Budding artist Elizabeth Cooper, 9, works on her drawing of a puppy at the Chico Art School and Gallery on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 in Chico, California. (Jennie Blevins/Enterprise-Record)
CHICO — I can’t draw to save my life, but I love art. I love looking at it. I love talking about it. I enjoy talking to artists.
So I was googling art in Chico and came upon the website for the Chico Art School and Gallery, owned by the incredibly talented artist and art instructor Janet Lombardi Blixt. Lombardi Blixt has been drawing and painting since the age of 7 and opened the school and gallery in 2009.
“It’s my passion,” she said.
Lombardi Blixt has many of her pieces hung up all over her studio for sale. My favorite were her Chico icon photos, which are paintings of many Chico haunts, such as The Banshee, Duffy’s and the Senator Theatre.
Lombardi Blixt offers both adult and children’s classes for kids over the age of 7.
Students learn the basics of drawing and painting with an emphasis on fun. The first two weeks of the month are focused on drawing and the later weeks on painting. Students work with various mediums, including charcoal, watercolor, tempera, colored pencils and watercolor pencils.
According to her website, the emphasis of adult classes is always on the process of expression and not the final piece. All levels of instruction are offered from beginner to advanced. Enrollment is limited to a small group allowing each student ample time for individual guidance.
“There is no pressure,” Lombardi Blixt said. “I give students a lot of freedom and expression in creating. This is a safe space. I give suggestions but that is all.”
She was raised with “encouraging parents in the arts” and was taught by oil painter, Betty Collins, in Los Angeles, with weekly lessons until high school and has a degree in print making from Chico State. She attended school in the 1970s and returned in 1996 and raised her children in Chico. They are all artists too.
She holds art classes Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Lombardi Blixt invites artists from the community to showcase their art on Saturdays during the downtown farmers market. Contact her if interested at janet@chicoartschool.com. She can also be reached via phone at 530-570-3895.
Her goal is to share the rewards of art being an “integral part of your life,” for fun, relaxation and expression.
“I hope that my students realize they can do more now than they thought possible and to eliminate fear from the creative experience,” she said.
Her philosophy is “Ish is Art,” meaning drawings and paintings of an animal such as a fish, for example, don’t have to exactly look like a fish. “It can be fish-ish,” she said.
Lombardi Blixt opens up her studio for the open studio event in October.
When I came in to interview Lombardi Blixt she showed me some paintings she’d made of butterflies and a lady bug, for example. She painted them with shimmer drop paints, which were a present from her son. The paintings were beautiful and literally glistened on the paper.
“It’s fun to paint with,” she said.
Home school, after school, private and evening classes are offered. Weekly classes run year long and summer camps are held annually.
She also shows guest artists’ work. Gallery hours are during class times and by appointment.
Lombardi Blixt’s paintings are made in an expressionistic yet representational style, primarily in oils, pastel, watercolor and acrylic. Most of her work is created “en plein air”, meaning on location, outdoors. Capturing the light, before it quickly changes, is an important part of her art, according to her website.
Classes can be started at any time if available. Tuition is $60 per weekly class session, for three hours of instruction, and is due monthly. The drop in rate is $65. Supplies are not included. Material lists are available. There is a one-time registration fee of $25 for new students.
The Chico Art School and Gallery is located at 261 Third St. in downtown Chico. Look for the yellow door! More information can be found at https://www.chicoartschool.com/index.html.
