Update about our April Schedule

First of all I want to check in with each of you to see how everyone is holding up. I really hope you are well and safe. Just to remind you, the best way to prevent the spread of the virus or any germs is to follow the "Safer at Home" order in place across the entire state of California.

It's been more than two weeks since we postponed classes and workshops. I was hoping this would be over soon... But it looks like we should take at the very least another month or maybe more to start getting back to life again.

That being said, we will not be meeting until mayor Garcetti eases the restriction. We will send you an update about when to resume your class and workshop as soon as we hear from him, and in the meantime if you have any questions, feel free to email Juri at artist@klineacademy.com or call Cheryl at 310-927-2436.

We can get through this. We artists are survivors and we don’t give up!

Virtual hugs to all,

Cheryl Kline

Update on our March Schedule: We will not meet until the first week of April

We are as concerned as you are and with Mayor Garcetti’s new announcement for us all to be more proactive in preventing the further spread of this virus in our city.

We have also decided that we also need to play it safe. Teen class will have their last class today and resume first week of April. All other classes will not be meeting until first week of April.

EXCEPTIONS:

Plein Air Landscape Painting Workshop

The outdoor landscape workshop will still meet at Kenneth Hahn State Park on Saturday, March 21st from 9:30am to 1:30pm. Since it is outdoors we feel it is safe and will be a good relief for those who need art to get through this.

The Imaginary Landscape Workshop

The Imaginary Landscape Workshop will still meet on Friday, March 27 and Sunday March 29. There will be a limited number of students (eight) with plenty of space in-between easels.

One-on-Ones and Private Lessons:
Most of our instructors will be available for private in-studio lessons or critiques. Limited to a maximum of 2 people per session at the private class rate. (If you want to help these artists keep afloat and pay their bills, please schedule a session with them.)

To schedule:

Call our office at (310) 837-7194 or Cheryl at (310) 927-2436 or email us at klineacademy@att.net

I will also be available by phone or Skype / Facetime free of charge if any of you are working at home and need a quick look or some guidance to continue your project.

None of us could have predicted this type of event so we will greatly appreciate your patience and understanding. Everyone will have a class (classes) credit as soon as you resume your time with us.

Stay healthy and keep making art...

- Cheryl Kline

An important note on the coronavirus : What we are doing to keep you safe

First of all let me assure you that all of us at Kline Academy are as alert about this situation as you are.

A comforting thing to note is that our class sizes are relatively small — from 6 to 12 people. Much much less than you would encounter at the mall, market, nail salon, barber, or any other public place you may need to visit.

We have implemented the following to help avert possible contact of any viruses flu or other with our students:

• We sanitize all surfaces after every class
• We provide free of charge, disposable gloves to anyone who wants them
• All instructors are required to wear disposable gloves while teaching
• Hand sanitizer in the studio for anyone to use at anytime
• An extended make-up policy for anyone who feels sick - If you wake up and feel ill, CALL US at 310-927-2436 or 310-837-7194 and STAY HOME. We will work with you to figure out a make-up plan.
• Skype or Facetime us if you do get sick. Let’s say you do get a bad flu or God forbid the coronavirus and need to stay home, I will personally skype with you for a private session in lieu of your missed class. That is assuming you are up for an art lesson in your home on your computer. I will work with you for 45 minutes on your own project so will not miss a class and be comfortable in your own home. Email at klineacademy@att.net for more information on this. 

When you are at the studio, please follow those time-trusted tips for your own health and safety:

• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue or your elbow

Art is the one thing that heals and let us forget the day to day struggles of this world. Let's not let "IT" go and keep being artists and working on our craft.

- Cheryl Kline

KA student Jessica Bellamy in a Group Show!

Kline Academy Student Jessica Bellamy to be in

Parallel Realities and Unpopular Truths with 
Superposition Gallery


from March 10 to March 14, 2020. 

Parallel Realities and Unpopular Truths
Artists Reception

Saturday, March 14th, 7-10pm

 3718 W Slauson Ave. 
Windsor Hills, CA 90043


Join Jessica for a reception on the closing night of Parallel Realities and Unpopular Truths, a group exhibition with Superposition Gallery. She will have three pieces in this show which features seven artists from Los Angeles and New York. She would love to see you there!


Jessica's work:

"Absolute Power"

2020

"Ambivalent Sunrise"

2020

"Empirical Evidence of a Mirror Universe 

at Yosemite Falls"

2020

Chat with Thomas Garner...

Kline Academy of Fine Arts

hosting

Thomas Garner
Professional Artist / Instructor

Thomas Garner went to the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice where he learned to paint and found a strong nexus between craft and concept. 

"My painting style started out as photo-realistic, but with time I learned the craft of the masters so that now I am able to create a unified mechanism between technique and content, painting about painting. I strive to learn everything I can to about every aspect of figurative painting that has brought me explore live figure painting, plein air, still life and portraiture."

Here is some insight shared by Thomas Garner:

What is your daily / weekly schedule as a working artist?

"I have my regular day job in fashion graphics and illustration but every evening I am at my easel painting whether I am tired or not as I have been doing for the last 35 years. It is my meditation, or my drug. When I find time I also paint on weekends in a more up time of the day. I reserve that for doing Alla Prima work which requires a more energetic treatment."

How do you prepare your drawing / painting surface?

"I generally prepare my own canvases. When I do my Classical work I use linen which I sometimes prepare with traditional rabbit glue and gesso. Often I will also hand stitch canvases together to achieve a visible seam across the painting. This is one of my own signature artistic, symbolic gestures. For my Urban painting I use denim in place of canvas as it strikes me as being more symbolically appropriate for urban subjects. In both cases I mask off a passpartout border of exposed fabric around the periphery that functions as a frame. Then also in both cases I tone my canvases according to the subject that can be yellow ocher for the classical work and magenta for the urban. In other cases such as portraits or plain air it would be some shade of chromatic grays."

Panel vs cotton canvas? Which do you prefer?

"I generally prefer canvas because it usually has the right amount of tooth or roughness to pick up paint and gives a good brushy, textured effect. Depending how a panel is primed it can be too smooth presenting an obstacle when applying the first layers of paint. That said, there are times when a smooth panel can be very effective for example you are looking for a streaky effect or working on a subject that is highly detailed."

Natural vs synthetic hair? Which do you prefer?

"I think that in recent times synthetic bristles have way out-stripped traditional, natural hogs hair bristle. They perform better in terms of flexibility, they hold a nice razor sharp edge, they clean easier and last longer, and often cost less."

Hog or sable?

"Synthetic sable has not yet surpassed natural sable. Nothing beats the performance of genuine sable if you are inking a drawing giving beautiful, expressive thick and thin linage. Real sable is usually too soft for oil painting except in some of the finest details and where very smooth blending is needed. Oil painting in most cases requires a stiffer brush because the medium is thick and needs to be pushed into the texture of the canvas. I have however found among some synthetic bristles the characteristic of bristle that is stiff in the stem but bends softly towards the tip giving the best of both types."