I recently attended the Origins game fair, and took some of their Art College events, and found out painting miniatures was something I really enjoyed.  I ended up taking three different events from the Art College this year, a terrain 101, miniatures painting 101, and a basing class.  I was really impressed with the events, the presenters were great, and really knew their stuff.  This was a new type of event at Origins this year, and I look forward to it again next year, and would recommend them to anyone into the hobby side of miniature gaming.