The most rewarding thing that has happened to me since moving to Texas is finding The Art Center and meeting a fantastic teacher - Micheal Hammons!
Janice Larson
I still remember the Mickey Mouse drawing I had to do on the very first day--Everyone goes through that "test". From there, I slowly progressed up. I've gone to almost all the basic medium imaginable. Pencil, color pencil, pastel, sculpture, clay, watercolor, acrylic, oil painting, etc. The way the teachers here at the Art Center taught me shot up my creativity to the sky--literally. All the art works were thought out by myself--the teachers never limits their students, which I think is great to really boost up my creativity and artistic side. The teachers are passionate about art and motivate their students.
Sohee Shin (student for 5 years)
Some students call him Mr. Hammons—others simply call him Micheal. He’ll greet you with a hug and a smile and then ask, “What are we doing tonight?”
He is a talented well known artist with his own style, but he can paint with any medium. He allows his students to develop their own style—which is what I love most. He instructs us on the critical parts of drawing—that would be perspective and the vanishing point.
If you overdo a watercolor, the painting becomes muddy. And, we all know you can’t make mistakes with watercolor. I have been his student for two years and think I have finally learned when to stop. He teaches us how to move from dark to light color treatments creating shadows and depth. He coaches us individually as we paint with different mediums. And he has broken us of bad habits—such as taking care not to mix our foundation color with a plethora of other washes of color.
Our Thursday night class of four is the most fun I’ve had since I took English riding classes in middle school. Every week is different. We each have developed our own style—one student paints with oils, another with acrylics and a phenomenal art student uses pen and pencil. I am not sure how Micheal gets to all of us in our two hour classes each week, but he manages us well. I know I am high maintenance, so if he can teach me to stop and not rush or overdo, he is doing his job and with ease.
He is a talented well known artist with his own style, but he can paint with any medium. He allows his students to develop their own style—which is what I love most. He instructs us on the critical parts of drawing—that would be perspective and the vanishing point.
If you overdo a watercolor, the painting becomes muddy. And, we all know you can’t make mistakes with watercolor. I have been his student for two years and think I have finally learned when to stop. He teaches us how to move from dark to light color treatments creating shadows and depth. He coaches us individually as we paint with different mediums. And he has broken us of bad habits—such as taking care not to mix our foundation color with a plethora of other washes of color.
Our Thursday night class of four is the most fun I’ve had since I took English riding classes in middle school. Every week is different. We each have developed our own style—one student paints with oils, another with acrylics and a phenomenal art student uses pen and pencil. I am not sure how Micheal gets to all of us in our two hour classes each week, but he manages us well. I know I am high maintenance, so if he can teach me to stop and not rush or overdo, he is doing his job and with ease.
Nikki Dowd
