By Kate Bradley  January 20 2014, 8:07 AM One of the ways I say thank you to my collectors for their patronage is to invite them and their kids over to my private studio for an art lesson. I enjoy this time catching up with my clients and it's one of the ways I support my mission, to help people celebrate their family relationships through my art. I am honored to help my collectors create memories with their kids and do something special for them.

My own parents put me in art classes as a kid, so I appreciate the importance of cultivating creativity at a young age. It had a huge impact in my life. As my mom told me the other day, she never wasted a penny on the lessons and supplies she bought for me. My sister's guitar, on the other hand, is a different story.

I hosted two lessons in my studio this past December. One was for my friend and collector, Ale, and her adorable boys, Sam and Noah. You can see their portraits here.

We had hot cocoa and I showed them how to draw self-portraits.

Then I had the Bush twins and their cousin, Caroline, over for more advanced studies. Our lesson was centered on complimentary colors which we expressed through a still life drawing.