Naperville Art League — Local services in Naperville

Pursue Adult Classes with Caution!!!

The Naperville Art League is a small charming art center and gallery. I found their adult painting classes from a Google search so I decided to pay a visit to inquire more about the classes. When I first walked in I was greeted by an art teacher who was extremely personable. I informed her that I was a beginner and asked if their adult classes were suitable for novice students. She said the classes are suited for all skill levels and everyone is welcomed. I was given a list of art supplies that I would need and was told that bringing a reference photo was optional.

I was sadly disappointed in the experience because of the following reasons.

1). The list of art supplies was way more than what I needed and ended up spending more money upfront. The list included:

3 20x16 canvases: I only used one and the size was too big Primary colors plus any other colors I liked: I only used one color but the art teacher provide some of his Brush sizes that were inconsistent and way too large (16,14,12): I ended up using one of the art teacher’s brushes

2). The individual painting instructions were rushed because the teacher had to attend to the other students. The teacher’s encouragement was unauthentic and his mannerisms were arrogant.

3). Minimal topics were covered such as blocking, canvas toning, and cleaning brushes. I ended up researching other topics (without the teachers insight) such as:

Color mixing Brush strokes Selecting reference photos

Advice to The Naperville Art League:

1). Redo your supply list to a minimum

2). Introduce true beginner classes for novice students

3). Hire teachers that know how to teach beginners and have the emotional intelligence to control their arrogance.

Advice to Prospective Students 1). Research the following on your own (YouTube is terrific)

Color theory Color temperature Color mixing Color harmony Sketching

2). Start with a limited palette Ultramarine blue Cadmium Red Cadmium Yellow Burnt Umber Titanium White

Note: Mixing ultramarine blue and burnt umber make a nice black that can lean towards either cool or warm

3). Invest in a glass palette for color mixing

4). Invent in a Sta-wet palette that you use...

I was told the drop off time for a show was September 28th. It was sent to me August 19th. I then email them Septemeber 18th about the show and they tell me the drop off time for the same show is now October 4th. I woke up today, drove all the way out, and when I showed up they tell me "you must've not checked your emails properly. The show was last week".

Today is October 4th.....they didn't even let me hang my art even though they were completely wrong about the days to drop off.

However, Chris Jacobson, the president of the organization compensated the mistake by giving me half off my renewal membership and including my pieces in the current show. That was nice of her to correct the mistake. The only problem i had with this was that i had to reach out to then and set all this up, instead of vise versa. I also wasnt included in the judging process...which was a bummer because i made the works specifically to fit that theme... Whatever. Hopefully my experiences will change the review as time goes on.

They need new judges though. I leave this at 2 stars because Robert Fritz was the last judge I know of and he must've been drunk when he was judging. He gave an award to a piece that was literally beanie babies glued together and NOT some amazing other works that look like they could sell for 4000$. Either he did that as a joke or he knows...

We lived here l5 years and just stopped in to check it out for the first time! I wish I had caught the lady's name that explained everything to us because she was so friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. I really enjoyed looking through all the local artists' projects for sale. I bought an ornament and will be back to take a...