Winter Art Classes
Tracy Nelson, Education Coordinator
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Every artist was first an amateur.” If you’re an amateur (or a professional artist), the SaddleBrooke Fine Arts Guild would like to support your creative pursuits. Many new classes have been added on our event calendar for artists of all levels. Visit the SaddleBrooke Fine Arts Guild’s website at www.saddlebrookefinearts.org for convenient online registration and payment. Membership in the SaddleBrooke Fine Arts Guild is only $25 per year and includes many benefits and activities. Guild members also enjoy a discount on class fees.
Beginning Pastel, by Delys Nast. 1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Pastel gives a beautiful, soft texture to any canvas/paper, with a myriad of colors available through blending and creative techniques. From artists like Degas to Toulouse-Lautrec and even Picasso, this medium has enjoyed a long history. In this class we will explore some of the options and techniques in pastel used for creating landscapes, portraits, and abstracts. If you previously took the Art Sampler class, this will take the exploration of using pastels in art further and give you more detail and experience with pastels. Materials will be provided.
It’s Never Too Late: Book Study, facilitated by Deb Kresnicka. 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Jan. 8 through March 26, 2026. A 12-week course for anyone who wishes to expand his/her creativity. This study is not meant only for declared artists but is aimed at everyone who is transitioning into another part of life. Your memoir will unfurl over the entire 12 weeks using just four basic tools and tasks. Each week will cover these tools and tasks and will include discussions of one chapter of the book, and of your life.
Landscapes in Oil or Water-Soluble Oils, by Sylvia Shanahan. 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays, Jan. 13 through Feb. 3, 2026. Learn the step-by-step process of creating beautiful landscapes in oils (or water-soluble oils). Sylvia Shanahan demonstrates and shares techniques on creating beautiful desert or mountain landscapes on canvas. Students will work from their own reference photos or ones provided by the instructor. Several styles will be explored, including representational, impressionist, and abstract.
Let’s Paint Skies, by Karen Brungardt. 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. This watercolor class focuses on techniques for painting different styles of skies, from big, billowy clouds on a sunny day to sunsets and perhaps night skies. We’ll paint at least four types of skies and more if there’s time! From beginner and up!
Beginning Drawing, by Jeanine Colini. 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, Jan. 21 through Feb. 11, 2026. This four-part series of beginner classes is designed for the novice with little to no drawing experience. We will start with an explanation of basic supplies and explore fundamental drawing techniques: drawing in line, shading methods, use of simple shapes, perspective, proportion, and composition. In this class you will acquire basic drawing skills that you can put to use in your creative projects. It will also prepare you for more advanced drawing instruction.
Beginning Watercolor, by Karen Brungardt. 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursdays, Jan. 29 through Feb. 19, 2026. Are you a beginner at watercolor? Never got the basics in the medium? This class is for you! I’ll start with the absolute basics of using the brushes properly and reviewing the paper, the pigments, and so on. You’ll practice in class so you can practice at home, and you’ll follow my step-by-step instructions. Come along for the ride in this fabulous and fascinating medium!
Creative Art Journaling, by Sylvia Shanahan. 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays, Feb. 17 through March 3, 2026. Creative Art Journaling is a unique way to combine the elements of art and writing into a visual diary. It’s specifically designed to boost creative juices and expression for beginners and seasoned pros alike. There are no wrong ways to approach it. Everything is correct. Fun prompts make this class one not to miss. All water media, watercolor pencils, colored pencils, markers, collage papers, etc., are acceptable and encouraged.
Join us December 16 for Capturing Equine Elegance
Jenni Long
On Dec. 16 at 1 p.m., don’t miss a unique opportunity to learn from award-winning artist Delys Nast in a pastel coaching session focused on movement; specifically, the elegant world of horses. Delys will guide you through:
• Inspiration: Explore how horses move and translate that energy into art.
• Techniques: Learn practical tips to get started with capturing movement in pastels.
• Personalized Guidance: Work on your own piece or join the equine study. Delys will offer feedback and advice tailored to your artistic goals.
This is more than just a learning experience. It’s a chance to connect with like-minded pastel artists, get feedback, and be part of a supportive, artistic community. Best of all, it’s just $10!
Details:
• When: Dec. 16 at 1 p.m.
• What to bring: Your pastels and paper
• Coaching sessions: Every Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m.
• Oil coaching is the first Tuesday.
• Watercolor coaching is the second Tuesday.
• Pastel coaching is the third Tuesday (more opportunities to learn and grow!).
• Sign up online at saddlebrookefinearts.org.
Sign up today for this collaborative learning opportunity. We look forward to creating with you!
Jeannette Launer
Artist Spotlight: Jannette Launer
Tracy Nelson
In 2018 Jeannette Launer was invited by a friend to participate in a week-long art camp. Jeannette had always wanted to paint, but in a family with an artistic mom and a sister who was labeled as “the arty one,” she was known as “the academic one.” She had attended the University of Oregon, gone to law school, and worked as an assistant city attorney, then for the Portland Development Commission in real estate development, and she eventually opened her own law practice. For the last 18 years of her career, “It was just me and my dog,” working on public/private development projects. The opportunity to attend art camp was a chance to finally explore her creative side.
At camp, Jeannette chose watercolor as her medium (the materials list was the least expensive), and she painted her first picture of a hillside with trees. That experience, and her move to SaddleBrooke in 2022, prompted her to start painting in earnest. She took classes through the Art Guild—watercolor, pastel, and Art Sampler. She began watching YouTube videos that taught technique, and she painted abstract, expressionistic works every day. Eventually, she began working in acrylic as well, and she produced several pieces which she exhibited at the Open Studio Tour. She said, “It was the first time I’d shown my work to anyone other than my family and friends, and I value the feedback I received. I even met some new neighbors!”
Jeannette lives part of the year in Bend, Ore., where she moved in 2013. After a particularly snowy winter, she decided she’d like to find a warmer location for part of the year. She found SaddleBrooke through some former law school classmates who recommended the community. She rented for a month, then bought a home and remodeled it. Along with her life partner Tom, she enjoys social activities and finds it easy to make friends and keep active here. She plays pickleball, goes hiking, and practices Pilates. In addition, she is an avid fly fisherwoman, has traveled around the world on fishing trips, and is planning an upcoming trip to Argentina. Jeannette has five step-children and 14 grandchildren.
If you are interested in learning new art skills and meeting others in the art community, please join the SaddleBrooke Fine Arts Guild. The calendar of upcoming classes, information on membership, and descriptions of upcoming events can be found at www.saddleBrookefinearts.org.
SaddleBrooke Fine Arts Guild Artist Display at Long Realty
Jenni Long
Every three months there is a new display of art by members of the SaddleBrooke Fine Arts Guild at Long Realty Golder Ranch. Collage art is the theme for the current display. Collage is an artistic composition of materials and objects pasted over a surface.
Artists currently on display are Fran Dorr, Susan King, Nancy Long, Harriet Hason, Michele Benedict, and Deb Kresnicka.
Susan King
Susan is from Washington State and has been living in SaddleBrooke for seven years. During that time, she has been indulging in her passion for art. Susan is an intuitive painter and says she never really has an idea of what she is going to paint until beginning to work. Susan does large-scale, contemporary, impressionistic art in acrylic. She loves to paint and enjoys studying philosophy and psychology, especially Jung and Buddhism.
Nancy Long
Nancy has created art most of her life. She earned a BA degree in graphic design and a postgraduate degree in art education from Texas Tech University. She has developed art programs and taught art in public and private schools.
Her art journey has included clothing design, as well as painting in watercolor, acrylic, and collage. Through the process of experimentation and practice, her expressionistic style has emerged. Nancy’s painting process involves a “playfulness” with vivid color, pattern, and visual texture.
Harriet Hason
Harriet attended Pratt Institute in New York and received both undergraduate and graduate degrees in art. Some years later, she received Administration Certification, which gave her the qualifications to pursue educational leadership on an administrative level. Harriet had a successful career in New York as a visual arts teacher and then coordinator for the arts for a New York school district. After working with and guiding students and teachers for over 30 years, she relocated to Tucson and began her own creative journey. When first moving to the Southwest, she focused on drawing and painting using a variety of drawing and painting media and tools. Gravitating to more dimensional and tactile surfaces, she created mixed media pieces with handmade paper and other materials.
Michele Benedict
Michele started pursuing art in 1967 at age 22, and at 82, she is still enthralled! Through her artistic endeavors, she has explored many mediums, sold hundreds of pieces, taught many people and kids how to draw and paint, and produced a very large art exhibit called “Exploring Beliefs—Yours, Mine & Ours.” Inside that show were 12 paintings called the “Celebration of Creativity,” which she also took into middle schools and adult organizations to promote creativity. Currently, she is doing mixed media, incorporating fabrics, gems, wood, and metal with paint used in collages. Michele calls her studio a “playground” of ongoing experiments to explore even more ways to express what is flowing through her heart to keep her excited!
Deb Kresnicka
Art has been a passion of Deb’s since childhood. It got serious when she majored in fine art in college. Life seemed to get in the way, so she went on with her life doing what she needed to do, raising children and helping with their family business in Illinois, eventually doing the framing for a gallery. Along the way, Deb took workshops and classes in art. Watercolor became a favorite of hers, then it was oil and acrylic. Most recently, Deb took a workshop with the Scottsdale Art League, taught by Penny Peterson. Since then, collage has become her main work, recycling papers, altering papers, and making paper for her large pieces. Interestingly, even if a piece has only one piece of paper glued, it becomes a collage.
Stop by Long Realty in the Bashas’ Shopping Center to view this creative display. The lobby is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.