What is Watts Atelier?

In person classes are run at our school in Encinitas, California. Classes run in 5 week terms, with 6 different terms running throughout the year. Most in person classes revolve around the practice of life drawing and painting to help to teach students the fundamentals of art. We also offer classes that are more specialized that cover aspects of color, composition, anatomy and more. Along with the core life drawing/life painting classes and the specialty classes, we also have many fundamental classes for total beginners. Any person of any skill level is welcome at Watts Atelier.

Our online program is a curriculum based program. It is a subscription based program, meaning you pay every month. In the Online Program, many of the courses build on each other. To get proficient at head drawing in the Watts Atelier method, a student would take Phases I - V of Head Drawing, with Phase I being the most foundational and simple, and Phase V requiring the most knowledge for the desired goal. A good way to measure how long the program would take is to break each phase into about a 1 month time to complete.

There are many courses (or, phases) in the Online Program. We have over 50 courses available. While many of these courses build on each other in the Drawing and Painting sections, we also have a section that we call Masterclasses, or Portfolio Development. This section of classes is more specialized and single topic focused. A few examples of Portfolio Development classes are: Composition and Staging, Illustrating a Fantasy Scene, Essentials of Tech and Inking Phases I - III.

Watts Jumpstart Courses are focused classes on specific topics. You make one $49 purchase (not a monthly subscription), and that gives you access to the material of the course for 7 weeks. Jumpstart courses are a great way for students to practice specific concepts while also serving as a great introduction for new students to the Watts Method of teaching.

Check out the Online Page by clicking "Online" at the menu at the top of this website, scroll down to the bottom to view the subscription options.

We have seen many students get just as good with the online school as the in person school. It is all about how much time and effort you are putting into your training. You get out of it what you put into it. Some things are easier online, and some are easier in person. Even if you are at the in person school, if you don’t take advantage of the opportunity and put in the work then you will not improve. In the wise words of Jeff’s teacher, Glen Orbik “Learning this stuff is like hiring a gym trainer, he can show you how to use the machines but to get the really big muscles you have to lift the weights yourself.”

We teach the Reilly Method at Watts Atelier. We are one of the few schools teaching this extraordinary method of drawing. The Reilly Method is a system of drawing that is based upon muscle and gestural rhythms of the human body. It was create by Frank Reilly, who was a teacher at the Art Student's League in New York. This method of drawing was passed down, and taught at the California Art Institute by Fred Fixler. Jeff went to this school as a young man, and ultimately ended up carrying the torch for the Reilly Method. Over time, he has added much to it in terms of muscle rhythms, abstractions and usage. Sometimes you may hear it referred to as the Watts-Reilly Method.

Any student can join any class, online or in person. No applications required. Only requirement is that a student is at least 18 years of age.