About Art School

Our goal is to help students appreciate beauty and
create art from the world that surrounds us.
Inna Polnar

"When I paint it makes me feel very relaxed. My favorite part of painting is
when you done and you can admire your work. I learned in the past five month
lots of things about painting. I think the easiest thing about the painting is
drawing the shape of the thing you are painting with charcoal for the painting.
If you look really closely at the painting, you see lots of colors you wouldn't
believe would be on the painting. Each painting is like a priceless treasure,
because when you look at one, you know somebody worked really hard to make
this beautiful picture."
Molly Johnson. Age 8

"I enjoy spending my sunday mornings taking art classes with Inna.
She taught me about shadows, and which colors to use. I like this art class."
Aleja, Age 7.

"Inna has given my daughter the gift to see, feel and appreciate art.
My daughter enjoys spending sunday morning with Inna. I am extremely happy
with Inna's art school. " Naomi. Aleja's mother.

"I am a Spanish-Filipino-American. I go to St. Timothy School in San Mateo and
I'm in 2nd grade. I love to play the piano. I love to draw and paint. I really like
my art class because: I get to paint and draw with my sister and my "new"
friends. I like to draw using charcoal, I have fun mixing the different colors,
I'm always learning something new from Teacher Inna. It's just a lot fun and we
also have snack time! My favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh and I really like his
painting called "The Starry Night". My favorite art teacher is Teacher Inna!
Thank you Teacher Inna for being a really good art teacher!"
Lauren Suarez Age 8.

"Hi! My name is Rachel but sometimes people call me Rachie or Ray-Ray.
I have a twin sister and her name is Lauren. Here are some of my favorites:
- hobbies: drawing, painting, playing piano, riding my bike
- colors: red and blue
- foods: chili, pizza, chocolate ice cream
- subject: math
- game: volleyball - book: "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
- tv program: "Lizzie McGuire" - holiday: Halloween!
When I grow up I want to be either an artist or an actress."
Rachel Suarez Age 8.

"Thank you so much for developing our children's interest and talent in the world
of art. You are an outstanding instructor!
Greg and Susan Suarez. Rachel's and Lauren's parents.

"You are a great teacher, you explain good to us. We appreciate what you
do for us. We all know you take your time so we could do good work."
Hannah, Age 7.

"We really enjoy having Hannah in Inna's class. It has allowed Hahhah to explore
and express herself in ways that would not be typically available to her.
Inna is a great teacher and works very well with the children. We are very
fortunate to have found her, and we look forward to watching Hannah grow
and learn new art techniques with Inna."
Cal and Julio. Hannah's parents.

"I am a wife, mother and a doctor. Life has been very busy and I have never
even dreamed of painting or drawing. A year ago my daughter gave me
a gift of an art class at San Mateo Community Center. Inna was the teacher
and I got hooked from the very first day. Inna is a wonderful, warm person,
who makes each one of us feel like Monet and Van Gogh. She lets us paint at
our own pace with no pressure. She corrects us in a very non confrontational
way. She not only teaches art, but art appreciation and overall appreciation of
colors, light, shadow, nature and so on and so on. In today's stressful
life, Inna's class for me is a total escape. I feel rejuvenated after the class and
ready to take an anything. I am encouraging all my colleges at work to
take the class." Shaku.

"In the twelve months I have been taught by Inna, I have finished 5 oil and
one pastel painting. Before Inna, I was taught for a couple of years in a
community center class to paint from pictures. It was therefore a terrifying
experience when for my first lesson, Inna had us paint from a still life of a
gold-plated samovar, and fresh pomegranates on a silver platter. This was to
be my first still life painting! Since that first lesson, Inna taught me to see, to
form with the brush, the volume, the mass of an object. I learned to take my
time, looking and observing, taking in the light and shadows, the mid tone, the
deep tones, the cold, and warm colors of any object I see. I learned to mix
colors by using my eyes, my instinct, and my heart. I learned to put these
colors on the canvas, providing somehow a cohesive and pleasant whole.
Above all, I learned to trust the process, to enjoy the creation itself, more
than the goal of a finished painting. Now, I have turned full circle.
I found myself totally inept in painting from a picture. Where do I see the light
and shadow, the atmosphere, the perspective? Studying a real life setting, and
putting this on the canvas is truly a creative experience. It is meditation in its
finest form - being in the moment, appreciating and revealing life on the
canvas." Lucy.

"I am a Doctor of Oriental Medicine. Always wanted to be an artist and be able
to paint everything that comes to my mind. Very excited to be a student of Art
Academia. My daughter Angelica is a musician, she plays piano and wants to
become concert pianist. She loves art and oil painting the most. She fells happy
when she is painting, and when she comes to paint at Art Academia,
she doesn't want to go home!"
Raphaela Sorkin-student and mother of Angilca Kamen.

Photographs of our students have been used for this website.

28 East 3rd Ave., San Mateo, CA 94401
650.579.4456