Had fun in this class... Walked around balboa park on such a beautiful day. I was taught so many…read morenew things and features for my camera and they answers all questions that the group had. They talk human talk not photographer talk that is what I liked the most the class is 101 and and when u leave it all makes sense. I'm looking forward to going to the 102 class...

I found their classes through Meet up The bad things i can…read moresay about that class was that Don was walking when he was speaking and i barley could hear what he said and also i needed Nicholas help cause Don was not fa miler with Canon so it's a little sad for a photographer... The good thing i have to say that we got lots of time to practice during this class and Nicholas was very helpful. The location was great but still there were lots of people around (cause it was Friday night) due that it was noisy around.

I've always been drawn to nature and revisited landscape painting with oil paints about 7 years ago…read moreafter having not painted since grade school. I've been quite fortunate to have painted with several very talented painters who happened to be instructors, as well. The Art Academy has given me the impetus to paint not only more often, but with confidence, especially, at the painting's sometimes difficult initial stages. I dove into the class after having had it recommended by an artist friend of mine. After several years in Stuart's studio class I've learned an entirely new approach to both studio painting and my original goals for plein air techniques. I'd recommend this course for painters at every skill level. Jim M.

Highly recommend Art Academy of San Diego! Stuart is a skilled artist and personable guide to…read morecreating your art. -CynC

Hector's class is amazing. I've taken classes at local camera stores that had us stay in either AV…read moreor TV mode. With He tore we reviews and used all 3 modes so we could see how Manual mode worked. He went through all of the function buttons so we would be comfortable using by touch. It's a long day but it was interesting and fun. Well worth the time, thank you Hector.

Hector was such an amazing teacher. He taught us step-by-step details and buttons on my Mirrorless…read morecamera. Highly recommend him as. Teacher! so many amazing things from his workshop

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

The not-so-new-anymore San Diego Central Library is surprising the general public with great events…read moreand classes. I am specially interested in art classes, even more when those are offered for free and you can take them on a Saturday, at the very beautiful facility, with tons of natural light and seeing people walking by while you learn something new. If the teacher is also an ex-engineer-turned paper cutting artist makes the experience even more interesting. I have known Bhavna for years (we used to work at the same company, different teams) and had no idea that she was into arts (not that you usually expect that from an engineer:) and was actually living from her art. Years later, I had the opportunity to get re-acquainted her and got invited to her magical studio at her house. She does paintings, drawings and anything artistic, but has specialized in paper cutting, activity that she masters and that brings childhood memories to me (as I used to do it in elementary school arts and crafts class). So when I saw she was going to teach a mandala stencil creation class, I did not hesitate to sign in. She is going to be teaching more similar type of classes and the SDPL puts all the info in their Facebook page so, at least for me, that is the easiest way to get the info about schedules. Try it out and reconnect with some gratifying manual activity.

Bhavna Mehta is a master at the art of paper cutting. She not only captures intricate forms, but…read moreher imagination brings to life nature's forms, and her creative new designs produce such joy for the viewer. Add to this the art which GUSH forms in its shadows, and this show becomes a feast for my senses.

I've been coming here for two years to learn and grow as an actor and I couldn't be more impressed…read morewith the results I've achieved. I've completely transformed into a different actor since starting at the studio. I feel more confident in my craft and abilities. Andrew, Connie, Aleks, and Irene are all amazing coaches that bring their own unique perspective. The studio feels like a second home to students and is also a great way to meet new people and discover new opportunities. I couldn't recommend this studio enough whether you're a beginner actor or looking to further develop your craft, it's perfect for all levels.

I have been in the studio for over 2years now and I am completely blown away by the amount of…read moregrowth I have gone through . Andrew is the best coach in San Diego and probably Los Angeles! I say that because he really takes acting serious and in a good way. The entire SD Studio coaches are on point and dont miss a beat. I highly recommend this studio to all beginners and all working actors !

My husband and I are enrolled in weekly classes here and we LOVE our experience! We both met with…read moreLalo to begin with for placement, and he was so kind, personable, and reassuring. Through my conversation with Lalo, a lot of my anxiety immediately melted away. Once we were placed, we signed up for weekly classes based on our skill level and have had nothing but a positive experience. Our teacher is Andrea - she is charismatic, professional, and skillfully integrates on-the-fly lessons to our broader goals (i.e., when we are confused by a concept Andrea organically integrates it into our lesson and explains it in such a clear way). Everything we do is in Spanish - 45 minutes of conversation, then 45 minutes of lessons/activities/homework review. The Culture and Language Center has really helped cure so much of my speaking anxiety and given me a lot of confidence - now I feel safe to speak, play, and even make mistakes. :) I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this program to anyone. If you are on the fence, you won't regret this experience!

I've tried other conversation based learning in San Diego and Culture and Language center is light…read moreyears ahead. My teacher Izak is exceptional and Lalo, the owner , is incredibly professional, responsive and he cares greatly about his business/students. There are always extracurricular events such as trips of nights out and it great to build a community and friendships. The model is to have only 4 students per teacher and this makes a huge difference, furthermore, there is a curriculum on which the class is based on. So we spend a portion of the class chatting, a portion learning and the third part is to practice what we just learned. I always feel like my spanish improves after every class and I cannot say the same for the other conversational based learning.

What a great experience I am having in my current class at From English to French!" Our teacher,…read moreManali, is fantastic! She teaches the class with a mix of conversation, grammar, very useful exercises and homework, and she makes the classes fun and the French very accessible! I feel like I am going to be well prepared to really use my French in real conversations about life and travel situations, and to make new friends!

Can't recommend this program enough. The owner, Sophie is easy to communicate with regarding needs…read moreand flexibility. My instructor is Nathalie. I love taking classes from her. The class size and gathering is perfect. Super easy and safe location.