Local art school expands





Age doesn’t matter at Sheldon’s Art Academy in Oak Park. Middle and high school students work side by side with college students to learn the core fundamentals at an industry level.

Sheldon Borenstein, owner of Sheldon’s Art Academy, has worked in the animation industry for more than 20 years and is an adjunct professor at San Jose State University.

Borenstein plans to expand his summer offerings at the academy. He will continue with the foundations of drawing, painting and design which then lead into other areas including animation, illustration and fashion design.

Students at the academy work with visiting alumni. Many of these former students have attended prestigious art and academic institutions such as Parsons New School for Design, School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Brown University as well as San Jose State students who regularly come down for further instruction.

Borenstein’s recent gallery work also allows his students the opportunity to watch an artist take a work from initial concept to completion. His watercolor and oil paintings of Catalina Island are for sale on the island and at his Oak Park studio.

“Whereas in commercial art you have little say in subject matter, fine art allows me to paint my passions.” said Borenstein. “And my students get firsthand insight into how an idea in my head becomes a painting for sale in a gallery.”

The artist has teamed up with the Jerry Solomon Group to frame all his work. They consider each individual painting before deciding which frame will best enhance the work.

For details on class schedules and fees at Sheldon’s Art Academy, call (818) 706-9444, or visit www.sheldonsartacademy.com.

For more information on Sheldon’s gallery work at the Catalina Artists’ Market, call Drew Mauck at (310) 510-3544.


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