Brooklyn Art Space

FYI to anyone concerned about the old reviews of «Brooklyn Artists Gym» — that was the previous incarnation of Brooklyn Art Space. The studio spaces, classes, talks and other events that BAS puts on are top notch. Not only are the directors friendly and professional, the community here is amazing.

I love coming here… To make art, talk about art, see art! Trestle Gallery always has great contemporary art shows. There are wonderful art studios to rent at a great price, 24 hour access, a kitchen, bathroom, it is clean and has good light. The staff is wonderful too.

As a child, I have always had an avid interest in art. I drew a lot, and pastel drawing was my most favorite. During elementary school, I would always be nominated by my teachers to draw & color the murals. If it wasn’t for my parents’ strong dissuasion of my creative pursuit, I might have led a career in art. I still remember the heartbreaking yet cliché «words of wisdom» that most parents say to their kids, and the statement «if you lead a life in art, you will starve to death… and when you pass away/​die then you may or may not make a name for yourself» is haunting.
Now that I am older and have a career, my passion for art still deeply lingers my soul. I made a promise that before I turn 50, I would be able to be like those artistic individuals who watercolor paints the beautiful sceneries of central park in central park. So in order to fulfill this from my bucket list, I decided to take an introduction to watercolor painting at the Brooklyn Art Space.
The 3 hour watercolor painting class was taught by a very knowledgeable and fun instructor, Allison. She did a wonderful job teaching us the basics (the 101 of watercolor painting) through 12 different techniques, and then allowed us to practice on our newly learned skills with a still life item of our choice. I chose to watercolor paint the vase w/​flowers in it, and it was such a fun and relaxing experience. The class taught me tremendously, and I enjoyed it very much. I left with the basics, so now I can tackle bigger accomplishments, and hopefully I can reach my promise soon. I will be taking more classes soon :)
Awesome class structure & instructor! Highly Recommend the Brooklyn Art Space for your artistic learning needs!
P.S — you do have to pay a fee for materials, but it is not expensive. I paid $ 10.

A friend and I took Blockprinting recently via the $ 49 for 2 groupon deal.
The class was great, appropriate number of people for the space and activity. The teacher was excellent at explaining how to make the blocks, then how to print them. The class was purely technical, no frills, no art theory, etc. We did seem to run over time as the activities for a group of beginners did take longer than the instructor had planned.
The end of it was more than a bit odd though; We had paid with the groupon and the website specifically lists materials costs for each class. There was no extra materials fee listed for this class. So literally as we were walking out the door, the instructor called us back to ask for cash from each of us. It was very awkward.
The class was nice, although awkward at the end. I would not, however, pay full price for it, especially including the materials cost. Had I paid more than the cost of the groupon, I think I might have felt overcharged.

I took Introduction to Watercolor Painting last night. The class was a lot of fun – consisted entirely of people in their late 20’s like me. Supposedly none of them had any artistic background, though I felt my drawing techniques were far inferior to their’s – I presume if you know about the Brooklyn Artist’s Gym, you’re likely an Artist in some way, anyway (I knit and acrylic paint).
The instructor was very sweet and fun to work with. She taught us 12 different techniques, then set up a still life for us to practice with. Overall, I was happy with what I learned and walked away wanting to watercolor in my free time, so I’d say the instructor did a good job introducing the artform without holding our hands too much. During the still life, she took questions and gave suggestions on which technique would best suit the shading we were going for.
I can’t speak for the entire range of classes, but the Intro to Watercolor class is excellent.

I had an awesome diy silk screening class at Brooklyn Artists Gym. The instructor, a silk screening artist in her own right, was educated, experienced and clearly guided the class step by step through the process from start to the finished product, t-​shirts of your own design to take home and a screen that can be used again and again until the tension wears out. I was given a print out to take with me that included a materials list and stores where I could purchase them, both of which we discussed, as well as step by step instructions reiterating the process that we undertook during the workshop so that I could repeat it at home. The instructor also offered herself as a resource saying that we could contact her via email if any other questions arose post-​workshop. Having taken the class and having been given these resources, I feel completely comfortable and confident about silk screening at home. I just signed up to take Intro to Watercolor, Intro to Book Making and two other classes at Brooklyn Artist Gym and have recommended the diy silk screening workshop to my friends, including those who admired my shirts!!!

I was introduced to Brooklyn Artists Gym through Groupon and could only be glad that I didn’t pay full price. I signed up for an introductory collage class and ended up getting studio time.
So, if you want to pay $ 60.00 a person for a big table, some glue, and magazines with little to no instruction then this is your class. If you actually want to learn some new techniques and an instructor who can talk in audible tones (our instructor barely spoke and it was hard to hear her when she did because she was almost whispering) then take a class somewhere else.
Might be great if you’re already an artist and just want studio space and community, but not if you’re a student looking to learn.

inexpensive, friendly life drawing studios, three times a week.

Great find. BAG provides affordable space to do your art! Just joined and have set up my semi-​private space to paint. Looking forward to taking advantage of the critique nights, shows and weekly life-​drawing opportunities.