The art-by-mail coursework is “basic art: how to draw, how to improve your drawing” said Paul Phillips, president of Art Instruction Schools. “We don’t try to teach surrealist painting.” ...

As shopping week began, I decided to take Basic Drawing at 8:30 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. Several things about this idea appealed to me: the unexpectedness, the novelty, the early hour (which ...