ABOUT KAY BYFIELD AND ARTSPEAKS ART CLASSES IN DALLAS, TEXAS

I became obsessed with learning to paint as a young mother after a short career as a college counselor. It took 20 years of watercolor painting at every spare moment, and many workshops, before I began taking college art classes. After four years, I had earned a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A. – a 60-credit program and a terminal graduate degree in visual art production).

I taught college art courses for nine years, five of them as a college art professor. I really enjoyed working with students, but I didn’t like having to grade students or living in the small town in East Texas where the college is located. I wanted to try something different.

After I left teaching, I earned an MBA and began providing marketing services, first to small businesses and then for a large corporation in Dallas. While I was working as a marketer, I rarely created paintings because I had so little time. After a few years, I began teaching watercolor one evening a week at the Dallas Creative Arts Center and I loved that. 

Now that I have left the corporate world, I have increased the amount of art teaching I am doing. I am focused on adult learners at all levels. My goal is to help people augment their skills and find their way to personally rewarding artistic expression. I love to paint in watercolor, but I also have a passion for sharing the joy of art-making with others.

• Vermont College of Fine Arts - https://www.vcfa.edu/

             I received my Master of Fine Arts degree in the rigorous but    

             nontraditional program at Vermont College of Norwich University,   

             predecessor of Vermont College of Fine Arts. 

• Creative Arts Center of Dallas – https://www.creativeartscenter.org/

             After I left Northeast Texas Community College where I was an art  professor, I began teaching watercolor classes at the Creative Arts Center of Dallas. For more than 50 years they have been offering community-based visual arts education with classes and workshops. 

• Southwestern Watercolor Society - https://www.swswatercolor.org/

              I am a signature member of the Southwestern Watercolor Society in North Texas and am the editor of the monthly newsletter. My early watercolor instruction, before I began taking university courses, came from workshops with the society. 

What Students Say:

"... Kay's extensive knowledge, well-organized teaching style, straightforward critiques and personal attention helped me learn valuable lessons in a short time. Kay structures her classes to nurture student growth by addressing specific challenges faced by artists of all levels..."