What makes CB Art Prep outrageously fun?

Students bask in loving attention with our 8-to-1 student/teacher ratio, learn to draw human facial & figurative emotional expressions using an HB pencil and Sharpies, learn to mix complex colors, apply color theory, shade, highlight, layer paint, & how to create a variety of lines. Students always make new friends here, get to pet our three sweet, wacky pugs, and play at Rochambeau Park with various sports balls.

What does our tuition include?

Besides a variety of painting surfaces to choose from (see below for a detailed list of surfaces), each student has access to Blick Bristol Board paper, the finest professional grade Blick, Utrecht, Amsterdam acrylic paints, 48 color Sharpie markers, and pro-quality Princeton brushes.

Oct. 14, 2024: Indigenous People’s Art Camp

Date/Time: Oct. 14, 9–3 PM

Tuition: $134 PER CHILD PER DAY, including canvas, acrylic paints, professional brushes, 48 Sharpies, & mixed-media paper

Early care/aftercare: 8:30 to 9 AM ($10 per child) 3 to 5 pm ($20 per child)

IMPORTANT: When and what you need to send in your child’s image choice for them to use as a reference for painting at camp:

We prefer you send the image and surface choice 48 hours after you sign up, but five days before class or camp at the VERY latest.

The image can be anything in the world the student is inspired by. For a 1 day camp, the image should be simple, with no more than 20 large and small shapes. For a five-day camp, the image can be more complex, with around 50 large and small shapes. To request image suggestions, text us at 415-745-5301

What are the painting surface choices?

*9 by 12-inch canvas

*11 by 14-inch canvas

*12 by 12-inch square canvas

*12 by 12-inch round canvas

*6 by 10-inch heart-shaped canvas

If your child wants to try a different surface besides canvas, your own unpainted wooden skateboards, ukeleles, or wooden boxes at least 10 days before the day of your class, and we will gesso it, and hand draw the image you want to paint on the wooden surface.

*Important note about being late to pick up

If you are late to pick up your child, you must pay for the extra time your child is in our care when you arrive. You are not allowed to wait until later to pay for this extra time, so please bring your phone to pay through Venmo when you pick up your child.

Location

5907 California St. @ 21st Ave., San Francisco, 94121

Age Group

Ages 6.5 to 17

Student/teacher ratio

10 to 1

When to send in the image & surface choice

We prefer you send the image and surface choice 48 hours after you sign up, but five days before class or camp at the VERY latest.

When/where campers eat lunch & get exercise

At 10:30, we have a snack. At noon, we eat lunch; then, at 2 pm, we walk the campers over to play at Rochambeau Park between 24th and 25th Ave @ California St. We return to the art studio by 2:55 pm. If the kids have lots of work to complete their paintings by the end of the day, we will give them a walk around the block!

What to bring to eat and drink

Please bring a cold sack lunch, a morning snack, and a water bottle to last the entire day.

What to wear

Wear old clothes and shoes, as there will be accidental staining of permanent acrylic paint. Acrylic paint can be removed with rubbing alcohol when wet, but it’s usually dry when your artist arrives home.

The minute-to-minute timeline of our Camps

9 AM to 9:45 AM is creative drawing & friendship-building:

When art campers arrive, they sit with kids their age and socialize while working on warming up their right brains by creating original drawings with 48-color permanent markers on museum-quality paper.

1) This summer’s drawing challenge is to learn how to draw overlapping images of 8 animals, foods, and objects with human emotions on their faces in reaction to anything a camper can imagine. For example, a disgusted building being hit by smog an outraged giraffe being kissed by a monkey, or a terrified banana being chased by a train.

2) Campers must use all 48 colors of permanent markers in their drawings, with no scribbling, and the picture is only complete when there is no white showing on the paper.

10 AM is wacky-snacky time

10:15 to noon is the beginning of the formal painting lesson:

Through step-by-step instruction and constant visual demonstration, Chris Babcock and her teachers show students a step-by-step method on how to paint their image of choice on their surface of choice.

Noon to 12:30 is lunchtime.

Campers eat at their desks and socialize with other campers and our three playful, sweet pugs, Bubbie, Vincey, and Tulip.

1 to 2 pm PM is recess (OPTIONAL)

We walk to 24th @California St. (Three blocks up from our art studio) and enjoy playing basketball, four square, jump rope, and the play structures at the lovely gated Rochambeau Park. If your child wants to stay in and paint with a teacher’s guidance, they do NOT have to go to the park.

2 pm to 2:45 is the continuation of the painting lesson

2:45 to 3 pm is clean-up time

Important: Emotional Support Pugs in the art studio

We have three loving, certified emotional support pugs at our art studio: Vincey, Bubbie, and Tulip (see pictures of our sweet babies).

If your child has allergies or a fear of pugs, we can put the pugs in a secure gated classroom area away from your child if requested. Let us know by texting us at 415-745-5301.

Important change to early and aftercare

24 hours before your child’s first day of camp or earlier, please text us to tell us what time and days you want for early and aftercare, then pay for the entire week

Early care, 8:30 am to 9 am for $10.00 (per child)

Aftercare, 3 to 5 pm $20.00 an hour cash (per child)

Pay directly to our Chris Babcock Art Prep Business Account

VENMO ID is @CBArtPrep

Covid safety update

Masks are no longer required in schools, child care, and youth programs.

Even though we currently do not require campers to wear masks, if you require your child to wear a mask, just let us know, and we will enforce this rule for your child. Campers should bring their masks. All teachers are vaccinated.

Illness policy

If your child has symptoms of a contagious virus like the common cold, bacterial infection, or COVID, they are not allowed in an art camp. (Children are contagious up to 10 days after virus symptoms begin.) Your child must bring in proof they tested negative for Covid and a note from their doctor saying any contagious virus like a cold or flu they had is no longer a threat of spreading to campers or staff. If your child is sick any day(s) of art camp, they will receive a credit for the missed day(s) to apply to the current price of any future art camp or class with no expiration on credit.

Refund Policy

All camps are final sale. If anyone registered cannot attend for any reason, or if Chris Babcock Art has to cancel a camp or class for any reason, you do not receive a cash refund. Still, you can apply your credit towards any camps, after-school art lessons, adult lessons, or parties with no expiration date on this credit.