wpadmin | The Studios of Key West

Painting Bootcamp

Jack McDonald

Mondays, March 3-31

2-4:30pm

Kat in the Hat Classroom

$210, $185 mbrs.

Our most popular class of all is a great place to start for beginners, and an equally fun time for more trained painters. By telling you what to do every step of the way, Jack McDonald takes any fear out of the equation and walks you through the basics of mixing paint and making images. By the end you’ll have a finished painting that’s all your own, and be amazed at your hidden talents.

As a visual artist and proud Key West native, the island landscape has always been Jack McDonald’s muse. He’s also worked with some of the local greats like Rick Worth – who led Painting Boot Camp at The Studios for many years – and John Martini. Primarily interested in street art, Jack is influenced by local color as well as art in public places. He is driven to stretch the boundaries of “street art,” with the hope to raise awareness and establish it as a more legitimate art form. (And, of course, while having a bit of fun!) Through the use of whimsical illustrations, bright colors and shapes, his desire is to have a positive influence on the Key West art scene, while adding an element of familiarity, exploration, and discovery.

Painting Bootcamp

Jack McDonald

Mondays, February 3-24

2-4:30pm

Kat in the Hat Classroom

$165, $140 mbrs.

Our most popular class of all is a great place to start for beginners, and an equally fun time for more trained painters. By telling you what to do every step of the way, Jack McDonald takes any fear out of the equation and walks you through the basics of mixing paint and making images. By the end you’ll have a finished painting that’s all your own, and be amazed at your hidden talents.

As a visual artist and proud Key West native, the island landscape has always been Jack McDonald’s muse. He’s also worked with some of the local greats like Rick Worth – who led Painting Boot Camp at The Studios for many years – and John Martini. Primarily interested in street art, Jack is influenced by local color as well as art in public places. He is driven to stretch the boundaries of “street art,” with the hope to raise awareness and establish it as a more legitimate art form. (And, of course, while having a bit of fun!) Through the use of whimsical illustrations, bright colors and shapes, his desire is to have a positive influence on the Key West art scene, while adding an element of familiarity, exploration, and discovery.

Painting Bootcamp

Jack McDonald

Mondays, April 7-28

2-4:30pm

Kat in the Hat Classroom

$165, $140 mbrs.

Our most popular class of all is a great place to start for beginners, and an equally fun time for more trained painters. By telling you what to do every step of the way, Jack McDonald takes any fear out of the equation and walks you through the basics of mixing paint and making images. By the end you’ll have a finished painting that’s all your own, and be amazed at your hidden talents.

As a visual artist and proud Key West native, the island landscape has always been Jack McDonald’s muse. He’s also worked with some of the local greats like Rick Worth – who led Painting Boot Camp at The Studios for many years – and John Martini. Primarily interested in street art, Jack is influenced by local color as well as art in public places. He is driven to stretch the boundaries of “street art,” with the hope to raise awareness and establish it as a more legitimate art form. (And, of course, while having a bit of fun!) Through the use of whimsical illustrations, bright colors and shapes, his desire is to have a positive influence on the Key West art scene, while adding an element of familiarity, exploration, and discovery.

Doodle Workshop for Adults

B. Lucy Stevens

Friday, January 31

1-4pm

Kat in the Hat Classroom

$90, $75 mbrs.

Discover the fun and freedom of doodling with an internationally-recognized doodler.

B. Lucy Stevens is an internationally recognized mixed-media artist living in Key West, Florida. Lucy paints intuitively, and her work is vibrant and expressionistic—daily life imagined in a brilliant cacophony of color and pattern. She is inspired by primitive art and her far-flung travels to Indonesia and South America and France, where for a year she lived on a flower farm.

Her work has been featured in galleries and shows throughout the US as well as in France and the UK. She is represented by Coastal Contemporary Gallery – Newport, RI; Gallery Orange – New Orleans, LA; Bennett Galleries – Nashville, KY and Dryden Gallery – Providence, RI.

Comedy Scene Acting

Dennis Zacek

Sundays, January 26 – March 16

12-2pm

Heinen Design Lab

$300, $285 mbrs.

Explore such forms as farce, realistic comedy, and high comedy through scene study and class discussion with award-winning actor, director and teacher, Dennis Zacek. Students will present two-person scenes. Suggested scenes will be provided as needed. If you’re refining your comedic skills or just want to dip your toe into comedic styles, this is the perfect opportunity.

Song of the Soul

Tara O’Grady

Thursday, January 30

10am-12:30pm

Heinen Design Lab

$65, $55 mbrs.

Discover what your soul is singing to you. Explore dreams as inspiration for songwriting, poetry, and prose in this creative writing workshop. Our dreams are a rich and imaginative source of wisdom. Learn how to capture, remember, and incubate dreams and begin writing the masterpieces you were destined to create.

Exploring Monotype

Pamela Kostmayer

Saturday, January 25

10am-4pm

Kat in the Hat Classroom

$105, $85 mbrs.

A monotype class using printmaking inks and acrylics. Participants will create an image by drawing, painting and mark making on a plastic surface.  The image is then transferred to either rice paper for a translucent background, or opaque paper for an opaque background.  This dynamic medium allows students to explore the making of one of a kind prints that can then be used in collage.

The Artist’s Way

Rosalind Brackenbury

NEW DATES! 12 Mondays, January 13 – March 31

5:30-7:30pm

Heinen Design Lab

$490, $440 mbrs.

Discover and recover your creative self! The Artist’s Way is an international bestseller and millions of readers have found it to be an invaluable guide to living the artist’s life. This 12-week course walks you through the steps to achieving higher creativity through process and purpose. This class also dives into the next steps in Walking in this World, the long-awaited sequel from Julia Cameron.

Poet and novelist Rosalind Brackenbury is the author of Becoming George Sand, Paris Still Life, The Third SwimmerThe Lost Love Letters of Henri Fournier, and Without Her. A former writer-in-residence at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, she has also served as poet laureate of Key West, teaching poetry workshops. She has attended the yearly Key West Literary Seminar as both panelist and moderator. Born in London, Rosalind lived in Scotland and France before moving to the United States where she lives with her American husband.

A Fifty Year Retrospective

David Wegman

Opens Thu Apr 3, 6-8pm

On view April 3-24, 2025

Sanger Gallery

Long-time resident and self-described pirate David Wegman epitomizes Key West’s bohemian spirit. His artwork vividly portrays his seafaring life, bringing to life the vibrant places he has explored and the colorful characters he has encountered along the way.

Interior

Wendell Smith

Opens Thu Apr 3, 6-8pm

On view April 3-24, 2025

XOJ Gallery

Using alternative materials and rooted in folk traditions, Smith’s works explore vulnerability and the resiliency of the human spirit through the lens of Caribbean society and culture.