Study Art on line

Pansies

 9 x 12 Oil Painting by Pat Fiorello

As an artist you are often an teacher and a student. Some of my students are surprised that I still take classes and workshops. One even came out and asked "You're a teacher, why are you taking a class?"

 I explained that part of the joy of art is that you are always learning and growing. That's part of the passion for art - the energy and excitement of learning.  I have a plaque with one of my favorite quotes in my studio, " I am still learning", which was said by Michelangelo when he was 87.  I believe as an artist you are never done learning.

Recently I started taking an on line class with Dan Edmondson. It's a 10 week program that you can do at your own pace and I'm about 1/2 way thru it. I have really been enjoying it and am learning a lot. These are some examples of the paintings I've done as part of the program. Dan is an excellent painter , a great teacher and has the whole program organized quite well. When you sign up for the program, you get 10 CDs with permanent copies of the lessons and also links where you can view the lessons on line as well as excellent reference photo's that you can print out. 

I will typically watch Dan do a demo of the painting, then try my hand at it and afterwards send Dan a jpeg of my finished painting. He sends back a  short video critique with feedback on the painting. The cool part is that you hear him speaking  and he can point to specific areas of your painting on the video so you feel like he's right there talking to you rather than reading comments in a dry email.

I have really found this to be a great value and it could be especially worthwhile for people who can't travel to workshops or don't have nearby classes or who have unusual schedules because this can be done  anywhere, anytime( after work, after the kids go to sleep etc..)

 

What makes this best though is Dan. He is  an excellent teacher. He explains things clearly, give practical tips- not just theory or concepts and is genuinely concerned about people growing as artists. He is very supportive and encouraging. I found this well worth the price and wanted to share it with other artists who might find it of value. Dan has lots of free short video segments on line so you can get a taste of his instructional style

 at: http://www.oilpaintingworkshop.com/ or thru his website 

http://www.danieledmondson.com/