Class: People and Pets: Capturing Your Subject

In this class, you will delve into the world of portraiture, capturing the essence of people, pets and animals through abstract and realistic compositions. Our focus will be on creating unique and expressive artworks that reflect the character, personality and emotions of your subjects.

Join Art Start Northwest and Graphite Arts Center founder, Mary Olsen, as she guides you through the fundamentals of art, including composition, color theory, along with tips and techniques for working with different mediums, such as acrylic, watercolor, and pencils.

We provide personalized instruction and a supportive creative environment to work in. Each participant will leave class with a one-of-a-kind artwork that reflects their own personal artistic style. This is an explorational class for all levels – beginners to advanced – everyone is welcome to come and make art with us.

All supplies are included, but feel free to bring your own supplies to experiment with. Bring a photo of a person, pet or animal you’d like to use in your artwork. If you don’t have a photo you want to use, we will have mirrors available for self-portraits or you can bring a friend to class and paint them!

About Mary Olsen:
Mary Olsen is a working artist driven by a belief that art instruction is an integral part of a quality education. Mary founded Art Start NW to bring enrichment into Edmonds Public Schools. That mission expanded with the creation of Graphite, a physical home for artists to work in their preferred medium, collaborate and show their work. Mary’s commitment to making Edmonds a center for visual art inspires teachers, Art Start NW staff and visitors every day.

When: May 7 & 14, 2025 (2 sessions)
Time: 6:00PM – 8:00PM
Cost: $90
Ages: Adults 18+
Instructor: Mary Olsen
Supply Fee: All supplies included
Location: Graphite Arts Center, 202 Main St., Edmonds, WA 98020
Pre-registration required

Class fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. Register early! If there are less than 6 people in a class, the class could get cancelled and your money will be refunded.

Questions? contact workshops@artstartnw.org