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Joseph Alexander is the founder and head instructor of Driftless Art Academy, where his studio is located. Students of all ages and abilities come to Driftless Art Academy to develop their artistic skills in Joseph's studio. 

Driftless Art Academy is a fine arts education program with focus on the development of outstanding realism oil painters. Our time-tested, dynamic curriculum optimizes learning, and has brought incredible results to hundreds of artists. Whether you have some experience at an easel or you have never picked up a brush, Driftless Art Academy is a great pathway to professional-level abilities.

 

For ages 12 through adulthood, Driftless Art Academy offers painting classes that are individually instructed in a group setting. This means you can get started in our program at any time, without having to wait for the beginning of the next cycle of classes. In 2½-hour, weekly lessons, students are guided through progressive learning, synthesizing their skills and gaining experience that leads to artistic success.

Driftless Art Kids is a weekly, 1-hour program for kids as young as 8 years old. This program is not "art play time," but a set of focused learning elements designed to prepare children with the focus on quality and desire to improve needed for them to participate in our more advanced oil painting program. This program begins with a series of graphite and charcoal exercise sheets that contribute to the development of hand-eye coordination and attention to detail as they learn to discern shadows and light, explore the critical art concept of value (relative darkness or lightness in a piece of art), and to work with an intention to do their best, rather than to finish. As they advance in the program, they will move into simplified paintings, working in grayscale to carry what they have learned into working with brushes and paint. When they have completed this portion of the program, most kids are ready to move into the longer and more advanced painting program.

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