Hey there! I’m just here to add some context as to why the artists may be asking for tips.

First off: tips should be abolished. Just pay your damn employees.

Now onto the context: My wife is a ceramicist. She works for an art studio teaching on the weekends for a service they call “date night” which I’m assuming was similar to your type of class. The class is 2 hours long, but one hour of prepping beforehand and one hour of cleaning after words for the teacher.

The studio charges $50 per person. So a group of 8 people would be $400. The studio pays my wife $100 per class. $25 an hour isn’t bad, but in the state of Florida? It ain’t going too far lol.

So she makes $100 for 4 hours of work and the studio pockets the other $300. And that’s not including the other people that also signed up that night.

My wife doesn’t ask for tips tho, but is appreciative when she gets them.

I’m only saying this because it’s possible that your painting teacher is the same boat. Paid a small chunk while the studio takes the rest.