • Students continue to work on self directed art pieces. Finish any art they would like done for their portfolio.

Week 10: Putting Together Your Portfolio

  • We will photograph the work the students would like to put into their portfolio and teach them how to get good photos of their work. Write their artist statements and discuss how to present your portfolio (digitally or physically).