Watts Atelier Of The Arts LLC

The Owner Jeff Watts is a top notch teacher. The cost of this school is very reasonable compared to other art schools. If you are looking for a solid start in Art I highly recommend this school. The online school is a terrific option as well.

I would like to just point out that almost all of the filtered reviews (41 of them — astonishing!) and some of the 5 star reviews below are ALL within a one week period in April, 2012. It’s almost as if some asshat’s school was giving away a coupon for a free bad art lesson in exchange for a 5-​star review of this subpar atelier.
Any business that has questionable reviews like this should be noted that it may rub off on their business practices. Just sayin. It’s not cool. And neither are their judgmental (opinionated? narrow-​minded? tunnel visioned?) and one-​sided instructors (but only some of them).
I took a class here and all I can say is that it was a waste of money and the teacher was clearly threatened by my superior talent and tried to pull me down to his level on a regular basis. It was sad and very ego-​centric. (Which is ironic, because they say «to leave your ego at the door» but I think that was just to make more room for theirs).

Simply the best school to learn the skills for illustration or fine arts. All of the instructors are first class artists and are very helpful for what ever level you at at. The class sizes are small (about 15 to 1 maximum). Check it out.

I’ve taken various types of drawing/​art classes on and off for the last 20 years by private businesses and high school/​college/​design schools. I have probably taken close to 10 classes over a couple years with Watts.
This is an excellent school in teaching technique in painting and drawing (I don’t understand how 42 of 47 reviews are filtered out by Unilocal). Plus all the instructors are working professionals that are more than happy to share their experience in working in the art industry, like being frank about the difficulties without shooting down dreams.
A core fundamentals class like head or figure drawing means:
(4) 5-​minute poses to warm up by drawing a live model
break
(1) 25-​minute demo by the instructor who can make a drawing that would take me several hours to make anything comparable
break
Several 20-​minute periods for students to draw with the instructor moving around, answering questions, throwing out suggestions, and eventually, when asked, to sit down on an individual’s drawing and critique it both verbally and visually (using tracing paper to correct proportions or sometimes directly on the drawing for finer techniques in shading)
Tips:
If you are a beginner, try to ask the instructor to sit down with you early on or if you are having an off day and are struggling with a certain aspect. Students tend to wait until near the end of class, which makes it difficult for instructors to give everyone a nice chunk of one-​on-​one time. However I have always seen instructors willing to stay after class to help or to squeeze you in the beginning of next class/​breaks.
Jeff is a gregarious talker and goes off on tangents, but he is extremely proficient. It is a matter of picking out the information you need from his talks. However, if you are a beginner, I highly recommend Stan/​Erik/​Meadow/​Ben/​Lucas (I have learned from them all) who have been teaching at this school for years. They say just as much as Jeff but less extraneous bits during demo.
Because there is no curriculum of course progression like in college, what the instructor chooses to focus on teaching varies from week to week, this quarter, next quarter. Sometimes they break down the eyeball and eyelids into basic shapes (part of how they teach the anatomy courses). Sometimes they tell you to squint down and draw based on halftone shapes or instead, draw only with lines and tell you to wait on throwing in shading. It seems random, but what works for one student doesn’t necessarily work for another, so I appreciate access to various methods, so I strongly encourage learning from different instructors… not just Jeff because his name is in the Atelier title.
For the advanced students, they encourage you to develop your own style. What I get from the philosophy is to develop a strong foundation in drawing the body realistically and then being able to pick and choose what you know to develop your own art.

I have received some flak for writing the previous review,(from family members and students of jeff watts.) With that in mind let me clarify; i addressed my review to other folks like me (older, art school educated professionals). I stand by those remarks. I would like to add now that he has a following of devoted young disciples who are very well satisfied with the school and jeff watts. I agree fledgling artists could learn alot from jeff watts,(amazining brushwork, great draftsman), and the disciplined traditions of the atelier system would be very helpful for young artists to see and emulate. also a really good choice for students interested in illustration as jeff shares alot of helpful tips gleaned from his illustrator father.

This place is a unique jewel in Southern California. The instructors are working, professional artists who generously and tirelessly share their knowledge that they have acquired from years of hard work and dedicated learning. You spend a fraction of the money you would at an art school, in smaller classes, and have as much teacher guidance and feedback as you could ask for. The focus is on a solid foundation while equipping you to be a working artist. My time at Watts was one of the best experiences I have had and they gave me life-​long tools I will always be grateful for.

I couldn’t imagine a better place to learn how to draw and paint, especially the human figure and portrait. I have benefited from the firsthand experience of numerous working artists and illustrators that teach at this school and have their own full time careers as well, artists whose work I now avidly follow. It’s true that the instructors here are honest about how hard it is to learn how to draw, and they won’t lie to you about that, no matter how you ask. There just aren’t any easy answers where this is concerned– learning to draw at a high level takes a tremendous amount of practice and discipline, the instructors can only guide you as you tread that road.

This is one of the BEST Art schools I’ve been to in a long time, and I have taken PLENTY of workshops and classes over the years!
Jeff and his team give you very specific instruction and advise. His instructors do demos so that you can see how they make decisions and create a painting.
After I took 2 classes from the school, I was painting in a much more confident manner and struggled less with my work.
The students in the classes were from beginner to advanced and everyone was kind and friendly.
I felt that I was in a comfortable and nurturing environment.
The instructors were approachable and more than happy to help .
The smaller class size gives you the opportunity to get individual instruction .
GREAT GREAT atelier!

Well I wish that I could have looked at Unilocal before I wasted my time. Did I get the professionalism and education NO! Be very diligent in checking out instructors. I wanted to learn about how to draw not about the owner’s drama and deaingl with his ego. I wanted to stay local and not commute but it’s worth going somewhere else.

Jeez… what a bunch of whining going on in some of these reviews. Here’s the inherent problem with this review website: Only people that are really angry (for who knows why) take the time to write a review. And guess what, if they’re angry, the review won’t be good! Hey, if you don’t like Watts’ teaching style, don’t go back! Is somebody holding a gun to your head or what?
Now as for my two cents: I’ve been spending good money on art classes for many years at locations all over SD county and as far away as Paris, France. Lots and Lots of money. After tax money! And quite honestly, the other places I’ve taken are pretty good at back slapping and nothing more, «Hey, you’re doing really good.» But guess what, they don’t teach you how to draw or paint. They make you feel good when praised but who cares about that? I want solid, critical instruction from artists that know how to draw and can SHOW ME what I’m doing wrong and that’s what you get at Watts. I learned more at Watts in six months than the previous six years combined at the other places.
Watts Atelier is without question the best art school I have ever attended. The instructors are all very talented artists, they are friendly and helpful and know what they’re doing.
So, if you want to learn how to draw (or paint) go to Watts. On the other hand, if you like titles and want to be graded on your conceptual ability, then go to a university or state college. When you’re done, you’ll be lucky if you can draw a stick figure!

All it takes is one look at the consistently high rate of progress and quality of work from the students here to know it’s among the best. The walls are covered in some seriously impressive student work. I’m on my second term right now and have learned so much more than I thought I could in such a short time.
The atmosphere is one of camaraderie and generally helpful. Many of the more advanced students will lend advice to the newer ones if asked, there aren’t any big egos here. I’m not sure how somebody could have interpreted anything as ‘snide remarks’ or ‘abusive comments ’ from any teacher at Watts. They simply aren’t those kinds of people.
Seriously, I have never learned so much in my life and it couldn’t have been from a better crew.
So I said Watts is ‘among the best’, but really, it is the best.

I have been going here for 5 years now. I can’t believe that it has been that long already. If you want to learn how to draw and paint, there is probably no better school than Watts Atelier. I graduated from college with an art degree and learning wise it was nothing compared to what I have learned at Watts. The teachers are all knowledgeable and professional. One of my favorite things about the school is that anyone can attend, no portfolios or anything, they can take a person that has never drawn before and make them good, provided that you take in consideration what they say and practice, practice, practice. Learning and getting good at art is not a cake walk, it takes time, dedication, and patients. I would not be as good as I am now if it wasn’t for this school and its wonderful teachers!

When you attend an art school with ‘LLC’ in the title, you can rightly expect the student to come second. I took a few classes here and can say I learned a few figure drawing techniques that were ok. I might add I felt like I needed to hire a cult de-​programmer to cleanse my brain of all the BS I had to listen to while I was trying to draw. Seriously, I don’t come to art class to hear what was on Rush Limbaugh that morning, or a whole slew of distracting, irrelevant babble in place of art instruction. This didn’t happen from all the instructors, but it happened frequently enough to make me want to look elsewhere. I hear it used to be a lot better when Ron was there, but he’s since started his own studio with excellent instruction that is right near by (Park Blvd Studios, check it out).
I could say a lot more, but I’ll just say this:
Where’s the digital…(cricket noise)