Adult Art Classes — Line to Portrait: Drawing Fundamentals

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Adult Drawing Studio in Pacifica, CA

Realism and Portraiture for Dedicated Adult Students

Learn to draw realistically in an ongoing, small-group class for adults. You’ll build your skills week by week, starting with the classical fundamentals of seeing and measuring accurately and working toward convincing portraits and figures.

• Tuesdays, 12–2 PM
• 8 students maximum
• $360 per month
• New students begin on the first Tuesday of each month the studio is open

What You’ll Learn

Line to Portrait is a step-by-step path from your first accurate line to a finished portrait. It begins with structured instruction on how to see: proportion, measurement, perspective, light, shadow, and value. This class moves students through different drawing methods, each one building on the previous and explaining the vital lessons that students need to create accurate portraits.

Foundations. You’ll start with pencil, learning to measure proportions, build form, and render value so that what you draw looks solid and real.

Expanding your tools. As your skills improve, you’ll move into charcoal and painting.

Portraits and figures. With a foundation in place, you’ll apply it to faces and the human figure, studying structure, likeness, and expression.

Your own work. The goal isn’t just to copy what you see. It’s to understand it well enough to create original, meaningful artwork in your own voice. Additionally, we will look at still life, master copies, and developing a portfolio.

How This Differs From a Traditional Atelier

If you’ve looked into portrait training, you’ve probably come across the atelier model. Traditional ateliers follow a long, fixed sequence of copying master drawings and casts before you draw a face. This class builds on the same classical foundations but is designed for adults with real schedules: a small group, individual pacing, and a clear path toward portraiture.

It’s also not a drop-in figure drawing session or an open studio. You work with the same small group and the same instructor week after week, and your skills build over time.

Who This Is For

This class is for adults who want to get seriously good at drawing. What we ask of every student is simple: show up consistently, practice, and welcome honest critique. A portfolio isn’t required, though intermediate and advanced students are encouraged to bring one.

Beginners start at the beginning, with the fundamentals. No experience is needed.

Self-taught artists who feel stuck can finally see how to get to the next level.

Intermediate and advanced artists get in-depth critiques, new perspectives, and a deeper understanding of materials and approaches, working at their own pace.

An Ongoing Studio

This isn’t a course you finish and start over. Continuing students move into increasingly advanced work, and every student works at their own pace. With only 8 seats, every student gets individual attention and in-depth critique at every class.

School Year Calendar

Line to Portrait runs on the school-year calendar, from mid-August through May. The studio is closed for the summer, and no tuition is charged for months we’re closed. The studio is also closed for all major holidays; most notably Thanksgiving week and 2 weeks surrounding Christmas and 1 week after New Years Day.

Meet Your Instructor

Jason Budowski is a portrait and seascape artist and the founder of Bay Area Art School. He studied painting with Wayne Thiebaud at UC Davis in 1995, trained in classical realism, and has taught for more than a decade. His painting “Girl on the Beach” was selected for the 2023 de Young Open.

He teaches a modified classical realism method that he has developed and refined over many years to help students draw accurately and with confidence.

Learn more about Jason | See his work | Student work on Instagram

What to Bring – Materials List

Students must provide their own materials. Here is the drawing essentials list:

Graphite pencils in 2B, B, HB, H, and 2H (Mono Tombow or Staedtler Mars Lumograph), a stick eraser, a Mono Zero eraser, a kneaded eraser, pencil extenders, a sandpaper pencil sharpener, charcoal pencils in 2B and 4B plus a white charcoal pencil (General’s or Wolff’s Carbon), and a hard pencil case to protect them. A sketchbook for practice at home is recommended but not required.

Pricing and Terms

Monthly tuition. Tuition is $360 per month and reserves your place in the ongoing Tuesday class. Payment is due on the first of each month. Tuition remains the same whether a month has three, four, or five Tuesdays. For prorating purposes, each class is valued at $90. Over time, months with fewer or more sessions balance out, as the program is designed for long-term enrollment and consistent skill development.

Starting and stopping. Your commitment is one month at a time. New students begin on the first Tuesday of the month the studio is open. To stop, let us know before the 1st of the next month. If payment hasn’t arrived by the first class of the month, your seat is released to those on waitlist.

First class tryout. New students are allowed to tryout the very first class. If you decide it’s not for you, let us know within 24 hours of your first class and we’ll refund your months tuition minus $90 for the class you attended. This applies to your first class only.

Missed classes. Every student works at their own pace, so missing a week doesn’t put you behind. You’ll pick up where you left off. Because the class meets once a week and seats are limited, we can’t offer make-up sessions, credits, or refunds for absences.

Summer break: The studio closes for the summer, and no tuition is charged while we’re closed. Continuing students keep their seats, and tuition resumes with the first class of the new school year.

If the studio cancels a class and cannot provide a replacement, a $90 tuition credit will be applied for each canceled session.

Taking a break. If you need to step away for travel or illness, let us know before the 1st. Your seat will be released, and returning students move to the front of the waitlist.

If the class is full, let us know and we’ll add you to the waitlist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need previous drawing experience? No. Beginners are welcome. What matters is that you’re willing to practice and take critique.

Will I learn to draw people and figures? Yes. Figure drawing, anatomy, and portraiture are all part of the progression.

Is this a drop-in figure drawing class? No. It’s an ongoing instructional program where your skills build over time, so there’s no ceiling on how far you can go.

Will there be live models? Instructor-led model sessions are planned for later in the program, and we’ll announce them once they’re scheduled.

What if I miss a class? Since every student works at their own pace, you simply pick up where you left off. See Pricing and Terms above for details.

Do you hold classes in the summer? No. The studio is closed from June to mid-August while the studio hosts art camps, and no tuition is charged during the pause. Classes resume in August.

What if it’s not a good fit? Read our first class try out above. It’s not free but you can try out the first class at the prorated amount before making the monthly commitment.

Where is the class? Bay Area Art School is in the Sharp Park neighborhood of Pacifica, California.  We’re minutes from San Francisco, Daly City and Mibrae with easy parking.

Upcoming Line to Portrait – Adult Art Studio Classes

 

Adult Drawing Classes in Pacifica

Bay Area Art School’s Adult Drawing Studio is an ongoing adult drawing class in Pacifica, California, focused on realistic drawing, portraiture, and figure drawing. We serve students from Pacifica, San Francisco, Daly City, San Bruno, South San Francisco, Millbrae, Half Moon Bay, and nearby Bay Area communities.