Palette And Chisel Academy of Fine Arts

I haven’t been here personally for any classes because I live all the way in San Francisco. However, my mom is an artist whom has come here countless times for various classes and has talked about them like crazy! She has had wonderful experiences at the Academy and always mentions wanting to go back. Mothers Day gift certificate? Just saying.

This is one of the of the best values in the country for brushing up on your drawing, painting and sculpting skills!

It’s unfortunate that Mimi A. below had such a bad experience as a model here. I do not want to discount her story, as what she went through does seem out of line and horrific, but I will say that I had a great time as a «student» here and the model we had seemed very comfortable with the format.
I went as part of a City Swarm event. We started with BYOB wine and beer in the upstairs studio with a great group of people who had a wide range of experience with drawing. I, personally, have little to no experience, but the atmosphere was very inviting so I didn’t feel out of place. The mansion itself is absolutely beautiful — what a great place for an art studio! I felt transported back in time being here and it was a good release after a long week of working.
The instructor was a little on the quiet side, but he provided us everything we needed and left us to let our creative juices flow while making sure we had plenty of supplies. The model was fantastic and helped critique our work after her various poses. It was fascinating how comfortable she was with her body that a) she was able to stand in front of a group of inexperienced «artists» completely nude and b) come by and critique our poorly drawn representations of her naked body. I was impressed.
I would definitely recommend this place to people who are artists, as well as beginners like me who just want to do something different to shake up their regular routine once in a while. I’d also definitely come back for another City Swarm.