Spring is a time to go outside: outside the house, outside your phone, outside the box, and outside your comfort zone.

Our favorite way to get there? Art classes, of course!

Spring term at The Art League begins the week of April 4. Our classes aren’t for a degree or a certificate — they’re about learning, growing, and unlocking your creativity. So if this time of year has you feeling like trying something new, we have lots of suggestions for you!

You can see the full Spring catalog online (almost 200 classes!), and check out these featured classes as well:

• Painting (Oil or Acrylic) with Jin Chung
  Monday mornings starting April 4
• Trompe L’oeil and Photorealism with Patrick Kirwin
  Monday evenings starting April 4

Trompe l’oeil means “fool the eye,” and the techniques taught in this class can make for a lot of fun. Example: here’s the instructor demonstrating how to paint a convincing “marble” surface using a plastic bag and a paintbrush.

• Composition and Design Fundamentals with Lisa Semerad
  Monday evenings starting April 4
• Pastel Painting (Beginning-Advanced) with Nancy Freeman
  Tuesday evenings starting April 5

This class is for absolute beginner pastel artists as well as those who have some experience under their belts. The instructor showed us a quick pastel sketch a while back for our video demo series.

• Abstract Painting with Brian Jernigan
  Wednesday evenings starting April 6
• Hand Stitching with Julie Booth
  Wednesday evenings starting April 6
• Sculpture and the Concept of Why with Andy Yoder
  Sunday evenings starting April 10

A wide-ranging, free-wheeling, try-anything class that’s new this year. Here’s the instructor explaining what it’s all about.

• Print Like the Masters with Priscilla Treacy
  Wednesday mornings starting April 13
• To Tell a Story with Cloth with Julie Booth
  Wednesday mornings-afternoons starting April 13

This class is all about surface design. What’s surface design? We’re glad you asked.

• Mystery Solved: Facial Reconstruction with Joe Mullins
  Wednesday evenings starting April 13
• Still Life in Oil with John Murray
  Thursday evenings starting April 14
• Opaque Watercolor: Small Format with Priscilla Treacy
  Friday mornings starting April 15

Any questions about the class or workshop that caught your eye? Looking for the right class for you? The School office staff can help you out: school@theartleague.org or 703-683-2323.