1^st lesson free

Zimou

Rate $65
Response 1h

$65/h

1^st lesson free

Drawing
Painting
Watercolor painting
Oil painting
Fine arts

Learn classical drawing & oil painting with an award-winning master portraitist — 24 years teaching experience (Academy of Art University professor), all levels welcome

Drawing
Painting
Watercolor painting
Oil painting
Fine arts

Lesson location

- At Zimou's house: New York

About Zimou

My name is Zimou Tan, a Chinese-American fine artist and master portrait painter based in New York City. For over 25 years I've worked in the tradition of the Old Masters — oil on linen, layered glazes, extended sittings with live models.

My work has been exhibited at the Butler Institute of American Art, the De Young Museum, the Salmagundi Club, and the Arkell Museum, and published in International Artist Magazine, American Art Collector, and the French publication "40 Portrait Masters." In 2017 the Art Renewal Center named me an Associate Living Master, and in 2024 I received Best of Show from the National Oil and Acrylic Painters' Society.

I've been teaching as long as I've been painting professionally: 13 years on the faculty of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, Associate Dean of Olivet School of Art and Design since 2015, and years of community teaching with children and elders. Teaching isn't a side job for me — it's half my life's work.

My training runs through two of America's leading art schools: the Academy of Art University (BFA, Fine Arts and Traditional Illustration) and the Savannah College of Art and Design (MFA). You can see my work at zimoutan.com or on Instagram @zimoutan.

About the lesson

I teach the classical method — the same step-by-step approach used in the ateliers of the Old Masters, made clear and achievable for today's students.

Every lesson is live over Zoom with a camera positioned over my easel, so you watch every stroke as I demonstrate. We build skills in a proven sequence: accurate drawing and proportion first, then values and light, then edges and color. You draw or paint along with me, and I give detailed, encouraging feedback on your work every session.

What I teach: Still life, portrait and figure drawing (pencil, charcoal), classical oil painting, color mixing and glazing technique, and portfolio preparation for art school applicants.

Who my lessons are for: complete beginners (you'll be amazed what the right method does), hobbyists who want to finally draw what they see, and serious students preparing portfolios or refining professional technique. I've taught every level in 24 years — as a professor at the Academy of Art University, as an art school dean, and in community programs for children and elders.

Your first lesson: we'll talk about your goals, I'll assess where you are, and you'll complete a short drawing exercise with my guidance — so you leave the very first session having already improved. All you need to start is a pencil and paper.
Lessons available in English or Chinese.

Rates

Rate

Pack rates

5h: $325
10h: $650

free lessons

This first lesson offered with Zimou will allow you to get to know each other and clearly specify your needs for your next lessons.

Learn classical drawing & oil painting with an award-winning master portraitist — 24 years teaching experience (Academy of Art University professor), all levels welcome

Lesson location

About Zimou

About the lesson

Rates

Rate

Pack rates

free lessons

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Learn classical drawing & oil painting with an award-winning master portraitist — 24 years teaching experience (Academy of Art University professor), all levels welcome

Lesson location

About Zimou

About the lesson

Rates

Rate

Pack rates

free lessons

Other tutors in Drawing

Clive

Michael

Rakhima

Evann

Liby

Derek

Adam

Samantha

Kathy

Gabriel

Farangiz

Isa

Shizu

Majella

Nicholas

Celine

Malory

Phenese

Everest

Ekaterina

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levels

All languages in which the lesson is available

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