ORANGE BEACH, Ala. - The Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach is offering nine different adult classes from eight different instructors in January and February along with one three-day workshop. All of the instructors are exhibiting artists at CACOB, and all have extensive teaching experience.

Beginning Jan. 14, Zack Baisden will be teaching a six-week course called, “Mixed Media and Skins” on Mondays from 9 a.m.-noon. Students will be amazed at the variety of techniques Baisden, a retired art educator, will introduce, including acrylic “skins.” The fee for this course is $125.

There will be two different classes on Tuesdays. Tuesday morning from 9 a.m.-noon, Joanne Hall will teach oil painting, beginning on Jan. 15 and running through Feb. 26. Joanne provides lots of individual instruction, and the class will paint “plein aire” as weather allows.

Also from Jan. 15 through Feb. 26, Tommy Vogel will teach pastels on Tuesday afternoons. The pastels class will be from 1-3 p.m., with a fee of $80. Students will complete a pastel artwork in each two hour lesson.

Wednesday mornings from Jan. 16 through March 6, 9 a.m. - noon, Jane Sellier will teach a beginning/intermediate acrylic class. Step-by-step demonstrations of tools and techniques will help students enjoy the process of painting.

A student qualifies as “intermediate” if he/she has had any previous painting experience—it doesn’t have to be very much experience. The fee for this eight-week class is $70

On Thursdays, two different classes will teach watercolor techniques. Beginning on Jan. 24 and running through Feb. 28, students can spend Thursday mornings from 9 a.m.-noon immersing themselves in the watercolor experience with acclaimed Pensacola artist and instructor Rich Williams. Around CACOB, Williams’ capabilities and teaching excellence have caused him to be known as a “watercolor god.” This class is $100 for the six weeks.

Barbara Curtis’s Watercolor and Acrylics class starts Thursday, Jan. 17 and runs through Feb. 21, from noon-3 p.m. For a fee of $70, students will learn the fundamentals and secrets of watercolor and how Barbara combines watercolor and acrylic painting.

On Fridays from Jan. 25 through March 1, Mary Lou Nicolai will teach two different drawing classes. Both classes are based on the techniques in Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. The morning class, from 9 a.m.-noon, is Beginning Drawing, especially for the “can’t even draw stick figures” students. With the series of drawing exercises used in this class, students will be amazed at how quickly and easily they will learn to draw.

The same techniques are also used in business to release the creative thinking of non-artistic people and help them think outside the box.

The Friday afternoon class, Intermediate Drawing, is from noon-3 p.m. This class is in the afternoon so it can be a continuation of the beginning class or for past students who need more time to practice and refine their skills. Students will be taught at their own level and work at their own pace.

The class will review and refine drawing skills: line, shape, value, & composition, as well as work with still life, faces, figures, landscapes and experimental techniques. Both drawing classes are relaxing, fun, and non-judgmental. The fee for each drawing class is $180. Students who enroll in both classes will receive a 5% discount.

Beginning Jan. 5, on Saturday mornings from 10 a.m. - noon, Dorie Parsons will teach Digital Photography classes. Students may take all six classes or pick just the ones they want. Each Saturday class is $27. Subjects to be taught are: Jan. 5—“Tips and Tricks”; Jan. 12—“Exposure-Capturing Light & Motion”; no class Jan. 19; Jan. 26—“Photographic Composition”; Feb. 2—“Post Camera Production-After You Take the Picture, What’s Next?”; Feb. 9—“Editing Digital Photographs-Adobe Photoshop Elements”; Feb. 16—“Creating Your Own Photo Book.”

CACOB is also pleased to announce that a new exhibiting artist member, John Hogarth, will teach a Stained Glass Workshop Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 17-19 (extra day on Sunday possible), from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Mr. Hogarth has taught numerous stained glass classes throughout the Southeast, including at the Grove Hill Art Center and the PAA in Foley. Beginners will leave this workshop able to complete stained glass projects on their own. Advanced students will receive individual help as desired. The fee for the three-day workshop is $200.

To register for any of the adult classes, call the Arts Center at 251.981.2787, or send email to bbutler@cityoforangebeach.com. Include your name, phone number, and email address.