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Small-group classes for grown-up beginners

Remember when you loved to draw?

Come back to it. In a small, friendly class where a real teacher watches you closely and helps you get better, week by week.

See upcoming classesFrom $47 · 8 seats a class · No experience needed
Adult art students smiling together and showing the winter paintings they completed in class

“Wait… I actually made that?”

Said in almost every first class.

8

students maximum per class

2 hrs

unhurried, once a week

10+ yrs

of teaching adult beginners

0

experience required

THE HONEST PART

You loved to draw as a kid, so much you'd lose whole afternoons in it and come out feeling completely happy.

Somewhere along the way, life told you to put that down.

Maybe it was a parent who said there's no money in it. Maybe it was just marriage, kids, work, and the years slipping by, one on top of another.

That old spark is flickering back to life. But something is still holding you back.

  • Your mind doesn't stop circling thoughts

    At night, at the store, in the middle of an ordinary conversation, and you're tired from carrying a mind that won't just be quiet.

  • You lost someone close to you

    Even though time has passed, some days the weight of it is still right there in your chest.

  • You're not sure who you are without the roles you used to play

    The job, the kids, the schedule that used to fill every hour, some of that is gone or changing now, and the space it left behind feels bigger than you expected.

  • You don't know where to start anymore

    The materials are out, the table is cleared, and still you sit down and don't know what to draw or where to begin.

Almost every student says the same thing on day one: “I just want to feel like myself again.” That's exactly what this class gives back.

Student pastel painting of a rose in a glass vase beside a cup of coffee

What changes

What happens when you finally pick it back up

Something shifts the moment you sit down with a pencil or a brush again. Your mind gets quiet. The busy thoughts fade into the background, and for two hours you are simply here, looking at light and shadow, mixing a colour until it is right.

  • Getting a piece of yourself back.
  • A small dose of the joy you had as a kid.
  • A reason to look forward to your week.
  • Proof that you can still learn something new.

You don’t need talent to start. You just need someone patient to show you how.

Tan holding one of her lavender field paintings
Lavender field at sunset, an acrylic painting by Tan
One of Tan’s own paintings, acrylic on canvas.

Meet your teacher

Hi, I’m Tan.

I’ve been teaching for years, and I still get excited every time a student looks down at their paper and says, “Wait… I actually made that?”

I know what it’s like to want something creative for yourself and not have the time or the confidence to chase it. That’s why I teach the way I do: small groups, real attention, and no judgement. Whatever your paper looks like right now, we’ll make it better together, one step at a time.

I understand this from the inside, not just as a teacher. A few years ago I went through anxiety myself, the kind where your thoughts don’t stop, day or night. Art was what brought me back. When I paint, there’s no room left for those thoughts, just the brush and the page in front of me. That’s part of why I teach the way I do.

My father was an artist and a musician. He passed away in 2023, and losing him taught me what grief actually feels like, not the idea of it, the real weight of it. I believe people find their way to a class, to a teacher, for a reason, not by accident. So whatever you’re carrying when you walk in, you don’t have to leave it at the door. Sometimes that’s exactly what the painting is for.

I teach the real basics most classes skip. Once you understand those, everything else gets easier.

Tan beside a display of her paintings and artwork

The artist behind the teacher

A practising artist who brings the same care to your work as she brings to her own.

What you’ll actually learn

Four fundamentals that change everything

Most classes hand you a brush and hope for the best. We build the foundation first: slowly, properly, in plain language.

01

How to actually see

Light, shadow, edges, proportion. Once your eye knows what to look for, your hand catches up faster than you’d believe.

02

How to hold and handle a pencil

The grip, the pressure, the angle. The small technical things nobody ever taught you, that change everything on the page.

03

How to mix a colour that matches

Not “green”, but that green. You’ll learn to read a colour and build it on the palette from three tubes.

04

How to finish a piece

Layers, patience, and knowing when to stop. You leave with work you want to frame, not hide in a drawer.

A collage of six photos from a drawing class: students sketching and shading a sphere, and their finished sphere studies with shading notes

Inside a single lesson

This is what one afternoon of learning to see looks like

Six moments from one class. On the left, the first careful circles. On the right, the same hands a little later, with light, shadow and a sphere that finally sits on the page. Nothing here is talent. It is just attention, shown step by step.

Student gallery

What beginners actually paint here

No filters, no professional work. These are real pieces by real students, many of whom hadn’t picked up a brush in decades.

Student artwork of vivid red cherries drawn in coloured pencil on a dark background
Cherries in coloured pencil, with light, shine and tiny water droplets.

From the studio

What students are saying

Unedited words from people who walked in nervous and left with work they were proud of.

As an absolute beginner who had never taken a sketching class before, I learned a tremendous amount. Our teacher was excellent and clearly knew what she was talking about, as well as how to teach.
Donna
It was a small group, so the training was intimate and personal. The instructor was excellent and had plenty of time to assist each of us.
Kimberly
The class was wonderful. The teacher was so patient and encouraging. The entire experience was delightful.
Ismet
The class was very well organised and executed. Tan was delightful as an instructor, knowledgeable and thoughtful.
Mary
You are an excellent teacher. I look forward to future classes with you!
Deb
An interesting and fun reintroduction to some basic principles of drawing. I would take Tan’s courses again.
Craig

Real progress, quickly

One lesson is usually enough to surprise yourself

Marc came in having never painted. After a single session he sent a photo of his own watercolour leaves with a note: “I try to do paint your first picture. Was a lot of fun.”

That is the pace here. Not someday. This week, on your own paper, with your own hands.

Try a single class for $47
A student's graphite still-life drawing of a pear with pencils beside it
Week three of the drawing fundamentals course: light, shadow and drapery.

From blank canvas to finished piece

One evening, one painting, eight proud beginners

Same class, same people. The photo on the left is mid-lesson, everyone still finding their way. The photo on the right is two hours later, every painting finished and held up with a smile.

A group of adult students painting at a long table in a studio, canvases in early stages
In progressBrushes in hand, backgrounds going down, everyone still figuring it out.
The same group of students holding up their finished winter landscape paintings, all smiling
The resultTwo hours later: finished paintings, starry skies and all. Every single one complete.

Drawing class results

Not every result is a painting. In the drawing classes, students finish a single session with perspective studies and shaded forms they are proud to hold up.

Five adult students standing in a line holding up sketchbooks with perspective drawings of books
After one sessionPerspective studies in pencil, every sketchbook showing a confident three-dimensional form.
Ten adult students posing together holding up sketchbooks with shaded pencil drawings of apples
After one sessionShaded apples in pencil, each one showing real light, shadow and form.

More than a class

Make art, share it, and find your people

Some days are playful and experimental. Others end with work proudly displayed on a gallery wall. Both belong in an artist’s life.

A group of adult students holding their colourful paintings in a neon art class
A joyful experiment with colour, movement and glow.
Tan with artists at a gallery exhibition surrounded by paintings
From the studio table to the gallery wall, every finished piece deserves its moment.
Tan demonstrating at a whiteboard while adult students paint at a long studio table
Tan walks through each step at the front, then comes round the table one by one.
Adult students drawing with soft pastels at a bright studio table by tall windows
Quiet, focused hours with pastels and pencils, coffee still warm on the table.

Three ways in

Pick the path that fits you

Come once to try it, or commit to a full course and really build the skill. Every option is capped at eight students.

The visit

The First Brushstroke

$47

one class, 2 hours

Perfect if you just want to see what this feels like. No pressure, no commitment. Come once, meet Tansholpan in person, make something the same day.

  • One full two-hour class
  • All materials set out for you
  • Personal help at your easel
  • Leave with a finished small piece
Reserve a seat
Most chosen

The course

The Ten-Week Return

$247

10 lessons, 2 hours each

Choose acrylic or watercolour and actually build the skill. Ten weeks is long enough for real technique to settle in your hands.

  • Acrylic: mixing, layering, finishing canvases
  • Watercolour: water control, soft washes, light
  • Weekly feedback on your own work
  • Finish pieces you’ll want to hang
  • Catch-up session if you miss a week
Start this course

The full path

The Atelier Year Ahead

$597

all three courses + 16 private hours

For the student ready to stop dabbling and actually become a painter, with Tansholpan’s full attention, at your pace, on your schedule.

  • Drawing, acrylic and watercolour, all three
  • A personal learning plan built around your goals
  • 16 hours of one-to-one lessons over 2 months
  • Scheduled around your life, not a timetable
  • Portfolio review at the end
Book your spot

Not sure which one? Start with the $47 class. Its cost comes off your course if you enrol within a month.

For those who want to go all in

The Atelier Year Ahead

This is the package for the student who is done dabbling. Every course, plus sixteen private hours built entirely around what you want to paint.

$597

Everything, over two months · four private places a term

Book your spot

  • All three courses

    Drawing, acrylic and watercolour: the complete foundation, in the right order.

  • A plan made for you

    We start with what you want to be able to paint, and work backwards from it.

  • 16 one-to-one hours

    Just you and Tansholpan, over two months, scheduled around your life.

  • Her full attention

    Nothing shared, nothing rushed. Every hour is spent on your work.

How a class goes

Nothing to prepare, nothing to prove

  1. STEP 1

    Choose your seat

    Pick a single class to try, a ten-lesson course, or the full premium path. Eight seats per class, no more.

  2. STEP 2

    Come as you are

    Materials are waiting on the table. No shopping list, no homework, no experience required.

  3. STEP 3

    Work with someone beside you

    Two unhurried hours. Tansholpan moves around the room and works on your page with you, not at the whiteboard.

  4. STEP 4

    Leave with something real

    Every session ends with finished or nearly-finished work, and one specific thing to practise next.

A few questions you might have

Everything people ask before their first class

I haven’t drawn since I was a kid. Is this really for me?

Yes, this is exactly who the class is built for. Almost every student says this before their first session, and you’ll be sitting with people at the very same starting point.

What if I’m just not talented?

Talent isn’t the starting point; practice is. Every skill taught here is learnable, and most students see visible progress inside their first two-hour lesson.

Do I need to bring my own supplies?

No. Don’t buy anything before you come. Everything you need is set out for you, and we’ll tell you exactly what to get later if you want your own kit at home.

I’m nervous about being the “worst” in the class.

There is no worst here. Classes are deliberately small so Tansholpan can help you personally instead of talking to a big room, and nobody’s work is held up for comparison.

How long is a class, and how often do they run?

Every class is two hours. Courses run one lesson a week for ten weeks, so you always have time to let the last lesson settle.

What if I miss a week?

Life happens. Missed lessons can be caught up in another group session at no extra cost. Just let us know.

You don’t need permission to start again. You just need a first class.

Your paints have been waiting long enough.

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