Art Classes for Adults in Arlington Heights:
“Nature contains the elements, in colour and form, of all pictures, as the keyboard contains the notes of all music. But the artists is born to pick, and choose, and group with science, these elements, that the result may be beautiful - as the musician gathers his notes, and forms his chords, until he brings forth from chaos glorious harmony.”
Drawing and Oil Painting Classes:
Learn realistic drawing and oil painting in the tradition of the old masters. Marybeth Kou Fine Art Studio is a private art school in the Northwest Chicago suburbs, located in Arlington Heights, offering art lessons for adults and high school students.
Have you been frustrated by classes in which you’re free to “express yourself” with little guidance? I offer clear, informative instruction designed for adults and teens of all experience levels. My classes are built around a comprehensive curriculum in which projects build off each other in a step-by-step fashion in order to build skill, confidence, and mastery.
I seek to meet the needs of each student wherever they are at. Small class sizes – 8 students at a time - allow for extensive personalized instruction. Starting with foundational principles and techniques to train your eye and hand, I will help equip you with the tools needed to realize your artistic vision. Whether you are building a portfolio in preparation for college, seeking to hone your skills in a professional field, or pursuing a hobby, these disciplines will bring your work to the next level.
For a more extensive explanation of my curriculum and teaching framework, please read more here.
Located in Arlington Heights, serving the Northwest Chicago suburbs including Schaumburg, Barrington, Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Mount Prospect, Elk Grove Village.
Available Classes:
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Learn the fundamentals of line drawing and modeling to create life-like form on a 2-D surface. As we work to sharpen the eye and train the hand we will progress from simple exercises in line-drawing, perspective, and modeling basic volumes, to a final still life project. All work will be done directly from life. I will walk you through the process with demonstrations and cover topics including accurate drawing tips, a step-by-step drawing procedure, principles of perspective, principles of value and form, value application methods, and more. (See example projects here.)
Drawing Level I is an overview class in which we briefly touch on each section of the full curriculum. It is a kind of orientation class for students intending to work through the full curriculum, or it can be taken as a one-time intro to drawing class just on its own.
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Level II is for returning students only. This second level drawing class builds off of the same principles taught in the first level with more advanced projects. We return each section of the full curriculum to work through it in a more thorough manner. Once a student reaches the second level drawing class, projects are completed at the student’s own pace.
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Learn the fundamentals of realistic painting by direct observation of the still life. In this class we will dive into all three dimensions of color: hue (where a color falls on the color wheel), value (the degree of lightness or darkness), and chroma (the intensity of the color). We will begin with constructing a value scale and color wheel and progress from exercises with simple volumes to a finished still life. I will walk you through the process with demonstrations and cover topics including accurate drawing tips, a step-by-step painting procedure, principles of hue, value, and chroma, paint application methods, and more. (See example projects here.)
Painting Level I is an overview class in which we briefly touch on each section of the full painting curriculum. It is a kind of orientation class for students intending to work through the full curriculum, or it can be taken as a one-time intro to oil painting class just on its own.
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Level II is for returning students only. This second level painting class builds off of the same principles taught in the first level with more advanced projects. We return each section of the full curriculum to work through it in a more thorough manner. Once a student reaches the second level painting class, projects are completed at the student’s own pace.
Drawing Supply List
Painting Supply List
For the majority of class time students work on their own projects at their own pace receiving periodic individual instruction and occasional group demos/lectures. Because of this structure I combine all students drawing/painting/beginner/advanced in each class. Please see the class times below. You will be able to select a time slot when you fill out the registration form.
Winter 2025 Class Schedule:
Tuesdays/Wednesdays January 7th - March 5th: 9 classes
Class time slots:
Tuesday: evening, 6:30-9:00 pm
Wednesday: afternoon, 3:30-6:00 pm,
Wednesday: evening: 6:30-9:00 pm
Tuition: $410 (tuition is for one 2.5 hr class per week for 9 weeks)
Spring/Summer 2025:
Maternity Leave
Fall 2025 Class Schedule:
Specific dates TBD, usually October to early December - sign up for my newsletter for announcements!
Registration:
To register for a class, please click the button below, add the class deposit to your cart, and fill out the registration form. The form will prompt you to select a time slot and drawing or painting. A non-refundable $50 deposit is required to secure a spot.
If you have never worked with me before, you are welcome and encouraged to come visit a class (if there is a current class running) before you register. Just contact me to plan a visit!
Students may sign up for as many classes as their budget and time allow.
Refund policy: If you are taking my classes for the first time you may attend the first two classes and receive a refund for the remaining classes if you wish to drop the class (the $50 deposit is non-refundable and you will pay $45/class for the class(es) that you attend, but the remaining classes will be refunded). After the beginning of the third class I will no longer give refunds.
Absences: If you miss a class for any reason, you may take a make-up any time in the semester by attending another time slot if spots are available - just contact me first. Make-ups do not carry over to the next semester.
What students say - from yelp and google
“Marybeth is a great artist and also an amazing instructor. She is passionate about art and passionate about teaching art!
I have taken painting lessons with some wonderful artists in the past few years but my learning experience with Marybeth has been the greatest! Even though in a group setting, the still-life set up, the instructions and feedbacks that each student receives make each class feel like a private lesson!”
“Marybeth is an amazing artist and a devoted and serious teacher. I started taking oil painting classes about three months ago with almost no background and already feel I made some progress. I will also be taking a sketching class with her next semester to help improve my paintings.
The classes are well thought of (none of the “paint your feeling as you feel you should” kinda things), each introducing a new topic and new painting technique. We learn to train our eyes to see and our hand to paint, while using professional tools and speaking in a professional language. In class, Marybeth will typically demonstrate the technique and then, when we are all painting, will sit with each of us, offering her professional opinion and constructive criticism to help us improve. Some of my classmates are more advanced and have more experience than I do, but Marybeth is able to adjust to each student’s level.”
Located at 748 W Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60005