“Say your kid wants to learn baseball, do you throw him a bat and say, "Good luck, Kiddo!", or do you put him in Little League?”

— Mr. D

Our Philosophy:

It’s bigger than making art; it’s learning how to see. We slow down, notice things, ask questions that give us the most answers first, and build from there. It’s learning to break things down to a place you can start from and doing the best you can, one step at a time.

We teach real skills, but we’re not chasing perfection. We coach students to experiment with the tools we give them, mess up, contemplate, and try again. Acknowledging we fail and celebrating when we succeed. Confidence in yourself grows in that cycle. So does good art.

If your child is here, it’s because we believe they’re ready to think yellow, and they know that there are ways to do more. We’ll meet them where they are and help them build from there.

What We

Teach

  • Foundations I

    Explore the core elements of art—line, color, shape, and texture—through engaging projects that bring these fundamental concepts to life. This level builds essential drawing, composition, and mixed media skills, introducing young artists to art history and cultivating a strong creative foundation for future artistic growth.

  • Foundations II

    Advance your artistic abilities by deepening your understanding of composition, value, and perspective. Students explore diverse cultural art styles, experiment with various media, and develop artistic storytelling through multi-step projects, refining their unique creative process.

  • Skill & Style & You

    Master advanced proportion, perspective, and lighting techniques while discovering your personal style. This level emphasizes visual storytelling and conceptual design and includes independent study projects. Students refine their artistic voice through critical thinking and expressive creation.

  • Refining & Defining

    Define your unique artistic direction and build a cohesive portfolio for future opportunities. This level focuses on advanced techniques, series development, career exploration, and community-based projects. Students engage in mentorship, preparing them for artistic leadership and identity.

Which Level Fits My Kid?

…but what do the parents say?
What they see
View fullsize 🎨 June Art Camp Seat Update If you’ve been meaning to sign up, now’s the time—seats are almost gone. ✏️ Drawing Level 1 (Grades 4–6) • June 9–13 → 3 seats left ✏️ Drawing Level 2 (Grades 6+) • June 16&
View fullsize Last batch of photos from our school year! Proud of everything these kids created—now on to summer. . . . . . #ThinkYellow #CreativeKids #ArtWrapUp #SupportYoungArtists #BrookhavenMS #LittleYellowBuilding #chickenjockey
View fullsize Another batch of photos from the studio—just wrapping things up. One more batch to come #ThinkYellow #CreativeKids #ArtInProgress #EndOfYearWrapUp #SupportYoungArtists #BrookhavenMS
View fullsize Here’s another round of photos as we keep wrapping up the school year. Lots of different projects coming to a close right now—some finishing touches, some final proud moments before we head into summer. I’ll keep sharing as I get e
View fullsize I’ve been deep in prep for summer art camps and totally forgot to share photos from the past couple of weeks—so this is the beginning of the end-of-school-year photo dump. We’ve had a lot going on in the studio, and I’ve got
View fullsize 🚨 Summer Camp Reminder Camps start June 9, and spots are filling up. If you’ve been meaning to sign your kid up—this is your reminder to go ahead and do it. Here’s the lineup: ✏️ Drawing Camps • June 9–13 → Grade
View fullsize Finished a new drawing for our Learning to See workbook. I’m calling it “Little Flyer.” It’s a little girl with cardboard airplane wings strapped to her back, fist in the air, ready for takeoff. One of my students noticed whi
View fullsize 🎉 NEW DESIGN + NEW CHECKOUT! 🎉 We’ve made it easier than ever to get your hands on our student-designed shirts—with a brand-new checkout system that lets you pick your shirt color and size, then choose your favorite design to press. Mad
View fullsize I’ve been thinking a lot about how long it actually takes to get good at something—how most of the real work happens when no one’s watching. That’s where most of our students are right now. Not at the flashy finish line, but
View fullsize Some of our Level 1 students (our youngest group) have wrapped up their papier mache sculptures, and I wanted to share a few of the results—along with a couple of in-progress shots from those still working their way through. This was a big pro
View fullsize 🎨 Summer Camp: Week 3 – Basics of Digital Art June 23–27 | 10AM–12PM | 6th Grade & Up This week is for the students who are curious about creating art on a screen instead of paper. We’ll be working in Adobe Fresco, learn
View fullsize Some of the students have officially finished their sculptures, and I couldn’t be more proud of what they’ve created. These projects took time, patience, and a whole lot of figuring things out as they went—and they stuck with it. T
View fullsize Paper Mache Sculpture Update – 3rd–5th Grade We’ve got a few students starting to paint, some still in the detail stage, and a couple who have jumped into building new sculptures for their final projects. This is the part of the p
View fullsize Sculpture Update! We’ve officially reached the painting stage for some of our sculptures, while others are still in the thick of it — adding final details in clay, refining forms, or just getting their shapes fully built. It’s a g
View fullsize Summer Arts ✏️ WEEK 2: Drawing What You See! (6th Grade & Up) Want to take your drawing skills to the next level? This week’s camp builds on fundamental sketching techniques and introduces new challenges: ✅ Breaking down complex images int
View fullsize 🦎 T-shirt update! Supplies are in and we’re ready to roll—Big Lizard shirts will start pressing tonight, and orders will be ready for pick-up starting tomorrow. We press each shirt to order in the evenings after students leave, so any
View fullsize 📣 Big changes are coming to The Little Yellow Building this August—and I want you to hear them straight from me. We’re adjusting our minimum enrollment to 4th grade, introducing a leveled curriculum, and (after years of holding off) inc
View fullsize Our first summer camp kicks off June 9–13, and we’re starting with one of the most important skills in drawing: learning how to really see what you’re looking at. This camp is built for 4th and 5th graders, and it’s all about
View fullsize Here's one last batch of sculpture photos to round things out—these are a few students making up missed classes, plus a look at some of the demonstrations I’ve been doing in class and a peek at the tools we’re using. It’s bee
View fullsize Here’s the next round of sculpture progress shots from the rest of our classes! You might notice that some of these have a white coating instead of the darker grey—that’s because our youngest students are working with paper mache c

RU Ready?

Help Support Mississippi’s Young Artists -

Help Support Mississippi’s Young Artists -

Your generosity directly funds scholarships, supplies, and creative opportunities through our Creative Angel Program, helping Mississippi’s young artists grow.

3% Cover the Fee

The Little Yellow Building is a private business. Contributions made through this page support our Creative Angel Tuition Assistance Program, but they are not tax-deductible. The funds collected are used solely to provide temporary tuition assistance for students in need. Donations are non-refundable.