Traditional Art Classes

Austin, Texas & Surrounding Areas

MUSEE DU LOUVRE,PARIS, FRANCE

MY STORY

I was raised in Austin, Texas since 1965.  I spent my childhood playing in creeks and residential construction sites Highland Hills with my neighborhood friends.  When I wasn’t outside playing, I was inside copying images of “Holly Hobbie” or whatever struck my fancy.  I walked into my first high school Art class at Anderson high school in 1977.  My teacher was Amado Pena and he quickly realized that I could draw what I saw, and he placed me in the “Gifted and Talented” art program.  From that point on, I had a place I fit.  I learned all the basics from Amado.  I left for Howard Payne University in 1980 but was too afraid to major in art so I took a couple art classes my freshman year, but I studied my next love…History and Government… and somehow ended up with a teaching certificate in Social Science Education.

Fast forward to 1994 and my oldest daughter began Kindergarten at Grace Covenant Christian School.  I began to volunteer helping the art teacher….4 years later, I was the Art teacher. It was a part time gig on Tuesdays and Thursdays which was perfect for me as a mom of 3 kiddos.  In in 1997 we moved to Round Rock.  It was in our home on Lime Rock Drive in RR that Whatley Art Studio was birthed to fund our new backyard pool.

Since that time my journey has been toward Realism both my teaching and my own art have been pulled in that direction.  My journey has included Grace Covenant Christian School, Whatley Art Studio, Summit Christian Academy and Regents School of Austin.

Currently,  I am the School of Rhetoric Art teacher at Regents school of Austin and I own Lea Whatley Traditional Art Studio where I work on commissions and teach night classes.

Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy

What is Classical Art?

LWTAS has a modern approach to timeless traditions in art that date back to the Renaissance.

Our  curriculum is informed by the Classical Progression.  First, students are immersed in the academic method of drawing. They are taught how to measure the subject in order to render it accurately. Exercises are designed to improve the students drawing skills, with an emphasis on contour, cross contour, proportion and the shape of light and shadow.   Once a student has acquired the requisite drawing skills, they begin to learn the art and science of painting. Painting projects are designed for the first-time painting student. The emphasis is on drawing accuracy, handling the paint, and the careful observation of light and shadow. Students go on to use a limited and the full palette while completing increasingly complex projects.  Color theory is taught at each step.  

The Classical progression is not a quick process.  to get the most out of the program, I hope that each student will stay through the last step of color painting.  Most likely students will not progress to color painting until year two.