Remember when you loved to draw?
From $47 · Buffalo, NY · No experience needed
ART CLASSES FOR ADULTS IN BUFFALO, NY
“Wait… I actually made that?”
Said in almost every first class.
Come back to it. In a small, friendly class where a real teacher watches you closely and helps you get better, week by week.
students maximum per class
2hr
10
unhurried, once a week
10+ yrs
of teaching adult beginners
0
experience required
THE HONEST PART
Somewhere along the way, life told you to put that down.
Maybe it was a parent who said there's no money in it. Maybe it was just marriage, kids, work, and the years slipping by, one on top of another.
That old spark is flickering back to life. But something is still holding you back.
Almost every student says the same thing on day one: “I just want to feel like myself again.” That's exactly what this class gives back
Your mind doesn't stop circling thoughts
At night, at the store, in the middle of an ordinary conversation, and you're tired from carrying a mind that won't just be quiet.
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You lost someone close to you
Even though time has passed, some days the weight of it is still right there in your chest.
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You're not sure who you are without the roles you used to play
The job, the kids, the schedule that used to fill every hour, some of that is gone or changing now, and the space it left behind feels bigger than you expected.
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You don't know where to start anymore
The materials are out, the table is cleared, and still you sit down and don't know what to draw or where to begin.
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You loved to draw as a kid, so much you'd lose whole afternoons in it and come out feeling completely happy.
What changes
What happens when you finally pick it back up
A quiet mind. Two hours where the noise in your head just stops.
The version of you that existed before the roles did. The one who liked things for no reason.
Proof, on paper, that you can still learn something new, at any age.
A door back to someone you lost, if that's what you're carrying in with you.
Something shifts the moment you sit down with a pencil or a brush again. Your mind gets quiet. The busy thoughts fade into the background, and for two hours you are simply here, looking at light and shadow, mixing a colour until it is right.
Start where you are. Tan has plenty of patience to take you the rest of the way.
Meet your teacher
Hi, I’m Tan.
One of Tan’s own paintings, acrylic on canvas.
I’ve been teaching for years, and I still get excited every time a student looks down at their paper and says, “Wait… I actually made that?”
I know what it’s like to want something creative for yourself and not have the time or the confidence to chase it. That’s why I teach the way I do: small groups, real attention, and no judgement. Whatever your paper looks like right now, we’ll make it better together, one step at a time.
I understand this from the inside, not just as a teacher. A few years ago I went through anxiety myself, the kind where your thoughts don’t stop, day or night. Art was what brought me back. When I paint, there’s no room left for those thoughts, just the brush and the page in front of me. That’s part of why I teach the way I do.
My father was an artist and a musician. He passed away in 2023, and losing him taught me what grief actually feels like, not the idea of it, the real weight of it. I believe people find their way to a class, to a teacher, for a reason, not by accident. So whatever you’re carrying when you walk in, you don’t have to leave it at the door. Sometimes that’s exactly what the painting is for.
I teach the real basics most classes skip. Once you understand those, everything else gets easier.
The artist behind the teacher
A practising artist who brings the same care to your work as she brings to her own.
What you’ll actually learn
Four fundamentals that change everything
Most classes hand you a brush and hope for the best. We build the foundation first: slowly, properly, in plain language.
02
How to actually see
Light, shadow, edges, proportion. Once your eye knows what to look for, your hand catches up faster than you’d believe.
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04
How to finish a piece
Layers, patience, and knowing when to stop. You leave with work you want to frame, not hide in a drawer.
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01
How to actually see
Light, shadow, edges, proportion. Once your eye knows what to look for, your hand catches up faster than you’d believe.
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03
How to mix a colour that matches
Not “green”, but that green. You’ll learn to read a colour and build it on the palette from three tubes.
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Inside a single lesson
This is what one afternoon of learning to see looks like
Six moments from one class. On the left, the first careful circles. On the right, the same hands a little later, with light, shadow and a sphere that finally sits on the page. Nothing here is talent. It is just attention, shown step by step.
Real progress, quickly
One lesson is usually enough to surprise yourself
Shaded apples in pencil, each one showing real light, shadow and form.
Drawing class results
Marc came in having never painted. After a single session he sent a photo of his own watercolour leaves with a note: “I try to do paint your first picture. Was a lot of fun.”
That is the pace here. Not someday. This week, on your own paper, with your own hands.
Not every result is a painting. In the drawing classes, students finish a single session with perspective studies and shaded forms they are proud to hold up.
After one session
After one session
Perspective studies in pencil, every sketchbook showing a confident three-dimensional form.
SEE FOR YOURSELF
Real student work from a few weeks into the course, made by people who hadn't picked up a brush or pencil in years. This is what real teaching gets you.
Graphite still life from the drawing course, working on light, shadow and form.
Coloured pencil study from later in the course, focusing on light and shine.
What a few weeks of guidance looks like
It was a small group, so the training was intimate and personal. The instructor was excellent and had plenty of time to assist each of us.
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From the studio
What students are saying
Unedited words from people who walked in nervous and left with work they were proud of.
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Donna
The class was very well organised and executed. Tan was delightful as an instructor, knowledgeable and thoughtful.
Kimberly
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The class was wonderful. The teacher was so patient and encouraging. The entire experience was delightful.
Ismet
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As an absolute beginner who had never taken a sketching class before, I learned a tremendous amount. Our teacher was excellent and clearly knew what she was talking about, as well as how to teach.
Mary
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You are an excellent teacher. I look forward to future classes with you!
DEB
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An interesting and fun reintroduction to some basic principles of drawing. I would take Tan’s courses again.
Craig
Inside the studio
No lectures, no pressure. Just a small group of people at a table, making something with their hands, one careful step at a time.
Brushes in hand, backgrounds going down, everyone still figuring it out.
What a class actually looks like
Tan walks through each step at the front, then comes round the table one by one.
Quiet, focused hours with pastels and pencils, coffee still warm on the table.
More than a class
Some days are playful and experimental. Others end with work proudly displayed on a gallery wall. Both belong in an artist’s life.
A joyful experiment with colour, movement and glow.
Make art, share it, and find your people
From Tan's own exhibition, work by her students hanging alongside hers.
Three ways in
Try a single class, commit to 10 weeks, or go all in with private mentoring.
Pick the path that fits you
$47
A Single Class
one class, 2 hours, Buffalo NY
Perfect if you just want to see what this feels like. No pressure, no commitment. Come once, meet Tan in person, make something the same day.
10-Week Full Course
$247
10 lessons, 2 hours each, Buffalo NY
Most chosen
✦ Choose one course: Drawing for Beginners, Acrylic, or Watercolour
✦ Ten weekly classes, two hours each. Choose your preferred day and time when you enroll. Classes meet once a week for 10 consecutive weeks, at your selected day and time.
✦ Personal feedback on your own work every week
✦ Finish pieces you’ll want to hang
✦ Catch-up session if you miss a week
✦ One full two-hour class
✦ All materials set out for you
✦ Personal help at your easel
✦ Leave with a finished small piece
Spend ten weeks really learning the direction you choose. Ten weeks is long enough for real technique to settle in your hands.
One-on-one Mentoring
$597
all courses + 16 private hours
For the student ready to stop dabbling and actually become a painter. All courses are included, plus 16 private hours on a schedule you choose yourself.
✦ Acrylic and Watercolour courses, both included
✦ 16 hours of private one-on-one lessons
✦ You choose your own schedule
✦ A personal learning plan built around your goals
✦ Portfolio review at the end
Not sure which one? Start with the $47 class
For those who want to go all in
This is the package for the student who is done dabbling. Acrylic and Watercolour courses are both included, plus 16 private hours on a schedule you choose yourself.
Premium one-on-one mentoring
$597
16 private hours · you choose the schedule
Acrylic and Watercolour, both included
Plus Drawing for Beginners. The complete foundation, taught in the right order.
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You choose your own schedule
No fixed timetable. Book your private hours around your life, not around ours.
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16 private one-on-one hours
Just you and Tan, over two months. Every hour spent entirely on your work.
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A plan built around your goals
We start with what you want to paint, and work backwards from it.
How a class goes
From your seat to your first finished piece
STEP 1
Choose your seat
Pick a single class to try, a ten-lesson course, or the full premium path. Ten seats per class.
STEP 2
Come as you are
Bring your own pencils and sketchbook if you have them. If not, the studio has what you need for the lesson. No experience required.
STEP 3
STEP 4
Work with someone beside you
Leave with something real
Two unhurried hours. Tansholpan moves around the room and works on your page with you, not at the whiteboard.
Every session ends with finished or nearly-finished work, and one specific thing to practise next.
Everything people ask before their first class
I haven’t drawn since I was a kid. Is this really for me?
Yes. My last group of new students walked in never having held a pencil, and by the end of one class they were shading and adding light and shadow. Most people who come to me start exactly where you are.
A few questions you might have
What if I’m just not talented?
One student told me her first circle looked more like a potato than a circle. I told her that’s a completely normal first attempt, and by her second class she was already tighter and more confident. Skill here comes from practice and a few technique fundamentals, not from natural talent.
What if I’m just not talented?
One student told me her first circle looked more like a potato than a circle. I told her that’s a completely normal first attempt, and by her second class she was already tighter and more confident. Skill here comes from practice and a few technique fundamentals, not from natural talent.
Do I need to bring my own supplies?
You’re welcome to bring your own pencils, eraser, or sketchbook if you have them. If you don’t, no problem, I’ll always have what you need on hand for your class.
I’m nervous about being the “worst” in the class.
Nobody’s the worst here. Almost everyone starts as a complete beginner, and progress happens fast enough that comparisons don’t come up.
How long is a class, and how often do they run?
Each class is two hours. Courses run one lesson a week for ten weeks. Or choose your own schedule with the Premium One-on-One Mentoring.
What if I’m late or need to reschedule?
If you’re running a few minutes behind, we’ll hold the class for you, up to 15 minutes. After that we start without you, so a quick heads-up helps. If you know ahead of time you’ll miss a class entirely (sick, something came up), just let me know and I’ll move you to another session at no extra cost.
Art Classes Location
Address
255 Great Arrow Ave, Suite 205, Buffalo, NY 14207
Art Classes
Flexible Days & Times
