Instructors and Supply Lists

My name is Maria Ananieva and I am a Bulgarian oil painter, based in Batavia, IL.

I am very inspired by nature and moved to create when I’m surrounded by it. Most people nowadays are very rushed – rarely do they stop or slow down to look around. There is a whole other world outside our rushed 9-5 schedule – butterflies and hummingbirds fluttering. Flowers blooming, birds singing. Do you even notice how the seasons change?

My latest work represent’s nature’s process. It is a reminder to stop and look around. Please feel free to browse through my collection of original artwork on my website or visit me in person at Water Street Studios, Batavia IL (studio #14)

Supplies

Benita grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, earned a BFA in drawing from Indiana University and an MFA in electronic art from the University of Cincinnati. Before turning to painting, she worked as a graphic designer and animator for many years and then became an assistant professor at Indiana University – Purdue University, Fort Wayne. Painting for Benita is a form of storytelling. Her ideas often start with a personal connection to a person or object. It is a spark used for developing a composition that reflects the essence of the memory, but becomes more abstract and universal. The story may be hers, but hopefully the viewer interprets the image from his or her own perspective.

Supply Lists

Watercolor Planning for Painting

Drawing For Painters

Watercolor

George has an Associate Degree in Architecture from Southern Illinois University and a degree in Fine and Applied Arts/Graphics and Advertising Design from University of Illinois, Champaign. He worked in the Graphic Design areas of several major corporations, then became part owner of a Marketing/Packaging Design Company in Chicago. George recently retired from that business to pursue his desire for fine arts. Upon retirement, he studied watercolor under Dick Shipley, took several workshops in watercolor from nationally known artists, and later discovered the world of oil pastel taking classes with George Shipperely. He has become hooked on oil pastel, although he paints in both mediums on a regular basis. George thoroughly enjoys the non-objective approach to oil pastel. His work is shown in various places in Wisconsin and Illinois.

Supply Lists

Watercolor
Creativity With Oil Pastels

Abstracts

Margaret Bucholz started taking Saturday oil painting lessons as a teen in Hawaii where most of the classes were painting on locations. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting from University of Hawaii. Upon graduation she moved to Illinois and worked as narrator at conventions at McCormick Place. Her passion for art was nurtured by taking many workshops at the Clearing and Dillman’s Resort from many well-known artists. She has taken 3 years of colored pencil classes at Beech Tree Studios. Margaret has won numerous awards for her artwork and many of her watercolor, acrylic and colored pencil paintings hang in private collections. She has given demos at art leagues and has taught children and teen classes in watercolor, acrylics, and colored pencil drawing. Her hope is to share her enjoyment of art and her skill in creating color harmonies with her students. margaretbucholz.com

Supply Lists

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Kathy began her interest in drawing and painting as a child. Her mother influenced her by creating her own artistic projects. Following her mother’s interest in art, Kathy took many art courses in high school and eventually majored in art and Liberal Arts at Dominican University to became an art teacher in public and private schools in Illinois. My mother told me, “You can major in art, but you must also be able to support yourself. Become a teacher.” I think that my mother was feminist at heart.

Kathy has also studied at IIT, earning 18 hours of graduate studies in Visual Arts. She has 2 Masters of Arts degrees from Governors State University: Education and English Literature. “I like to consider myself as a life – long learner, this I continue to take classes in whatever interests me. I am a Reiki Master teacher, a certified LILAC practitioner, and a Lithomancer.”

Kathy became a founding member of ClaySpace where she taught hand building and wheel throwing techniques in pottery and started teaching glass fusing classes as well.

Although Kathy has dabbled in almost every 2D and 3D media, including soldering and rock sculpting, recently she has settled on developing her style in acrylic painting and being a storyteller through the images she portrays.

She exhibits her work at local DuPage County art galleries and shows. Her work is for sale. Interested art lovers may contact her at khotpots77@gmail.com

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Dan Danielson’s fascination with watercolor began at The American Academy of Art, studying under the well renowned artist, Irving Shapiro. After an exciting creative director career in advertising, Dan began painting and teaching full-time. His award-winning work has been seen in many watercolor shows and businesses. Dan continues to develop his colorist, regionalism style while allowing the medium the freedom to reveal it’s unique qualities of brilliance and fluidity. Capturing the medium’s translucent elegance and strength is an ongoing odyssey and a heck of a lot of fun.

Supply Lists

Watercolor

Mary pursued the arts in her education earning a Master of Arts from National-Louis University along with four Art Certificates including two in Advertising Art, one in Painting from the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and another in Fine Arts from The Art House in Chicago. In 2015, Mary transitioned from her career in education to pursue painting full time. She has exhibited at several galleries in Chicago and her work has been included in Southwestern Art catalogues. A member of Oil Painters of America – in 2015 she was selected as an Artist in Residence at the Petrified Forest National Park, in 2017 served as one of three Artists in Residence at The Art House in Chicago, and in 2019 had a Solo Exhibit at the Addison Center for the arts.

Supply Lists

Painting Color and Light

Wes Douglas is an award-winning art director, illustrator, and co-founder of the Elmhurst-based innovation agency, Maddock Douglas, Inc. In addition, Wes developed “Speaker Sketches” (his unique creative meeting notes which blend hand-written words and sketched pictures), concept visualizations, and package designs. He is also the primary book illustrator for the Amazon best-seller, Free The Idea Monkey (to focus on what matters most) by Mike Maddock. Wes has been a co-admin for the Chicago chapter of Urban Sketchers since 2013.

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Urban Sketching
Word Portraits

Marge earned her degree in Commercial Art at Southern Illinois University’s Vocational Technical Institute. Her first commercial job was as head of the Art Department at Eastex Packaging in Aurora, IL – and, to this day, we see her original artwork on cartons of Christmas Eggnog. After raising four boys, Marge began teaching at the DuPage Art League. Marge has received numerous honors and awards in prestigious competitions and has shown her work in exhibits, art fairs, and galleries. She is particularly well known for her floral portraits.

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Oil Painting

Chris was a Fine Arts major at Utah State University before changing to a business major at Boston University.
His experience of living abroad and traveling has brought both ideas and inspiration to his works. 
His paintings have also traveled on special exhibits to both China and Russia as part of a fine arts cultural program.
Chris has earned recognition and awards in competitions in Texas and Illinois. He is a member of the Naperville Art League and the DuPage Art League and has earned many awards including Best of the Best nominations.  He is part of a weekly art critique group as the co-leader in organizing and sending out newsletters for Artist-Show n Tell.
Website: www.hughespaintings.com

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Ellen received her formal art training at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois earning both a Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education and a Master of Arts Degree. She taught in area high schools for 12 years, teaching painting, drawing, ceramics, and jewelry. Ellen also established a gifted arts program in the high school and within the art department of a junior college. Since leaving the education system, she has done private tutoring and concentrated on the development of her own style working primarily in pastels. Ellen has taught numerous classes at DuPage Art League including beginning and advanced drawing, perspective, portraits and pastel painting. A winner of numerous awards, she has exhibited in shows throughout the area.

Supply Lists

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Kay Wahlgren is an accomplished watercolorist, master gardener, space planner, and cut paper artist. A past President of the art league, she is currently teaching Beginning and Intermediate watercolor classes. Kay has a degree in Architectural Design and, for many years, taught classes in the creation of intricate multi-dimensional cut paper pieces. About 5 years ago, she began sharing her watercolor skills and her approach takes the mystery out of watercolor. Step by step, she builds a foundation so that students master the skills and avoid the pitfalls.

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Beginning Watercolor

Vicki grew up in Monona Wisconsin and lives in Lombard Illinois. She attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison as an art major with an area of emphasis in drawing and completed a B.S.E. in art at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. Beginning in high school she spent most of her working life as a graphic designer, typographer, web designer and corporate Art Director with brief stints as a K-12 art teacher and a not-for-profit office manager. After retirement she was able to renew her interest in fine art. She has taken classes at area art leagues and many workshops with nationally known watercolor artists. Vicki is a member of the DuPage Art League, the Nature Artists Guild of the Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Pastel Painters. Her work has won awards at the Danada Nature Art Show, the DuPage Art League and been featured in the “Nature Artists Quarterly” of the Nature Artists Guild. 

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Watercolor

Charles is a full-time graphic artist as well as a cartooning instructor. He has created character concepts and illustrations for major corporations including General Mills, Nestle, New York Life, Brown’s Chicken, Parker Brothers, and many others, and has taught cartooning and illustration at the DuPage Art League for many years.

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Cartooning-Creative Illustration

Carol Zack has a B.A. in Arts Education from Vanderbilt University and an M.A. in Arts Education from the University of Illinois. She works primarily in soft pastels and oil pastels, and enjoys creating luminous layers and utilizing intuitive approaches to shape, value, color, edges, and texture. She is known for her impressionistic landscapes, large floral studies, and traditional figurative studies including formal commissioned portraits. Carol is affiliated with the Yellow House Artists, The Oil Pastel Society, The Portrait Society of America, and is a past board member of the Northwest Area Arts Council. She also teaches at The Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles.

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Pastel Painting In Three Steps

Janice Zeuch (pronounced Zoik) has a B.A. in Art Education from Kent State University and a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Cleveland Sate University. She has taught middle school students in the Fairview Park City School District for ten years, and has taught and directed at Cain Park School of the Arts prior to her move to Chicago. Janice’s passion for teaching comes from her love of being part of the beginning stages of an artists journey. In her free time, she enjoys printmaking, pencil and ink rendering, as well as experimenting with color and collage on large scale canvases. She enjoys raising her family here in Wheaton and, on the side, has a water coloring business.

Supply Lists.      Clay & Pop Art

Website   http://www.watercolormyhouse.com/