Chris Leib

Teaching Practice

I have taught private students, small classes and presented workshops in painting and drawing since 2007. I have a passion for teaching, and believe almost anyone with some determination can learn to draw and paint. The most important first ingredient is a desire to learn!

Teaching Offerings:

Online Consultations / Lessons: Check ins provide students a structure in which to improve and grow their art work. Lessons are customized to each student needs. Each lesson includes 30 minutes of one-on-one evaluation and discussion of their work. Student’s particular directions of interest are kept in mind while finding solutions to best meet their goals. Please contact me through the form below to set up a time.

Price for Online Consultations: $ 59

Quick Painting Workshops. This class is taught at different public locations including outdoors on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula – home to some of the most majestic coastal scenery in the world!

Quick Painting is a great way to improve your paint handling and observation skills… quickly! Through a series of fast paced exercises… think ‘painting calisthenics’… we improve our ability to compose, focus, edit and grow our understanding of color and light. We’ll learn how to turn ‘mistakes’ into success, and have a lot of fun in the process! It’s a great workshop for Beginners who would like to quickly learn the basics of painting …and for the more advanced students who wish to hone their skills and make the whole process of creating a painting more ‘second nature’.

We meet at various locations on the Monterey Peninsula, California. Please contact me through the form below for more information.

Cancellation Policy: I require 24 hour notice in advance if you need to cancel or reschedule. If you cancel less than 24 hours in advance you will loose that lesson fee. Also please note: If you are late for a private lesson I can sometimes extend the lesson time a bit longer, but not always.

Some Thoughts From Past Students:

Chris was a great teacher/mentor to me over the years. He taught me everything I wanted and needed to know as someone who wanted to take painting seriously. I learned so much of what I know about light, color theory, drawing and composition through my years of being a student with Chris. He is a master, and alongside his skill, I found him to be an incredibly open-minded artist who saw value in many different types of art. He never tried to push me into any specific style or school but helped me develop in a way that felt authentic.

Over the years, I’ve specifically come to appreciate what he taught me about taking my time with paintings. In my earlier years as a painter, I was less patient and lost interest in paintings quickly. I learned a lot by hearing him talk about his process, which at the time seemed much slower than I could imagine myself working. I think and work differently now, and to this day, I still think about things he said to me about process and time. I highly recommend him as a teacher for anyone who wishes to study with someone who knows a lot about painting and being a painter.
- Zach Bukovich
@zackbukovichart

Drawing and painting can be extremely frustrating. With all the art classes I've taken, the question in my mind was, "If I have difficulty seeing an object for exactly what it is, how is someone outside of me going to do that?" Past instructors were never really able to reconcile what I see, how I process and how to depict that two dimensionally. I was very distraught. Yet, I knew I had a passion for fine arts and did not want to give up so easily. With Chris, drawing and painting became enjoyable. He has the uncanny ability to show you how to draw and paint what is really there, NOT what you think you see. He is a phenomenal artist and a very gifted teacher. Patience, kindness, ability to be objective and trusting are only some of the things that describe him and his ability!
-Dorothy Santos

Chris is great! He's both engaging and at ease in the teaching studio. It's a pleasure to have someone so incredibly competent at your side. It's even better to feel as though you are learning from someone whose own artistic products you actually respect and appreciate. That, alone, is enough to put you at ease that your dollars are safe at work (did I mention that his time is quite reasonably priced?). During my time with him, Chris went out of his way a number of times to ensure that my goals and considerations were properly addressed and my training was properly tailored to these in due course. He is a terrific mentor and I recommend him as a drawing instructor wholeheartedly.
-Jake Kopperman

I found Chris' website. I was fascinated by his painting posted on the web and decided to apply to his class. The painting class was my favorite time in the week. Chris let me explore my own style and taught me how to improve my techniques. The class is fun. He is a great teacher!
-Panuwan Lerssrisuriya

I started collecting Chris Leib's work in 2002 and have continued to do so, ever since. His work is filled with his dry sense of humor and delight from an old world perspective. I have had the good fortune to be the recipient of his teachings as an artist. He has a keen eye for the slightest detail that can make all the difference in the mood or the context of paintings.

An old master, his sensibility and presentation are exquisite and his sense of humor quietly grabs you.
-Cynthia Tom, fine artist, curator

A terrific source of knowledge for any artist! I have painted on and off for years but under Chris' instruction and guidance I was able to take a significant step forward and deepen my understanding of painting. With years of practical experience behind him, Chris easily answers all manner of questions on materials and technique. Through helpful one on one critiques he gave me suggestions on how to push my work further and also suggested uses of materials I didn't know about or didn't think to try. He offered up very practical, step by step instruction that helped me build upon my current skills and gave me excellent advice on how to continue developing my own personal direction.
-Spence Snyder

Chris Leib is an artist of exceptional talent, strength, vision, sensitivity, and humor. These are what Chris in his teaching instilled in me: Sensitivity to line quality in drawings; sensitivity to color; nuances of surrounding colors; and the passages of value and intensity. Colors in themselves are a challenge and I find Chris to have strength in this area. Working with a limited palette I was amazed Chris was able to guide me in obtaining the intended color!
Chris teaches with gentleness and is aware of your needs, guiding you to accomplish your intended goals. He will know if you are having trouble with your drawing or painting. Even if you don't say anything, he will notice when you are getting tense with you work, how you're sitting, or how you're holding the pencil or paint brush.
If you desire to paint in the style of the old Masters, and are up for the challenge, Chris Leib is the artist/teacher for you. If your goal is to paint still life, Chris is the one. If you are into portraiture, again Chris is the one for you. It is not only getting a likeness of the sitter and their personaility which Chris can capture, I have not seen many render the painting of skin color like Chris. It is alive, it breathes!
I am proud to say I'm a student of Chris Leib and that he is my mentor and hope he will count me as not only his student, but a friend as well.
- Reineres Susbilla

Chris Leib is an excellent oil painting teacher. I met with him once a week for over a year for a one-on-one class. I would continue with him but he moved out of San Francisco. He's the real deal. He knows how to do it and he knows how to teach it. Plus, he's a great guy. We had a lot of fun.
- Ed Bedard

Talking about challenges on 2017... The 'Quick Painting Studies' with Chris Leib, at Open Ground Studios, was one of the biggest (and greatest) challenge ever faced.
Combine the pressure of learning how to hold a brush correctly and how to use oil paint at the same time and produce something reasonable. By the way... in less than 30 minutes and with limited palette (5-9 colors including B&W). Amazing learnings that change your life, not only your art skills!!! Excellent to build up focus and self confidence. Thanks, Chris and see you next week with new amazing/rewarding challenges
- Renato Bordignon

I have come to enjoy the process of learning to paint because of you. You’re a great teacher, with loads of patience and encouragement, and the environment you create is very student-centered and supportive.  I feel very lucky to have studied with you.  

Thanks for sharing your talents, 
- Elizabeth