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Thursday 10 March 2016

Review: Online Art Lessons

The Writing Greyhound pastel artwork

Interested in art? Want to improve your art skills? Always wondered how to get that painting or drawing just right? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then read on!

For the last month, I've been trialling a new online art subscription service. Online Art Lessons basically does what it says on the tin - they offer new, returning and developing artists the chance to learn how to create more artwork across a variety of mediums.

I'm not an artist by any means - receiving a disappointing grade in my art A-Level kind of killed my desire to create artwork - although art is subjective and I never picked projects my teachers liked, which I think may have had something to do with it... Though that's a whole new debate for another time!


The Online Art Lessons website is still in beta, so some of the videos are currently unavailable as content is still being added. It also struck me that a lot of things you'd expect to see on the site (how-to guides for basic things like trees, buildings, different poses and positions etc) aren't there. Instead, there are some really specific or obscure tutorials - for example, how to paint a Zulu woman on a mat. I mean, specifics are great, but surely it would be better to focus on a wider, more general perspective while the site is still gaining popularity?

Personally, I would like to see more abstract tutorials. I love experimenting with my own work, and as you can see from the pieces I've added to this post, one of my favourite styles is pop art - some less realistic tutorials would be great to see in the future. I'd also be interested to see some tutorials working with different mediums, like charcoal, chalk, or textiles.

However, the tutorials that are on the site are great. The ones I've tried are really detailed and in-depth, with the tutors talking you through the process step by step. I like that it's not aimed at a high-brow 'artsy' audience, it's just aimed at regular people with an interest in art.

The Writing Greyhound landscape textured collage

One thing I would say though, is not to get your hopes up. Don't expect to join up, take a tutorial, and then suddenly transform into a master of art, because that's not how it works. Online Art Lessons are designed to gradually hone your existing skills and help you through specific tutorials. It's more of a hobby than a would-be artist's tool.

But despite that, I've really enjoyed my month of personal art improvement with Online Art Lessons. If you want to try your hand at art but maybe don't want to attend a class (for financial or time reasons), I'd recommend you give Online Art Lessons a go.

If you're interested in finding out more, why not sign up for a 7-day trial?

Will you be trialling out Online Art Lessons? Let me know in the comments below!

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