Interviews and Reviews

Interviews and Reviews

Student Testimonials from Weekly Classes

Dominique expertly guides you through a process to dramatically increase your drawing skills, focusing on proportion, value (shading), and edges.  Through her demos and kind critiques she helps you:  1) see what she sees, 2) break down drawing subjects into simple, manageable shapes, and 3) learn effective ways to correct errors.  I cannot recommend her classes highly enough. --Lisa Johanson

Dominique  has amazing brushwork skills I have not seen before. Her knowledge of using technology and making a composition is an amazing added benefit. I took her through Gage Academy. I have a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago yet hadn’t the chance to slow down and really learn how to paint! Thanks, Dominique. -Meagan Murphy

Dominique’s class. “ Portrait and Figure Painting with a Limited Palette” meets weekly for 3 hours and offers different but connected segments each month. I have been enrolling monthly for over a year because each week I am learning skills and techniques that are improving my art. That, coupled with the opportunity to practice the skills she models and receive helpful critiques makes this a learning experience you do not want to miss. Dominique’s class is a highlight of my week! --Jill Jacoby

Dominique provided exceptional value in her online portrait painting class (May, 2021): comprehensiveness, clear communication, demonstration, helpful critiques of student work, and effective-economic use of time.  Not to mention her enviable skill and painterly style!  A great class for painters of all levels.  I will be back for more, thank you. --Ted Kutscher

I have been taking Dominique's on line oil painting classes for 5 months.   Dominique is a clear, calm, complete communicator, who knows how to break down a process, show how it indeed works.  She reinforces the lesson, then compresses the steps, and varies approaches, to demonstrate how make the best use of the time you have available.  It is great fun, and very engaging.  Even better, her students' results are successful, unique, and fascinating.  --Janice Lengenfelder

Dominique's Limited Palette class has been a wonderful introduction to the realm of oil painting. I love the 4 step process she uses to structure the lesson. I did this course online via ASL, and it felt like we were in studio together. She has a soothing voice also, which is very pleasant to listen to. It doesn't feel rushed but it covered a lot in a limited period of time. --Jenny Mikulski

I have so enjoyed this class. Dominique is an excellent teacher and a gifted artist.  Her explanations are clear;  the right pace and done with just a bit of humor.   Never slow or boring.  Her demonstrations are amazing.  She listens to students questions and answers in a thoughtful way.  The critiques are incredibly instructive.  I highly recommend Dominique Medici for learning portrait painting. --Pamela Nachtigall

Dominique breaks down the elements of color, composition, and the painting process into clear steps/parts, and this process has helped clarify my thinking and seeing.  Her critiques are wonderful, never judgemental, and I learn from each artist’s work. Domenique’s passion, as well as her calm, infuse her teaching. --Jennifer Addas

I would not hesitate to recommend Dominque Medici's oil painting instruction.  She is generous with her vast knowledge and is able to meet students on their level: emerging painters as well as those very experienced. Her teaching pace and vocabulary are excellent. She has a superb command of the technical aspects of online instruction. --Deedle Whitcher

Taking online drawing classes with Dominique has been a joy. I have seen my work improve over these past months thanks to her careful instruction and the natural ease she has as a teacher. Dominique's classes and her passion for the creative process have rekindled my love of painting and drawing after spending many years in the more commercial side of the art world. I am looking forward to this summer's Plein Air painting course with Dominique. --Joan Elliot

If you’d like your art to tremendously improve, you should take Dominique’s classes. She’s an excellent teacher (and a very talented artist, which is very inspiring)! She explains everything very clearly and can really simplify the drawing process. She demonstrates live on classes and explains her thought process, and it’s extremely helpful. I’m taking Dominique’s drawing class online and it has really taken my drawings to the next level!!! I’m definitely going to take her painting classes as well. --Tal Tamir

I have been very impressed with Dominique's teaching. I am now taking my 3rd class with her. She is very organized, and uses state of the art technology in order to present her lessons. Her teaching method breaks down the techniques into simple, manageable steps, so that one can really learn and gain control over the elements of perspective, value, color, and edges: all the components of making a great painting. I highly recommend studying with her! --Sylvia Vigliani

Dominique's Limited Palette class has been a wonderful introduction to the realm of oil painting. I love the 4 step process she uses to structure the lesson. I did this course online via ASL, and it felt like we were in studio together. She has a soothing voice also, which is very pleasant to listen to. It doesn't feel rushed but it covered a lot in a limited period of time. --Jenny Mikulski

I have taken in person and online classes with Dominique for several years. I have also met privately with her for direction and advice on my painting directions as well as critiques on specific works.

Her teaching method is consistent and extremely useful. She teaches with a limited palette that allows a complete range of colors to be mixed. Also she teaches a step by step process to evaluate the color needed and to reach that precise mixture. This means that an artist learns a method of approaching a painting that can become the basis of your artistic practice. I learned HOW to paint, and now I decide WHAT to paint in my own art practice.

Due to COVID Dominique began offering classes online via Zoom with student feedback and class communication with Slack. Her tech savvy has made classes very helpful and allowed an artistic community to develop with each set of monthly classes.

Her focus is often on portraiture but the skills she teaches are applicable to any subject matter. This summer she is teaching her approach to Plein Aire landscapes. I look forward to it!

If these classes don’t fit your schedule she is available for one on one meetings online or in person (as we all get vaccinated.)

Can’t recommend her highly enough, she has a YouTube channel and Instagram. See her work and the free content she shares. --Barbara Craver

I strongly recommend Dominique’s Painting classes for beginners to advanced students, She is  a talented artist,  and her teaching skills are friendly for everyone to follow and understand. I am an International Student and I am with Dominique for some years now, I have been  taken her classes in person and also online. --Jeanine Celestina

Dominique is an excellent teacher and artist. In her demonstrations she breaks down the painting process into simple steps always answering questions. By using her limited pallet, I have developed my knowledge of value and color temperature and my paintings have greatly improved. Her classes are never boring because there is always something new to learn from her. I highly recommend her class. --Viviana Pouget

Dominique is a gifted artist and teacher. I took Portrait With a Limited Palette as I wanted to work in oils and previously had just used mixed media. This class really helped. Dominique’s demos were helpful with knowledge shared freely and clearly. Critiques were always helpful and constructive  and at times, Dominique did make me laugh. Great class, highly recommended. --Gerry Withey