Lessons

Hui-Ling Mavroidis teaches that artistic expression is a universal human instinct that can be reclaimed through the right guidance and a mastery of foundational techniques.

❋ Inclusive Instruction

Classes cater to all levels, guiding beginners through realistic drawing techniques while helping experienced artists expand their personal "realm of expression."

❋ Media Exploration:

Students transition quickly from basic sketches to diverse media—including watercolors, pastels, acrylics, and oils—covering everything from landscapes to abstract works.

❋ Perceptual Growth

The learning process is designed to "expand the capacity to see," heightening the student's daily appreciation and enjoyment of the world around them.

❋ Flexible & Collaborative Environment

With morning, afternoon, and evening sessions, students can work in the home studio or join group outings to paint outdoors and in local galleries.

  • When one of the students at Hui-Ling Mavroidis's art class first joined the group, she threw down a challenge: if you can get me to paint then anyone can do it! A year later, she's producing wonderful watercolours. Every Friday morning, you can hear the silence as a small group of like-minded ladies work on their pastels, watercolours and ink drawings. Everyone learns and builds on the same series of techniques; starting with a pencil sketch of a flower, moving on to coloured pencils, life-like pastel drawings of fruit and vegetables, watercolour tulips and sunflowers and landscapes from photos or real life. We learn about texture, shading, background, negative space and how to paint transparent objects. The trick is to 'see' the object with the right brain, not as a flower or a leaf but merely a shape. Using a frame for guidance, we record the shape onto paper, then go on to add colour and shading. Hui-Ling tends to our creature comforts with coffee and cakes, while we concentrate on developing our works of art. After the usual exchange of moans about the weather, the kids' health and even, heaven forbid, a less than sympathetic husband or teacher, silence descends and you could hear a pin drop. The three hours go by so quickly, with Hui-Ling helping us through those moments of panic when we feel like giving up, and at the end of the morning, we have produced a colourful array of creditable or even beautiful works. After less than a year, we were designing and printing our own Christmas cards, transforming our favourite view into a watercolour landscape and recreating glass jugs, shiny spoons and ornate vases into life-like ink drawings or delicate paintings. Not only is art in the Mavroidis school rewarding, it also creates an oasis of calm in the hectic week and has even proved to lower the blood pressure! With our teacher's words of encouragement, 'Very nice; now add more texture like this', we can all produce a piece to be proud of, even one which will impress the family. And if doubt sets in, as it frequently does, we may remember these words by Robert Hughes, 'The greater the artist, the greater the doubt; perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize'. So through uncertainty, we can all aspire to greatness. Hui-Ling's classes, which also cover more advanced techniques such as oil and acrylic paints, take place at her Rueschlikon studio on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Get in touch now for a weekly dose of art therapy.

    —Julia Newton