Kymberlee Stanley Studios

Sorry for the delay! See below. Feel free to modify as you see fit.

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Kymberlee is a fantastic painting teacher - she has the rare ability to not only teach the technical aspects of the craft, but also inspire her students by drawing out, and then cultivating, their individual creative interests (no matter how hidden those might be!)

My wife and I had talked about learning how to paint for years, but never quite took the first step. We’ve always loved looking at paintings, and romantically wondered what it would be like to learn to paint ourselves, but every time we actively started considering taking a class, we eventually dismissed the idea. We always had excuses — “we’re too busy” or “next year would be better” etc. What it really came down to was that we honestly thought “We are not painters! We’re just regular people with no artistic talent to speak of!”

Well, last year as my birthday gift, my wife surprised and signed us up for a 3-part intro to paining class with Kymberlee. Admittedly, I was a little nervous before the first class, but Kymberlee was so warm and welcoming that I forgot my concerns within the first few minutes. She made us instantly feel at ease. Then she went though and explained core concepts such as values, colors, perspective and more, but in ways that made it easy for someone with no prior familiarity to understand. Then, she very quickly encouraged us explore how those concepts ourselves by painting. She was so supportive throughout the process that I never once worried about the fact that as a first time painter, I didn’t really know what I was doing! By the end of the first class, I had painted a still life that, although was no professional piece, was far beyond what I ever thought I was capable of. My wife had the same experience.

From there, my interest in painting has continued to grow. I went from someone who never painted anything (other than in grammar school), to someone who has taken numerous courses with Kymberlee. In fact, I recently bought an easel and began painting on the weekends for fun!

Ryan Donnelly