Are you like many people who aspire to learn how to draw and paint? Do you know where to begin? This hobby is relaxing and touches the creative side of our personalities, but how do you get started? It's important to find the right instruction, though, or you could spend hundreds of dollars in supplies and never use them. Below are a few training courses in painting and drawing that focus on the beginner. You can learn to become an artist you have always wanted to be.
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At first I found it funny that when you Google "painting" you get everything from how to learn oil painting to home improvement contractors. But here, we're talking about oil painting tips and other "art painting" instruction. Gayle Levee's course, Learn & Master Painting is definitely about art painting. (I got on her "Tip of the Brush" email list and have enjoyed her very enlightening insights.) As a novice oil painter, I appreciate the fact that Gayle doesn't take anything for granted as she teaches. Of all the "painting how to" courses, this was the most complete and thorough.
She starts with the very basics and takes you by the hand, teaching you how to paint with oils on canvas (she touches on acrylic painting techniques also). Unlike the other courses I reviewed, Learn & Master Painting is built on the "full course" model, rather than the barebones, mini-course approach. The full course approach has worked well for the other "Learn & Master" courses in this series (guitar, piano, drums, ballroom dance, etc.)
I found it incredibly thorough, starting with the basics, like brush technique, drawing, and canvas and easel mechanics to the intermediate skills of perspective (a "foundational concept," as Gayle calls it), creating the illusion of depth, and shading techniques. The course gradually takes you to more advanced levels of training and skills, like color theory (matching colors is always a big challenge for painters--at least it was for me), composition, and learning how to "foreshorten" objects in correct perspective.
The best part is that this is a true "learn-by-doing" course. We created several paintings as part of the course, following along step-by-step with Gayle. (My wife and I both took the course together.) Painting in oils is a "skill on skill" activity, so as you progress through a complete course like this, you learn painting techniques that build on one another as you go. Even if you've never picked up a brush (like me), you won't get lost before you actually learn how to oil paint. Gayle is a patient and gentle soul, walking with you as you build both confidence and skills.
From our experience, I'm confident that once someone completes Learn & Master Painting, they'll be a fairly accomplished artist, knowing how to draw and paint with oils well (assuming they take the lessons seriously, of course). It's worth saying here that this is one of the more expensive courses we reviewed, but if it's in your budget, I would say it's the best home instruction program that we found for painting in oils.
**This course actually comes with music CDs to listen to while you paint...and they're pretty effective for getting "in the zone" of creative activity.
The Mechanics: 20 Professionally-Produced DVDs of instruction; 3 Music CDs; 50+ page full-color workbook; online community site for support. The workbook is full-color and easy to follow right along with the actual oil painting lessons on the DVDs. (Gayle's such a sweetheart on-screen that after going through the course, we felt like she was a friend.)
Negatives: If you like flashy and loud, this isn't for you. The teacher is soft-spoken and mild mannered, so you won't find high-energy graphics or fast-talking personalities here. If you like the "learn-in-a-day" approach that promises you that you'll complete a masterpiece in 30 minutes, you will not like this course. It is a skill-building wonder of a course, but it is not fast-paced. *But since I was eager to learn to paint, I was always surprised when the lesson ended.
Bottom Line: If you really want to learn to paint in either oils or acrylics, this course will take you where you want to go. It will take you more than a couple months to learn everything in the course (remember...thorough), but it's worth the time and money. I recommend it whole-heartedly.
This course contains 3 DVDs and 2 data CDs. It is based on the premise that there are 3 elementary, but necessary skills in drawing. The author sets about teaching those 3 skills over these 3 DVDs. Remember, this is a drawing course (so you won't learn to paint with it). If you're not bothered by sitting in front of your computer to learn, the CDs contain the textbook file and about 4 other mini-tutorial files.
The first disc covers the basics of proportion and a couple other elementary skills. (Each DVD is about 2 hours long.) I would have to say that this first disc is very thorough, covering proportion in depth.
DVD #2 dives into what the author calls "Plasticity" (a term referring to the techniques of showing 3 dimensions in a life-like way). It builds on first DVD's skills and proceeds to get ever more sophisticated. You start out learning to draw a simple egg, then move to a bottle, then you try to do a still-life. The goal is to render the illusion of a 3-dimensional scene with ever more realism.
DVD #3 introduces drawing portraits using a plaster cast as your subject. The author works to eliminate psychological barriers to drawing realistic looking portraits, including what he calls "symbolic preconceptions." (For instance, when you look at a nose, you begin with some mental picture of what a nose-in-general looks like that fights with the image that is right in front of you.) Using a "CAST" allows you to demystify its features a little easier.
If you purchase, you'll get access to online workshops for supplemental instruction.
Negatives: The cost of this mini-course is a bit high for what you get (drawing only). It's $267 when it's not on sale, which seems like a lot to me. The teacher is a bit monotone in delivery, but he still delivers good content. I was disappointed with the textbook being on CD. I thought for the price I should have gotten a nicely printed workbook. "Art Academy" made me think the course might be produced by an accredited school by that name, but be aware that it's not.
Bottom Line: This course will definitely improve your drawing skills. (I was really wanting oil painting lessons, so it had trouble holding my interest.) It is designed for beginners, so there are no big assumtions to frustrate the novice. Overall, this course and the others on the Art Academy website are pricey for the number of instruction hours you receive (especially when compared the Learn & Master Painting course - 20 DVDs for less that this 3-DVD course).
This is a how-to course, by famous outdoor artist Heiner Hertling. It is a single DVD, shot in a park in Michigan and teaches Mr. Hertling's unique oil painting techniques (referred to as "plein-air" painting…or painting outdoors). This DVD follows the same format as his similarly titled PBS TV show, "Your Brush With Nature." In this little course, Hertling goes through the step-by-step process of learning how to paint a beautiful landscape in Michigan.
Warning: this course assumes that the student has the basics down and is more of an intermediate painter with some previous knowledge of how to oil paint. You'll need some basic experience in order to follow along and reproduce the landscape Hertling creates in the 45-minute lesson.
This DVD is not meant to instruct a student in oil painting techniques in general. It's more of a demonstration of how to paint a particular landscape. If you already possess the skills and knowledge needed for oil painting, the question then is whether you've got sufficient interest in "plein-air" painting. If so, then Mr. Hertling is widely known as one of the best at this technique. You'll pay about $49 plus shipping for this single painting DVD.
Negatives: Ordering is not easy. You can only do it by either emailing the person at the address on his website, www.heinerhertling.com, or ordering by phone.
Bottom Line: These are a very specific type of oil painting techniques, painting beautiful landscapes. You don't get any instruction other than painting that particular scene. It just doesn't seem like the product for anyone seeking instruction in a wider scope of oil painting techniques.
These are painting tutorials on DVD by a pleasant little Irish man named Frank Clarke. He has a motto: "To be a painter you don't need talent, just desire." He teaches both watercolor and acrylic painting lessons and has a unique angle on it. He's very comfortable to watch and because of it, he's taught thousands of new painters how to paint (mainly through his PBS TV appearances). He teaches a simplified approach that he calls his "HSMF" formula: dividing pictures into parts - Horizon, Sky, Middle, Foreground - to be dealt with one at a time. His instruction consists of finding an inspiring spot outdoors, then returning to the studio where he presents instruction on how to capture the essence of that location on the canvas.
In his books and painting videos, he covers: Still Life, Brush Techniques, Landscapes, Perspective, Seascapes, Using Colors, Flowers, Wet to Wet, Foods, Washes, Trees, White Gouache, Mountains, Light & Dark Properties, Water, Painting on other Material, Woodlands, Misty Hills.
Negatives: Each of the painting DVDs costs around $35, so be prepared to spend some bucks (or Euros) when you buy more than one of the series. Also, Mr. Clarke doesn't deal at all with oils, which was my particular interest. But for acrylic painting lessons, it was fine.
Bottom Line: This is a good product from a well-respected painter and teacher. If you're a beginner, you will likely get what you need to move to the intermediate stage. You will mostly paint landscapes with this course, so it that's your main interest, this is a decent course.
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