UPDATE because I was thinking about this place, as I got an email from them. I get them often and…read morealways look forward to it. About 6 months before we moved from Oceanside to Temecula area, I planned on attending Watts Atelier. I did a lot of research and found them because I wanted to study anatomy, for my sculptures. Sadly, the class didn't fill up enough, for them to justify that specific class. I went to the facility priorly though. I was soo blown away by the atmosphere. Wonderful! I longed to go there and just sit, if I needed to. Sometimes you just know. Your spirit shines. I watched a demo of a portrait drawing and felt incredibly inspired by it. If I lived closer, I'd find a way to go there. I recommend them whole heartedly.

Mastery of any kind is not an easy road. Getting anywhere near the vicinity of mastery is pretty…read moregrueling. And when you start it will be frustrating and somewhat demoralizing. But nothing worth having is easy, right? Known around the world for its reputation, Watts is one of the few ateliers in the country reviving the tradition of 19th century studio study in Europe. I learned there is no 'right way to draw' in my undergrad program and I have nice, shiny diploma to prove it. But the collective energy of hundreds of years of artists like Fechin or Bouguereau have developed a way to see the human figure in greater depth and knowledge than any technique I've come across. I'm seeing my diploma has the right spirit, just not the proper guidance, so I've decided to move to Southern California to even get near this ancient knowledge I need to become a better draftsman. I discovered Watts through a rabbit hole of instructional drawing videos and landing on a video of the owner, Jeff discussing how to be a successful artist, which had all the right affirmations I was looking for. Based on what I saw, I decided to test drive their two week boot camp in August to see if I could cut it at a place like this. I was woefully unprepared and could barely hold the conte properly, let alone put anything on paper that didn't look like seismograph output. I was overwhelmed by all of the information that I was lacking - angles, proportions, plumb lines, perspective, curves vs. straights and on and on. I nearly gave up, but Jeff and Krista encouraged me to stick it out, and with the help of the instructors and other students, I had a small breakthrough. It just took a push for me to realize I knew more than I thought and was capable of understanding their technique. With that, I decided to move to the San Diego area to study as long as I can at Watts with a full-load of classes in the winter term. I am currently in week seven and will be here for the foreseeable future, nothing I've ever done has come close to teaching me this much. They are proponents of the Frank Reilly method of representational drawing and you work mostly in charcoal on newsprint for speed and efficiency. Mixing demos with one on one instruction, the skill you get to see inform your own work is mind-bending. There's no coddling here, so if you're a mildly skilled artist you will be humbled, but if you're looking for someone to stroke your ego (ahem, Chai T.) you may want to go to a wine & paint. Their program is not the hardest thing I've done, but it is up there, and I have this innate desire to keep it going. I came here to hone old skills I forgot I had after nearly 15 years focusing on visual and UI design. While I am far from being proficient, the process is invigorating. You're not learning to draw, you're learning how to build a human being on paper. And the more I learn, the more I want to know - forcing the strange, underhand grip of the charcoal to put marks on paper that come close (hopefully) to what's in my head. I have a whole range of classes from 20 minute head lay-ins, figure two, three and five minute quick sketch, fundamentals, facial expressions and even painterly drawing and I'm still reeling (in the best way possible). Jeff conjures up a certain type of energy that starts with him and permeates through the instructors down to the other students. Everyone is here to learn from the best and so willing to help one another out as no one is at the same level. I am absorbing more in two months than my whole undergrad program ever got close to, and my goal is to become proficient by the time I'm 40 and take my career in a whole different direction. If you're not serious, it may nudge you out fairly quickly, but if you have this desire to create art that you can't explain away, you will most likely find what you're looking for here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX0MrnzBJ8M

I found Rita on the Bob Ross website for instructors. Her studio is well-designed. My boyfriend…read moreand I sat on either side of Rita while doing our painting. She had our palettes and brushes set out, wipes for cleaning, and aprons to protect our clothes. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot as we are completely novice painters! She showed us how to use the knife and brushes to achieve different painting techniques by demonstrating and then helping out when, surprise, we were not perfect the first time! We were pleased with our results as well (shocker!). She was very patient and instructive. This was a fabulous introduction to painting, and we recommend Rita highly.

Highly recommended!! I used Rita for a private birthday…read moreparty in my home.. her and Mark came and made an amazing night! We had our food, our drinks and could be as loud as we wanted. Rita and mark never flinched putting up with us!! I didn't know, but apparently I had picked the toughest painting for beginners, but with her instructions we had no idea. We had such a great time a few weeks later we went for one of her venues. So much fun... great food, drinks and cool people to meet. I'll definitely be taking more classes since now I think/believe I'm a closeted artist!!

My 7 year old has been taking art classes here for a few years. She absolutely loves it and always…read morelooks forward to it! Her artwork has been really amazing too! That's not why I enrolled her though. I enrolled her because she simply loves expressing herself through art. But what she's learned on the inside is even better. "Everything is fixable, mommy" and "trust the process." check out some of her work:

I love little artists! My daughter has been going here for over a year and she loves it…read more Every time we have to miss a class they're very accommodating and we can schedule a make up very easily.

These paint nights are so much fun!! Wendy makes it easy. Each canvas has an outline, she walks you…read morethrough which brush to use, when to dab, all of it! I've learned so much & we've had such a great time doing these paint night parties that now we're on friend group rotation! Wendy comes prepared with all the supplies, including aprons! Super fun! I highly recommend!

Wendy was a superb instructor and made our paint party so much fun. Her energy and creativity are…read moreincredible. We would definitely book another party with her.

We visited Artberry kids art studio during their open house, and it was such a wonderful…read moreexperience. My kiddo had a blast in the sample class, and I was so impressed with how organized and thoughtfully set up the space is. The studio is bright, cute, and very inviting. You can tell the founder has a ton of experience and a true passion for helping kids explore their creativity. So excited to have this in our Town Square!

Our community is so fortunate to have the wonderful Fallbrook School of the Arts…read more I've been fortunate to attend an Art History class and Calligraphy class recently; both instructed by Dixon Fish. Dixon is a highly regarded artist master printmaker, and instructor. He's also responsible for the great display window designs at the Fallbrook Art Center. I highly recommend checking out the available courses at: http://www.fallbrookschoolofthearts.org/

Love FSOTA! Always great classes, you don't get "art shamed" when going to try something new…read more Encouraging environment and changing selection of classes to bring out your inner artist! My only wish is there were more classes in the evenings for working people. We need art therapy, too!

This is our second year at Dimensions and we have established a good rapport with our EF. I'm…read moreactually grateful we found this place because I struggled for years to get my son assessed at traditional public schools for an IEP. He is now in fourth grade. Thankfully, they got started on that right away and were able to make accommodations at the learning centers that they provide. Because of the meetings and constant communication with his educators and therapists, I have been able to adjust into a learning style that works for him. If you are a parent trying to homeschool and you need guidance, this is basically homeschooling on training wheels. It can be hybrid or full homeschooling. Your choice. It does not have the structure of the traditional schools because it's more of a free learning and free thinking school. Perfect for creativity and different learning styles. It was a learning curve for me because I was very new to homeschooling. Maybe they had a rough start considering some of the reviews. But honestly, maybe they made improvements or changes which does happen, but it hasn't personally affected us in a negative way. I looked into the school extensively before enrolling and I did have my fingers crossed when I started. To my surprise, it has been pleasant. They host lots of fun field trips and park meet ups and class sizes are small if you choose the hybrid model.

A ton of staff turn over, teachers that are still there are noticeably burnt out with their…read morebehavior and appearance, extremely unprofessional, they are rude, and they will absolutely treat you and your family different if you disagree with them in any way.. stay clear. If you're not in with the right people, they will absolutely treat you less than.

I had a great experience with Bloom + Shore. Very knowledgeable and patient with all of us. There…read morewas about 15 people, and everyone was able to make amazing trays/coasters. I plan on taking more classes from this dynamic duo!!

So fun, we were able to participate a winery! Everything was set up and ready to go for our group…read moretons of really pretty flowers to use. We made coasters and appetizer platters that turned out really cool.. I totally recommend doing this any age group by the way would work so fun.