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 established a teaching studio so that I can go back to art teaching full time but without the hassle of grading students. My goal is to help people augment their skills and find their way to personally rewarding artistic expression. I still love to paint in watercolor, but my passion is 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..."