An option to taking an art course from an art teacher is to find an online instructor. The online course availability has grown significantly over the past few years, and you can find any topic that interests you. The advantage of these online courses is that you can work at them at your own pace in your own place. You can start and stop as you wish. The downfall is that the work, lessons, and contributions fall to you alone. Almost all instructors have feedback and question areas for support. Costs vary greatly, so be sure due diligence and research has been done. Check the feedback and ratings section of the course descriptions.
Following are sites and courses I have accessed and what I’ve learned from each.
- Angela Fehr - https://www.angelafehr.com/
Angela is a genuine, sensitive person who talks through her painting sessions for loose watercolour painting. Through her, I’ve learned to use free movements and to abstract the real image in my paintings.
- Jean Haines - https://jeanhaines.com/
I feel like I am watching a master as Jean demonstrates an abstract dynamic process and use of colour for a background, and then pulling out the real focus with addition of extra layers (glazing) or brush work. I highly recommend her courses if you wish to work in a loose abstract style. They are expensive, but in my opinion, very worthwhile, as she takes you into her home and sincerely shares her expertise.
My examples of paintings below are not as beautiful as Jean’s, but perhaps you can see how I accented the background colour experimentations with lines and additional colours. There is a hint of something real, but it’s up to the viewer to perceive through their own experience.
- Udemy - https://www.udemy.com/
There are hundreds of art-based courses at reasonable prices on this site but there are usually only a few sessions focused on specific techniques or subjects.
Two sessions that I took focused on painting trees and leaves, and you can see how I learned to use composition and colours to show perspective.
- Domestika - https://www.domestika.org/en
This site has truly impressed me with the caliber of artists and the professionalism with which they teach and demonstrate their renowned success. Following are the three courses I have been working on and will continue to review long after I’ve completed the lessons.
- Architectural Sketching with Watercolour and Ink – Alex Hillkurst
My sister and I have different ideas about straight lines – she enjoys them, and I shudder thinking about them. Alex taught me how to get perspective using windows, sidewalks, etc., so that I could get a reasonable representation of places I had travelled to.
- The Art of Sketching: Transforming your Doodles into Art – Mattias Adolfsson
Mattias encouraged practice of doodling people, exaggerating features, sketching them from different perspectives and finally adding human figures to backgrounds. For the first time, I painted figures.
- Modern Watercolor Techniques – Ana Victoria Calderon
I have just begun this course and am very excited about the modern style she’ll be introducing.
- Other great websites that you might consider for online art classes
- Art Tutor - https://www.arttutor.com/
- Artist Network - https://www.artistsnetwork.com/