Commercial Gallery Program — Course 1
Direction & Voice for Gallery Arts
Instructed by Cassandra Loomis Kim
Course Details
Your career as a successful illustrator begins here. Don’t just learn how the pros work, work with the pros. The ‘Process: Skills and Craft’ course—your first in the Illustration Program—is a hands on dive into picture-making and drawing.
Alongside an assigned mentor, you’ll explore the complexities of working with different media, applying color, drawing with shape, and controlling light. You’ll be joined by guest speakers with decades of combined experience drawing for the biggest names in the industry.
Classes are hosted weekly, live and online. Your mentor will lecture on technique, skill, and the history of illustration. Added to that, you’ll join in for demonstrations, critiques, and Q&A sessions, with weekly homework assignments.
Pricing scheduled to increase to $1199 Spring 2023. Existing price will be grandfathered*
By taking inspiration from paintings of the past and replacing the people with animals, I seek to have my audience reconnect with the traditions of portraiture. My art spans the centuries between the original and today, but with a surrealistic twist. Pairing an unexpected animal with an image from the echelons of past society creates a visual paradox that inadvertently “humanizes” the portraiture and often makes people smile. The use of humor is a valuable way to break down barriers between people and art.
I work in acrylic and oil, and my goal is to reproduce the rich, lush colors of classical portraiture. Each of my hand-chosen vintage or antique frames is a talisman to an imagined memory and provides impetus for the painting. The frame or reclaimed wood item, which I often restore myself, creates the impression of an art movement or time period, which in turn guides me to the appropriate portrait. I then brainstorm to find the right animal to create the perfect painting. The final product allows the audience to feel reconnected with classic portraiture, but from an imagined society of animals. They feel included, amused, and ultimately curious.
Exhibits
“Cornucopia” Group Exhibit at Wow x Wow Online Gallery
Opens November 4th-25th 2022
“Mystical Rhythms” Group Exhibit at Wow x Wow Online Gallery
Opens December 2nd-23rd 2022
“Yule” Group Show at Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Opens December 10th, 2022
“Small Works” Group Exhibit at Glave Kocen Consulting, Richmond, VA
Opens January 10th-28th, 2023
“Year of the Rabbit” Group Exhibit at Modern Eden, San Francisco, CA
Opens January 14th, 2023
“Playing Favorites” Group Exhibit at Robert Lange Studio, Charleston, SC
Opens February 3rd-26th, 2023
Every semester, Visual Arts Passage invites 6 guest speakers to connect and share wisdom with all students. These industry leaders answer student questions, complete in-depth demonstrations, review work, and more.
As a mentorship student, you will gain access to a vast wealth of resources to better your understanding and improve your skills. You will be paired with a high-caliber professional, who will be with you every step of the way.
Every class is delivered live and is fully interactive with lectures, demos, critiques, and guest speakers. Consider this your front row seat.
Learn-by-doing Assignments
Students are tasked on a weekly basis with a variety of skill-building exercises, real-world assignments, and projects to help refine and improve. Assignments include creating publishing art based on existing narratives, celebrity portraits, and poster art for a mock client such as The Criterion Collection.
Even though our courses are the best value, with the high caliber instruction and personalized mentoring, there are finance options available to make the mentorship program financially possible for as many artists as possible. Select Shop Pay or Affirm at checkout to view options.
No. Students only commit to one mentorship course per semester. Once you complete a course, you can register for the next course, to continue your progress in the mentorship program.
The Mentorship Program can be complete within a 12 month period. It is not unusual for students to repeat the final course in the program, Career Development, if they choose to have continued coaching from Visual Arts Passage mentors.
The Mentorship program is a "get out of it, what you put in" experience. That being said, our courses are structured to accommodate individuals with a busy schedule. We recommend setting aside a minimum of 3 hours for your live course and 2 hours to complete assignments and course work. We highly encourage students to commit more time if their schedule allows.
Mentorship courses enroll 4 times per year, during the winter, spring, summer, and fall semester. You can view the program calendar here.
We recommend that most students start with the first course in the Illustration Program, Process: Skill & Craft. Highly experienced students may qualify to attend the second course in the program, Ideation & Visual Storytelling. If you are not sure, feel free to send your work to hello@visualartspassage.com and a team member will get back to you with a recommendation shortly.
Each course in the Illustration Mentorship Program is $1199.
*Grandfathered in pricing excludes discounts and discontinues with any breaks in your enrollment.
We can help you with any questions related to enrollment, portfolio development, and the student experience.