Teaching the tips & techniques of the Masters to students at any level

Specializing in supporting the creative growth and unique self-expression of motivated individuals, lessons with this fine arts tutor are developed based on the student's particular interests and needs.

With 20 years of experience facilitating gratifying and personally meaningful art experiences, I teach art techniques, visual thinking and creative problem solving skills in a success-oriented, systematic way. Even those who believe themselves to have little artistic ability will be taught in a manner where beautiful results become natural as the student's artistic "voice" emerges.

I'm an equally enthusiastic about working with the gifted and talented as I am with "absolute beginners" and individuals with special needs or disabilities.

The following areas of expertise are possible areas of focus.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, so if you have an interest not listed here, please inquire. All concepts and skills in these areas are presented in developmentally appropriate ways:

- historic techniques in drawing, painting and printmaking
- rendering from life and skills for realism
- methods of abstraction and surface design
- the basics of linear perspective
- color theories and historic palettes
- archival collage and mixed media
- preservation framing
- transcending creative blocks and preventing blocks from developing
- portfolio building
- professional practices and career development
- Art exhibitions: curating, exhibition design and installation
- developing intuitive capacity through the creative process
- finding joyous fulfillment in artistic self-expression

My expertise as a TEACHING ARTIST draws on a Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree (BFA) in Painting and drawing with a minor in Art History, a second bachelor's degree (BS) in Graphic Design, a master's degree (MA) in Art Therapy, and a Master's of Fine Art degree (MFA) in historic painting/drawing/print making techniques.

Work experience inside Major Fine Art museums, high end Frame Shops and Art Galleries allows me to support students in their professional development as well as their aesthetic pursuits.

Frances's Subjects

Science:	anatomy, psychology
Art:	art history, drawing, painting
Test Preparation:	career development, college counseling
Special Needs:	Aspergers, autism, dyslexia, special needs
Business:	career development
Sports/Recreation:	needlework, sewing
Corporate Training:	career development, college counseling

Special Needs

With 20 years experience in special education settings as a board certified art therapist, I have taught art to over 500 students, in 5 states and the District of Columbia. I have worked extensively with issues of child development, disability and adjustment issues.

At this time I am most interested in tutoring students who need assistance with:
1. flourishing as artists, the gifted and talented in art, with or without a concurrent disability
2. developmental disabilities... Read More

Sewing

When I was 5 my grandmother, who had a business making curtains, began teaching me to embroider. My mother, who sewed wedding gowns and dance costumes, taught me garment construction. By the time I was a teen I was making and embellishing my own clothes. I am adept at machine sewing as well as hand work. In undergraduate school I included courses in fiber arts and folklore in my electives. In folklore, I embroidered projects in research of ethnic designs and traditional stitches from Poland, where... Read More

Drawing

I have a BFA in fine arts as well as an MFA. On both levels I concentrated in painting and drawing.

My Masters of Fine Art degree is from a prestigious Academy that teaches the Old Master's techniques for realism, thus my understanding of drawing techniques is extensive and historically based as well as expressive and personally realized.

Additionally, I have a graphic design degree in illustration and an understanding of drawing from a commercial perspective as well. Read More

Painting

With a Bachelor's degree in Painting, a Masters of Fine Art degree in Historic Painting Techniques and an established exhibition record nearly 30 years long, I have much to offer painting students. My specialty is supporting the personal expression and excellence of my students, so that they are not only painting competently and without technical difficulty, but that they are painting uniquely, personally, significantly/meaningfully. My experience in illustration and art therapy give me a wide... Read More

Career Development

I enjoy supporting high school and college age students in career development in the arts and in art therapy. I have been a supervisor of art therapy interns for 3 Masters Degree programs. Currently, I review portfolios and provide constructive feedback. I have an extensive network of colleagues in art based careers and can make appropriate recommendations and referrals, as needed.

College Counseling

In the mid 1980's I was a graduate student in Fine Art at a State University under a full scholarship that included a teaching assistantship. For 2 years I taught a 2 semester course in the foundations of design, including color and composition. Part of my responsibilities was to prepare undergraduate students to submit portfolios in application for consideration as art majors. Though my students had diverse interests from architecture, to theater arts to graphic design, to name but a few, ALL... Read More

Art History

As an Undergraduate I exceeded the requirements for a minor in Art History, maintaining a 4.0 grade point average across 42 credit hours of Art History.

Additionally, I have direct experience from working in 3 major Fine Art museums, as follows:
1. My first Masters Degree if from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a teaching assistant I facilitated the inclusion of children with Autism into enrichment programs. This work included taking trips with the children into... Read More

Aspergers

I have 20 years of full time field experience as a Board Certified Art Therapist, including specialized work with children and adolescents coping with developmental disabilities like Asperger's syndrome. Expressive art experiences can be a vital means of non-verbal communication and emotional processing for individuals whose verbal and expressive capacities are limited by developmental handicaps, by disposition or from the effects of challenging life circumstances, as in those shut down by grief... Read More

Autism

As a Board Certified Art Therapist, I spent 20 years working with special needs children. I have worked with many students on the Autism spectrum. My Masters' Thesis in Art Therapy was an in depth case study of work I conducted with a teenaged boy challenged by Autism, a language disorder and other limiting conditions.

Though my practice did not become a specialization in autism, I have over the years helped many student with developmental disabilities ranging from mild to severe.

Dyslexia

As a board certified art therapist I have 20 years experience working with children of every age in most major disability categories. I have had students with mild dyslexia as well as those with profound versions of neurological uniqueness.

Often dyslexic students are highly visual. Art experiences/processes can help them learn in non-traditional, alternative ways.

I have had gifted dyslexic students go on to be successful members of society. And, I have facilitated a gratifying... Read More

Read all subject qualifications »

Education

Buffalo State College (Fine Art) the school of the art institute of chicago (Master's) New York Academy of Art (Master's)

Very informative, kind, patient and overall extremely helpful! — Frances did a great job helping me to improve my painting. I had had great difficulty finding a way to learn classical painting techniques before Frances. Contemporary art and artists seem to skip over the basics. Frances helped me learn incredible techniques - simple and complex - that vastly improved my painting in only a few months! She knows an endless amount and will never hesitate to help ...

— Audrey from New York, NY

More Student Reviews »

Hourly Fee

Standard Hourly Fee: $55.00

With Prepaid Discount: $46.75 - $52.25

Save up to 15%

Cancellation: 24 hours notice required

$55/hour in my studio* $75/hour outside my studio* $30 each, for small groups* *a travel fee may apply Fee adjustments are negotiated by phone prior to the first lesson.

You don't pay until after your tutoring and there are no hidden fees or charges. The price you see here is the price you pay.

Your first hour with any tutor is always 100% refundable. You must be completely satisfied or we will gladly issue you an instant refund.

Travel Policy

Frances will travel within 20 miles of New York, NY 10040.

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Credit	For Only	You Save
$200 - $399	$190 - $379	5%
$400 - $999	$360 - $899	10%
$1,000 +	$850 +	15%

Frances S.