Adult Art Classes
5 Week Adult Class Sessions meet one day a week for 5 weeks unless otherwise indicated below
Click on the class of your choice for more details, material lists and to register.
Register early for best pricing
Important Dates:
2026
Winter 1: January 4 - February 7th
Winter 2: February 8th - March 14th
Spring 1: March 15th - April 18th
Spring 2: April 19th - May 23rd
Spring 3: May 24th - June 27th
Summer 1: June 28th - August 1st
Summer 2: August 2nd - September 5th
Fall 1: September 6th - October 10th
Fall 2: October 11th - November 14th
Fall 3: November 15th - December 19th
Please read OPAL’s Registration Class Policies and Studio Code of Conduct
Please do not bring food or alcoholic beverages into the studio. Individual water bottles are permitted
with Eleana Daniel
Sunday, 2:00 - 4:00 pm. Advanced Registration Required.
This course will survey different methods and applications in non-representational painting through exploration of the history of abstraction. This course is for beginning to intermediate students who are interested in learning the key artists and movements within abstract painting while investigating their own relationship to image-making from a more conceptual lens.
Please Review our Registration Code of Conduct Policy.
with Elaine Luther
Monday, 10am-12pm. Advanced Registration Required.
Most natural dyes require preparing the fabric with mordants to get the dyes to bond with the fabric. Skip those steps by using the few natural dyes out there that really and truly work without a mordant! Colors we can achieve include lovely blues, rich browns, rusty oranges and smokey grays. Use shibori and adire folding and binding techniques to created lush fabrics with layers of colors and patterns. Dye your own 100% cotton or linen fabrics. Bandanas from Dharma Trading are a good choice, or dye pieces to use in later quilting projects. Wash according to the instructions in the materials list.
with Richard Sheppard
Monday, 6:00 - 8:00pm. Advanced Registration Required.
The best souvenirs are not the things you buy or the photos you take while traveling, but the drawings you create in a sketchbook. Sketching allows the artist to slow down enough to get acquainted with surroundings that are often overlooked while framing the world through a lens. This class will discuss materials, styles, and techniques that are best suited for travel sketching. Through the use of pencil, ink, and watercolor, we'll learn to draw and paint subjects that are both memorable and meaningful.
with Jesse Howard
Tuesday, 10am - 12pm. Advanced Registration Required.
Learn fundamental drawing techniques and expand existing skills in a variety of media to discover individual drawing style. The focus will be on constructing composition and linear perspective with an emphasis on value plane and the use of line. Students will learn how to bring clarity and consistency to their subject matter.
with Julie Sulzen
Tuesday, 6:30 - 8:30pm. Advanced Registration Required.
Students will explore the fundamentals of oil painting with an introduction to materials and by practicing skills of observation, methods of drawing, explorations of color theory, and techniques of brushwork. Utilizing carefully designed still life arrangements, fundamentals of painting such as light, shape, value, and edges will be covered. Demonstrations and discussions are designed to encourage individual progress as well as general painting guidance.
with Tony Armendariz
Wednesday, 10am-12pm. Advanced Registration Required.
Learn a range of watercolor techniques using both wet and dry pigments, suitable for artists of all experience levels.
with Mike Barret Kolasinski
Wednesday, 1pm-3pm. Advanced Registration Required.
Join us to learn the basics behind using soft pastels as a way to create pastel paintings with detail and depth.
with Jesse Howard
Wednesday, 7pm - 9pm. Advanced Registration Required.
The focus will be on constructing composition and linear perspective with an emphasis on value plane and the use of line. Students will learn how to bring clarity and consistency to their subject matter.
with Alexandra Blom
Thursday, 1:00 - 3:00 pm. Advanced Registration Required.
Explore this oldest form of printmaking through guided instruction, as well as the time to explore independently with support. Students will learn carving techniques for creating a linoleum block and how to maintain their carving tools and materials. Students will print blocks on a press and by hand, providing them with skills to access this type of print outside of class.
with Jackie Lakely
Friday, 1pm - 3pm. Advanced Registration Required.
This is a class that introduces the same concepts in different ways for each session and is for all levels of skill and experience. Emphasis is put on process over product, and we will almost always work in multiples in order to try different applications of each week’s lesson. We will work with still life arrangements and your imagination to create narrative work, as well as intuitive world-building based on combining materials as you go.
with Jackie Lakely
Friday, 4pm - 6pm. Advanced Registration Required.
This is a class that introduces the same concepts in different ways for each session and is for all levels of skill and experience. Emphasis is put on process over product, and we will almost always work in multiples in order to try different applications of each week’s lesson. We will work with still life arrangements and your imagination to create narrative work, as well as intuitive world-building based on combining materials as you go.
Shop local and get your art supplies at
802 S. Oak Park Ave.
(708)358-3600