Things to Do in Vero Beach

The late artist Joe LaPierre often dreamed of opening a studio where anyone could come in and learn to paint with the help of friendly, experienced instructors. The artist's children, Sarah and Jesse, realized his legacy with Alla Prima Creations—named for the Italian phrase for works of art that are begun and finished in a single session. The center offers classes five days a week where students learn to replicate a bright, cheerful painting. The calendar gives pupils a wide range of artwork options, any of which students can learn to replicate on their own 16"x20" canvas. Students can tote along a favorite beverage or snack—which allows for a relaxed classroom environment as students sip on wine or nibble crackers while they create fanciful scenes of artists sipping wine and nibbling crackers. For a change of medium, lass-painting sessions give students the opportunity to customize champagne, margarita, and wine goblets with abstract designs.

A nonprofit organization dedicated to the visual arts, Palm Beach Photographic Centre has kept citizens abreast of ever-evolving aesthetics since it was incorporated in 1985. Recently settled into their brand-new facility in the City Hall complex, guest instructors including Robert Farber, Ross Whitaker, and Laurence Gartel hold more than 300 photography workshops every year. The in-house staff teaches other classes, with curricula ranging from Photoshop tutorials to technology-oriented lectures to far-flung traveling workshops in such locales as Peru, Bali, and the mirror city located beneath Lake Mangonia. Members earn discounts on all of these opportunities, receive invitations to exclusive events, and get the chance to be displayed in the annual INFOCUS juried exhibition.