Ever had an image in your mind that you so badly want to draw out?
Or do you feel the childhood dream of yours slowly resurfacing again?
If that is you, why not come on down to Visual Arts Centre (VAC) and let us help you fulfil this dream of yours!
Here at VAC, we offer a wide variety of classes, ranging from sketching and drawing to different mediums of painting such as oil painting, acrylic painting and watercolour painting.
“Draw me like one of your French girls…”
I am sure we have all watched Titanic at least once and it might be easy for one to dismiss the importance of sketching and drawing when we witness how just fast Jack drew a portrait of Rose in the movie. Truth is, the practice of drawing and sketching is the foundation of all visual arts. With mere usage of a pencil and drawing lines and using different tones, one gives life to three-dimensional forms on a piece of paper. Furthermore, the practice of drawing is therapeutic in nature and helps to cultivate patience, mental alertness, and perseverance. Now we know why Jack had so much concentration – nope, not because of Rose’s beauty. He just he had to.
“Wait? Mona Lisa was painted with oil?”
Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci
Did you know that the portrait of Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci was painted with oil? If drawing and sketching is not something that is up your alley, why not give oil painting a try? The courses involving this medium introduces observation, form and composition, colour mixing and blending and brushwork. It has been known to help improve one’s problem-solving skills because should one not like the brush strokes they have applied, they would need to figure out a way to either cover up the mistake or choose to paint a different way.
Oil painting has been around for centuries and is a medium that is popular among famous artists such as Botticelli and Picasso. The worth of oil paintings is established by its maturity and age and that partially explains why oil paintings from centuries ago are so valuable. So who knows, your great great great grandson might thank you for taking up these lessons in the future.
Watercolour Paintings
J.M.W Turner, Venice Looking East from the Guidecca, Sunrise
Edward Hopper, Adams House
Have you ever wanted to paint a landscape or just something light, subtle and abstract? Well, watercolour is the perfect medium for you. If you are also someone who makes a big mess when you are painting or doing anything, watercolour is just for you. Just a splash of water on your clothes or the furniture and they will be as good as new.
On a serious note, watercolour has a lot of advantages. For one, you do not have to worry about wasting paint. If you happen to squeeze out too much paint, you can just leave it out to dry and add a bit of water and you are good to go. Additionally, it is relatively inexpensive to get watercolour paints so for all the budding artists out there, this might be a good medium to start with. Last but not least, watercolour is simply magical. While paintings using other mediums require the light to bounce of directly the colour on the painting, water colour is allows the light to bounce of the white paper and reflect through the paint. This gives watercolour paintings a distinct brilliance and clarity that might otherwise look harsh if another medium was used. This would also mean that the paint from one tube could give different shades of the same colour, depending on the amount of water added to the paint.
“Are these photos?”
Jack of Diamonds/ A Pair of Jacks (top to bottom) by Kenneth Hershenson
There is something magical about paintings that are able to capture immense amount of details such as the reflection of the facades of the objects painted in the painting. Kenneth Hershenson managed to do that with the two acrylic paintings he did, as shown above.
As with other mediums such as watercolour and oil, acrylic has its own distinct characteristics and advantages. It is very versatile, durable and also dries very fast. Unlike other mediums, acrylic paintings was only developed in the late 1940s. Despite that, it was a medium that many artists soon embraced. Pop artists such as Andy Warhol managed to grasp and develop further what acrylic paints could do and produced many notable art pieces such as his famous “Campbell Soup can”. Vincent Van Gogh was another genius that painted many amazing pictures out of acrylic, most notably “Starry Night” and “Sunflower”.
Over here at Visual Arts Centre, we understand that different people learn art for different reasons. We approach each student in an academic and professional way and cater to them base on the end goal they have after the many sessions of learning art with us. Having been established since 2016, we have accommodated many students, ranging from students who are preparing their portfolio to get enrolled in the art school of their choice to the older groups of people who want to pick up a hobby and learn a life skill. With mere 12-24 sessions with us, many novice have learnt many sketching and painting techniques and are now proud to call their paintings their own.
Visual Arts Centre has a many art lessons lined up throughout the week and hence is definitely able to accommodate your schedule. The studio also provides all the materials and equipment so that students do not have to worry about the large amount of costs incurred should they buy the materials themselves. Most importantly, we provides a spacious and comfortable ambience for you to enjoy and lose yourself in the creation of art.
Here are some information about the range of classes we offer:
8 Sessions Package (valid for 4 months)
- Oil Painting : $380
- Acrylic Painting : $ 360
- Drawing and Sketching : $320
12 Sessions Package (valid for 6 months)
- Any Mediums : $ 500
- Drawing and Sketching : $450
24 Sessions Package (valid for 10 months) : $960 + 2 Free Sessions
48 Sessions Package (valid for 16 months) : $960 + 2 Free Sessions
Some of you might be thinking, what about children? Look no further! Visual Arts Centre also have our very own kids immersion art course.
What’s better? We are now holding a brand new class for the little ones every Sundays, 3:30pm to 5pm, the perfect time after a good ol’ brunch or before an early dinner with the family! Check out the new lesson schedule and new lesson course outline over here.
For more information, do contact us at 6255 0711 or drop us an email at info@visualartscentre.sg
So what are you waiting for? Bring yourself down to Visual Arts Centre today and kick start your colourful journey with us!
