Dublinartclasses Reviews 7

I attended a full day workshop on 12th April 25 on painting a large contemporary piece in acrylics, which is a new medium for me. Our tutor Catherine Lawlor firstly explained how to abstract a subject by simplifying the shapes and using tones in colour and how important the horizon line is. This was followed by sketching the subject in charcoal and markers, familiarising us with the subject, which was a seascape. We spent the rest of the day painting the scene with very personal tuition and demonstration in a very limited palette. I would highly recommend these workshops for beginners, improvers and advanced students alike. You go home with a completed painting having learned loads in the process. An altogether great day out.

I have been taking classes at Dublin Art Classes since September 2023. Art has been my hobby of choice my whole life. I consider myself well-read for a novice but these classes have awakened my love of learning.

Catherine is a great teacher with solid and practical advice that shows improvement in action. Her ability to observe and explain artistic concepts to a bunch of noobs can't be easy but she does it and does it well.

I have also been able to join several workshops which included a day learning how to paint various seascapes with a palette knife. The best though, was a live demonstration by Norman Teeling, an established Irish artist with a great story which he tells eloquently with a quip of a brush.

Catherine Lawlor Dublin Art School put on a fabulous still life class with the fantastic and talented artist Norman Teeling. As a novice to art painting & sketching it was a privilege to see how Norman Teeling brings a blank canvas to light & to learn along the way was wonderful. Catherine continues to encourage her students at every class.

I had a brilliant class with Catherine Lawlor at Dublin Art Classes, last Thursday.
We discussed the students paintings in our class that day and were given a very clear understanding of what the student was painting and how they would achieve their finished painting. We compared our works and discussed the Art history of the "Impressionists" versus"Realism". The students present were of mixed standards and each one learned something new and enjoyed listening to Catherine explaining "Art".
It was uplifting and inspiring and I've been attending classes at Dublin Art Classes for 10 years and am enjoying every minute of them and have completed 101 paintings to date.
Catherine gave us the opportunity to attend a Norman Teeling live Still Life demonstration on Saturday last. It was fantastic to be up close and personal with such a renowned irish Artist and watch a magnificent painting evolve. Thank you Catherine for organising it and continued success with your terrific school.

I have been going to Art class with Dublin Art Classes for many years.
In that time I have always found Catherine Lawlor to be an excellent teacher.
I always look forward to going to class, mixing with other like minded people of all abilities.
Catherine has a way of encouraging everyone regardless of their art experience. And everyone there is guaranteed to learn something new and improve their artistic skills. I have always found Catherine to be knowledgeable and professional and there is no doubt that she is passionate about art. I have also gone on art trips with Catherine and done one day workshops. All of which were entertaining, fun and interesting
Catherine herself gives everything to her classes and helps people to reach their own potential. Every standard of ability is catered for. I highly recommend Dublin Art Classes .

Really unprofessional experience with Dublin Art Classes & Catherine Lawlor - not recommended!

I signed up to what was supposed to be a Beginner's Drawing Class to find I was the only beginner with other mixed level participants, one an expert with over 17 years training with Catherine. Lovely people but this was not how the course was advertised and I naturally felt out of place. At the first session that was advertised as a 3 hour class, Catherine; arrived late, I set up the room with her, spent over an hour talking about a previous art exhibition in the RDS with others, had a tea break, informed me that even though the course was advertised as 3 hours x 5 weeks that in reality it would be more like 2 hours per session, told me to buy a list of materials that Evans Art Supplies store costed at €178 (not advertised on the course) which almost doubled the course price when I hadn't even picked up a pencil, spent around 45 minutes actual work time and said she should have cancelled the class ideally and started in a fortnight's time.

Needless to say, I felt unimpressed by her behaviour and overwhelmed by the level of talent around me and the unexpected list and cost of materials. I didn't want to return. When I asked for a refund she drew it out over a number of weeks and finally chose to give me back just €88 of the €220 I paid for the course instead of €176 which would have been the appropriate amount to refund me pro rata. So she charged me €132 for the 45 minute experience outlined and justified it by saying that me cancelling once the course had commenced didn't give her ample time to replace me.

The truth is Catherine has a misplaced sense of entitlement. I've no doubt she is very talented and the people in the class are lovely, but money is earned and it is to be respected, especially during the current cost of living crisis. The lack of professionalism in my first class together with the way the partial refund was handled, wreaks of such entitlement. It is also not my responsibility to compensate her for back filling my place as a result of her own unprofessionalism. To think I should, is a further example of entitlement. Plus, the truth is a bank holiday fell the week after my first class so there was no class that week anyway and I cancelled before the next one commenced. She has chosen to ignore these facts. Furthermore, as outlined, I was the only beginner who signed up for her class! So her justifications for keeping my money fall short on so many fronts.

I would say Catherine's classes are suited to people with a lot of time and money on their hands who are prepared to engage with Catherine on her terms only. Also, pay attention to the fact that the course outlines are not always what they seem, the reality is they can be very different, and any dissatisfaction you may experience won't be met with professionalism and may result in you feeling the need to write another review like this one!