A Painter's Experience

Some of Gallery 86’s first art students during a group meeting.

Gallery 86 inaugurated its arts education offerings with a series of painting workshops led by co-founder, Nicolas Gonzalez. Gonzalez was awarded an ArtsActivate grant through the City of Dallas’s Office of Arts and Culture to lead a class of students through the creation of a painting, starting with stretching a canvas on a frame. The classes culminated with a student art show open to the general public.

Students participating in a group critique.

The students met weekly on Saturdays to learn about the elements and principles of art, as well as basic design concepts. They also learned how to put these principles into practice with plenty of time to paint. The series also included class critiques, which taught students how to evaluate artwork and comment on pieces constructively.

Students listening to their peer explain their artwork.

The workshops were well received, with many students expressing a desire for continued workshops to be offered at the studio. Families were also supportive, as they recognize the intellectual and emotional growth available to their students through the study and practice of art and artmaking.

The original promotional flyer for the workshops.

A few of our first students by some of the created artwork.

This marks the beginning of many arts education offerings planned at the art studio with more to come in the following months. Gallery 86 would like to thank the Office of Arts and Culture for the support, and we look forward to continuing to grow the arts in Pleasant Grove by expanding our arts education offerings.