Study with Tim Chambers

Workshops ~ Online Classes ~ Materials ~ FAQs

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Upcoming Art Workshops for kids and adults:

• Children's workshops. REGISTER if interested. Read on to learn what we do! 
  • Northern Virginia: Purcellville, February 2010
  • Los Angeles / Thousand Oaks, CA:  Summer, 2010
  • Los Angeles / Ventura, CA: Summer, 2010
• Parent's workshop- How to Teach Your Children Art at Home. This will be an all-day event with childcare that will help parents teach the basics to your children
  • Purcellville, VA area- Winter 2010.  Details forthcoming.
• Portrait workshops- see info, photos below.

Children's Art Workshop sessions- details    REGISTER to add your name for future workshops. 

• Learning the Fundamentals I. Children are introduced to perspective, value, color, drawing and painting in this workshop. Intense, fun, and hands-on learning.  
• Learning from the Masters. After learning the fundamentals, children will create paintings from life and reference photographs, culminating in creating their own copy of a painting by a master artist such as Monet, Degas, da Vinci, and others. Children will frame their "masterpiece" in a frame that they create- a proud moment!
• Learning the Fundamentals II. C  A continuation of Fundamentals I, as students learn about 2-point perspective, propotions, and continue developing their understanding of concepts learned in Fundamentals I, plus other painting tricks of the trade. 
• Learning to Paint Landscapes. This is an exciting venture into painting en plein air in the beautiful outdoors. It's an invigorating  experience, best undertaken after having understood the Fundamentals. 
• Learning to Draw Faces. Tim takes the ultimate art genre and breaks it down into simple steps that help students begin to draw faces from life and photographs. It's a fun workshop that offers more group interaction as they practice by drawing other students' portraits! A fun follow-up to one or two Fundamentals workshops.
  • See brochure for typical workshop details
  • Children's workshops are a series of 3- to 5-day workshops, 2-4 hours per day, for ages 8+
  • Locations nationwide.  To host a workshop in your town, please write studio@timothychambers.com 
    • In Purcellville, VA classes held at Blue Ridge Bible Church, 770 S. 20th St., directions .
  • Cost: Tuition $200 per student; additional children from same family are $150. Material fee of $25 add'l.
  • For more info, questions, or to register, contact coordinator Kim Chambers at kim@timothychambers.com

• Pictures from previous Children's Art Workshops:

  • Southern Cal Session 1
  •  VA Session 3
  •  Session 2
  • Session 1

• Portrait workshops
  • Consideration is being made for locations for 2010 workshops. If interested, please email us at studio@timothychambers.com.
    • Pictures from our recent Portrait Workshop in northern Virginia:

If you'd like to host a workshop in your town, please contact the studio. Click on one of the workshop brochures to the left for a sample workshop itinerary.

Coming Fall 2010- Online Art Curriculm for students! We'll be offering an intensive video-based, intuitive art training program for your children. Classes run per semester, include interaction with other students, and can even earn high-school credits for those who homeschool their children! Stay tuned.

General info about Tim's Drawing and Painting Classes & Workshops

Tim offers classes for adults and children in northern Virginia and just about anywhere else (he's still waiting for the invitation to conduct a workshop in the Caribbean, Greece, Spain, ...). The teaching is intense, the atmosphere lighthearted and enjoyable. The format is based on individual attention and critique in a group setting. Tim believes in motivating his students to enjoy using their gifts in resopnse to the beauty that our Creator has placed all around us. He pays close attention to where each of his students is in their artistic development, and guides his instruction to help each student move forward in implementing tools to better enable them to create what they intend. His method is to teach his students to ask the proper questions to understand what it is they are after, not simply to offer a temporary fix to what may be wrong in their work. Tim teaches because he really enjoys teaching, and there are many who enjoy learning.

All are welcome to Tim's classes and workshops. If you are interested in attending, please contact his studio at via email (studio@timothychambers.com) or phone (540-338-8332).

FAQs re classes, supplies, etc.

• Re Supplies...
  1. What supplies will I need for your adult classes? Refer to my material list for items. The essential items are marked with an asterisk (*), and once you purchase the items, you'll be set for quite a while, not having to replace (spend) for some time.
  2. What supplies will I need for your children's classes? Nothing! All materials are provided.
  3. Will I need all the colors you've listed on your material list? Essentially, yes.
  4. May I use some older brushes I've found? The right tool is critical for success in any endeavor, including painting. The brushes I recommend in my material list will give you the most flexibility and control when painting. Bring your older brushes to class and I'll take a look at them. You cannot use watercolor brushes for oil, however.
  5. Do I need to do anything to my canvas or panels prior to class? If you have time, I encourage you to rub a thin coat of your medium (see material list) mixed with a small dab of umber and ultramarine (or other color to tint) on your surface a few days before class. This will give you a nice toned surface to paint on, one in which the paint will flow and not sink in.
  6. What is the best size canvas/panel to work on in class?  For portraits, I suggest 16"x20" or 20"x24". Landscapes can be smaller, as suggested on the material list. 
  7. Must I use maroger medium?  Maroger (pronounced "mer-ro-jay") is a great medium for oil painting, but use what you're familiar with. Purchase maroger medium at www.oldmastersmaroger.com.
• Re class time...
  1. If I want to draw instead of paint in your class, is this okay? Absolutely. You can use vine charcoal (medium grade) on good-quality charcoal paper, (4-6 large sheets of a good paper stacked and clipped to a support board. See material list for details.
  2. Do I need to bring donuts to class? Actually, anything chocolate will do.
  3. What is one item students most often forget for class? The all-important notebook. I believe taking good notes of what you're learning is essential to improving.
• Re children's classes...
  1. How early can my child begin serious study and development of their artistic gifts? For children's classes, age 8 is good. Younger children's typically have too short an attention span to benefit from the info I share.   For kids interested in art as a vocation, I recommend consistent study beginning at about 16 years of age. I will be happy to offer parents methods for training at home.
  2. Must my child be at a certain skill level to attend your workshops?  No. If you think they'd enjoy learning art whether to develop talent or appreciation, they'll have fun and benefit. 
  3. What kind of feedback have you received from parents? The feedback from parents has been incredible! Their kids are learning and enjoying the class, and are inspired to continue practicing and creating. Not sure who's having more fun- me or the kids. Parents love the workshops.
• Re life...
  1. Are you a religious person?  No. However- I do live with a hope and conviction. Like many, I have faith. The difference may be in the object of that faith. Instead of it being in success, money or savings, etc., as it once was, my faith is in Jesus Christ. Through Him God has graciously and unequivaclly demonstrated His great love for you and me. I have learned (the hard way, of course) that religion won't bring me the peace and joy I seek, but instead realize that through Jesus Christ I am loved, in an incredibly tender way, by God. I am overwhelmed by His mercy and grace to me, and so, when I cast aside my fears, my hurts, and my rights, I am able live in response to this great love, and viola! the joy and peace pours in! So, it's not religion, but a friendship with the God I once feared. Can't imagine living any other way, pursuing any other course. I'm forgiven, once and for all, and I have an amazing eternity to look forward to. All who accept His offer of love and then follow and treasure Him can enjoy life forever. Oh yeah! Awesome. In a nutshell, I believe Jesus Christ is who He said He was. BTW- I don't impose my convictions upon my students. Ask me, though, and I'll be glad to share the Good News with you.

Thanks for your interest! Please don't hesitate to contact me if you should have any questions or suggestions. If you know of someone who may be interested in joining the class, please extend my invitation to them. I look forward to painting with you!

Sincerely,
Tim Chambers