Unleash your creativity in a fun, relaxed studio setting where you can paint your way! Choose your favorite medium—oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, charcoal, or colored pencil—and dive into new projects or bring along unfinished pieces to refine. Enjoy as much one-on-one guidance from Dennis as you like, plus inspiring mini demos, technique tips, and helpful critiques to elevate your work. Whether your style leans toward realism, impressionism, or bold modern expression, this open painting session is your space to explore, create, and grow. This class is appropriate for all levels. The main purpose of this course is one-on-one assistance from the instructor with whatever you need help with (fixing, composition, specific subjects, etc.).
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Dennis Lake
Cost: $200 or $50 per week
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

This four-week introductory drawing course provides a foundation in observational drawing through the development of essential technical and perceptual skills. Students will learn to draw from direct observation while exploring contour line, negative space, proportion, measurement, structure, and value. Through guided demonstrations, studio exercises, and critiques, participants will strengthen their ability to see accurately and translate three-dimensional forms onto a two-dimensional surface. Emphasis is placed on developing confidence, improving hand-eye coordination, and building a solid understanding of the fundamental principles of drawing. This course is appropriate for beginners as well as those seeking to strengthen their foundational drawing skills.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Allison Luce
Cost: $200
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

Strong paintings begin with strong drawing, and this dynamic half-day workshop with Allison Luce is designed to help painters build exactly that foundation. Whether you work in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pastel, or colored pencil, strengthening your drawing skills will elevate every stage of your creative process. Through engaging, hands-on exercises focused on observation, proportion, value, and structure, you’ll learn how to see more accurately, draw with greater confidence, and bring more clarity and expression to your work. A solid drawing foundation doesn’t just improve accuracy — it leads to stronger compositions, smarter color choices, and more successful finished pieces. This course is designed for students of all levels.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Allison Luce
Cost: $50
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

Step into the enchanting world of fantasy art and discover how to create illustrations that tell powerful visual stories! In this immersive workshop, instructor Samantha Dwornikoski will guide you through the rich history of fantasy art, exploring its enduring importance and how it continues to shape the media we love today. You'll dive deep into the essential elements of fantasy illustration—learning about motifs, visual language, style, and tone—while reviewing key fundamentals including anatomy, shape, lighting, and rendering techniques. You'll learn Samantha's signature underdrawing and color wash layering method to build a complete, polished illustration from start to finish. But the biggest emphasis? Creativity. This course is designed to push your imaginative boundaries and help you develop your unique artistic voice.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Samantha Dwornikoski
Cost: $100
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

Mastering shadows, reflections, light, and contrast is one of the keys to creating paintings that feel believable, dimensional, and full of life. In this workshop, instructor Mary Ann Browning Ford will break down the principles behind accurate light and values and give you practical guidelines. Through demonstrations, discussion, and personalized one-on-one instruction, you’ll explore how to observe and interpret light, strengthen your value relationships, and create more convincing shadows and reflections in your work. Bring your own painting ideas and spend the workshop developing your skills with guidance tailored to your individual work. While the workshop is designed with oil and acrylic painters in mind, artists working in watercolor, pastel, colored pencil, or other mediums are welcome to participate.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Mary Ann Browning Ford
Cost: $100
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

This class is for those who would like to work in art but do not know where to start and/or with what mediums! We will start with pencils, charcoal and work our way through watercolor, acrylic, pastels and oil and any others that students may be interested in. Barb will explain the pros and cons of each of the mediums including prices points and other materials you'll need for that medium, including, brushes, surfaces and framing. At the end of the session, students will have time to try them all on a small scale. Students should bring $20 cash to pay the instructor for materials, all of which she will provide to you.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Barb Snow
Cost: $50
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

Puzzled by your art? Feeling lost? Know something's "off" but can't figure it out? This is a terrific opportunity to receive individual attention from one of the Lowcountry's masters, Art Cornell. In this intimate 2-hour session, Art will offer a limited number of one-on-one consultations for all media and subjects—helping you troubleshoot problem areas, refine your vision, and get your work presentation-ready. Whether you're stuck on a piece in progress or starting fresh with a blank canvas and an idea, Art will provide personalized recommendations, tips, and critiques to move your work forward with confidence. 100% of proceeds support ongoing Capital Improvement efforts at Art League Academy.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Art Cornell
Cost: $20
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

Color may grab attention, but value is what makes artwork look real. In this half-day workshop, Allison Luce will help students learn how light and shadow create depth, form, and dimension. Through simple graphite studies and hands-on exercises, participants will practice seeing value relationships, simplifying complex subjects, and using contrast to make their work stronger. These skills are useful in painting, pastel, colored pencil, and other two-dimensional media, giving artists a solid foundation they can use in all kinds of artwork. This course is designed for students of all levels.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Allison Luce
Cost: $50
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

Think drawing is a "gift" that has to come "naturally"? You might be surprised to learn it's actually a skill like any other—and Chris Dreyer is here to show you how easily it can be learned. Drawing is as much about learning how to see and think about form and space as it is about technique. Through this process, you'll also gain a deeper understanding of your subject. As you progress through the exercises, you'll develop a keener eye for the forms you're observing and become more skillful in representing them. Chris will focus on drawing subjects from the island, helping you connect with your surroundings in a whole new way. This course is for beginner to intermediate level students.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Chris Dreyer
Cost: $100
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

Unlock the hidden potential of colored pencils. Colored pencils are so familiar that it's easy to overlook their remarkable possibilities—but artist-grade, colored pencils are capable of creating breathtakingly realistic artwork! Join accomplished guest instructor Lee Copen for this engaging workshop designed for artists of all skill levels. You'll explore essential colored pencil techniques and processes while creating a beautiful, detailed drawing of a bird. Lee will guide you step-by-step, sharing professional methods for layering, blending, and building depth and dimension in your work. Bring your colored pencils and a willingness to explore this versatile medium in a whole new way! All levels of students are welcome; however, some drawing and painting knowledge and experience is important.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Lee Copen
Cost: $180
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738