your dream portfolio is A ticket to art school
let me coach you in building your unique style
Most Students Don't Know
How to Create a Portfolio
Your Art Portfolio is the ticket to your milestone to art school and the foundation for any career in the arts. Often, parents and students don't know what's needed to achieve this goal. Observational drawing and painting is at the core of this process. I will guide you through strengthening your skills in still life, landscape, and portraiture. We will build your confidence and skills in a variety of media from pencil to paint. You will learn rendering, perspective, color theory, composition and how to bring your work to the highest level.
The Advantage
You will work with the highest quality materials, your lessons will meet you at your personal skill level and pacing, your instructor will guide you and your family with patience, care, and enthusiasm for your growth along the way. This process has proven to be a success and you will see results quickly and steadily as we work together on your goals.
Support With Your Milestone
As your Portfolio Coach, I will customize your lessons so they are unique to your skillset and style. Your progress will be documented and visible in a personal gallery. I will offer you and your family feedback each week on your success and growth points. We will discuss how you can achieve an edge by practicing your skills between lessons. Parents are a partner in the process and I will ensure to keep them updated.Communication is the key to your success and I also provide you with as many resources as possible along the way from book suggestions, to art prompts, to supplementary materials.
Your Success is Everything !
Your portfolio is uniquely yours. My hope for you is that you enjoy the process and accomplish your goal of getting into the art school of your choice. Having choices in life is everything! It would be an honor to be a part of your success!
students are accepted to :
and more...
About
Cara Goldstein is a California Credentialed Visual Arts Teacher with over 15 years experience teaching AP Art, High School Art, Portfolio Development, Cartooning and
Illustration, and Media Arts. She is a Fulbright Scholar and a Yale University National Teacher Fellow. She's a Teacher Coach, Comics Integration and Literacy Specialist, and has her MFA in Creative Writing. She has lectured at SF State, SF Art Institute, Alternative Press Expo, and the Getty Museum. Her work has been published in The SF Examiner and Star 82 Review. She is proud of mentoring many talented students who are award winning professional artists and business owners.
arts administrator
endorsements
Donn Harris, former Chair of the California Art Council, Director of SF and Oakland School of the Arts
“Cara Goldstein is an outstanding artist, art teacher, and teacher leader who I hired and worked with on both sides of the bay. She really brought out the best in whoever she was working with or teaching, and was very helpful to me as an administrator with her sense of leadership and vision. She is extremely
versatile, involved in drawing, multimedia, comic books and able to connect with different artists in these diverse aspects of the art field. She was simply very valuable in multiple ways and always brought a creative edge to the work. I appointed Cara to be a part of an arts integration team. Her ability to work with general education teachers on this is invaluable. Things fluctuate, but talent and skill do not--I can't recommend Cara Highly Enough."
William Hack, Supervisor of
Visual and Performing Arts
San Francisco Unified School District
"Cara is one of the most outstanding art teachers I have known in my 31 year career at SFUSD. I worked with Cara starting in 2015.
She created the first Media Arts program for SFUSD elementary schools and she developed its curriculum. She is a dedicated teacher with a great passion for teaching art, always student centered, and with a deep understanding of the value of Arts Education.
I have observed her classes many times, and was always impressed with how she integrated literacy skills, story structure, perspective and measurement, and student voice. Her students’ work is always outstanding, especially due to her ability to work with various ability levels. She was instrumental in the success of the district art show format which had a local showcase in each neighborhood. She has a wonderful rapport with all of her students who absolutely adore her. I have observed Cara to be a thoughtful and organized teacher with a big heart for both her students and her content area.
On a personal note, I would add that she is a joy to work with. Additionally, she is an extremely talented artist and illustrator in her own right, and has published a great deal of her own work. I highly recommend Cara Goldstein.
​
Julie Charles, Director of Education at SFMoMa,
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
“I have had the pleasure of working with Cara in my capacity as the SF MoMa Education Director for the past 9 years. In this capacity, Cara has been an important collaborator in developing and bringing SF MoMa resources into SfUSD elementary school classrooms. Cara's feedback about topics, artists, materials and projects has been instrumental in the creation, modification and classroom relevance of the museum's art kits which reach thousands of art students each year. Cara is a strong advocate for expanding the modes of artmaking and scope of artists that students are exposed to in their visual arts education, ensuring that materials, artistic processes, and artists align with student interest while also supporting the students' critical thinking and creative expression about what matters to them. Cara's clear vision and strong commitment to making Modern and Contemporary Art relevant to young people is inspiring and I'm thankful to work with such a committed educator! ”
my students become business
owners with creative vision
"love your constant support and knowing you are a big part of my success. I remember you always being so encouraging and patient with me and I'm sure you are doing the same with your students now!" -Fernando Diaz, founder, owner of Diaz Coffee
Parent
testimonials
"I don't know how my wife found Cara, but I'm so glad she did. We hired her for the purpose of sharpening my 13 year old daughter's drawing skills for high school portfolio and audition. Eventhough we interacted remotely with a camera, Cara was professional, encouraging, and knew how to bring out the best in our daughter. The skills she learned, especially timed warm up drills and bringing a drawing to the finish line, will last a lifetime. There's no one I could recommend more for a drawing and painting teacher. My daughter was accepted into Asawa SOTA."
"Cara's a phenomenal teacher with the right combination of patience, good humor, inspiration, and commitment in challenging your child. She is a huge reason my son got into Asawa School of the Arts here in San Francisco, and has been a great mentor to him. Classes can be taken from anywhere. Highly reccomend!"
"From Cara's expertise in the art field to her patience and care for her students' creativity and process, she is what every passionate art student needs to get them the the crucial next step in their journey. We are so fortunate to have met Cara. Our son and his interest in becoming in artist has thrived!
"Cara was an incredible coach to my daughter during her visual arts audition preparation. She instilled a remarkable amount of confidence in our daughter, enabling her to successfully complete her audition and secure a spot in her desired art school.I wholeheartedly endorse Cara's coaching. She's truly a kind-hearted individual."
student Gallery
Let's schedule you on my calendar!
I will coach you weekly for 1.5 hours a month on Developing Your Portfolio
1 hr
Let's chat and see how I can support your teaching in Portfolio, Comics, or Art Teacher life
30 min
Develop Your Portfolio for College Admissions or Professional Level Art
1 hr