A Little Known Composition Secret: The Abstract Design Principle of Point, Line, Mass

Five star rating from me for Virtual Art Academy (VAA)!
I retired last year, and decided I wanted to spend my time in retirement learning how to oil paint. But having never painted before, I wasn’t even sure what to look for in an online painting course. However, I did some searches for “Best Online Oil Painting Courses,” and found several references to VAA.
I signed up for VAA’s ongoing Apprentice Program last October (2023), and I am incredibly glad I did! As a beginner, I didn’t know what I didn’t know, but I didn’t have to: VAA has already mapped it all out for me. It starts out with basic, fundamental stuff, but also teaches me the THINKING that goes in the painting: the composition, my color choices, how to consciously select which darks and lights need to be emphasized, etc.
Bottomline, I am learning how to create paintings that have both visual music and poetry, and it is super fun to see my growth! I cannot recommend this course enough!

I never had formal training in painting and my style has always been very realistic, slow and not at all artistic, just a copy of a photograph.
When I got word of the course available through Virtual Art Academy, I was very excited for the opportunity to learn what I never knew about painting.  VAA has provided me an excellent  foundation on so many aspects of painting.  The course is organized very logically, provides great examples, diagrams, thorough explanations and worthwhile assignments.  I highly recommend this course to anyone with a desire for an in-depth education of art.
Thank you again, Barry, I love this course  Jeanne

After weeks and even months of searching YouTube, “googling” and spending a fortune on art instructional books I finally came across the Virtual Art Academy®. When it comes to purchasing online I am always very careful how I spend my money. Especially when I already spent a small fortune on art books. They always seemed great: presenting wonderful tutorials – and beautiful colorful paintings as a result. You then tend to think you will be able to create something equally beautiful after completing particular tutorial. Unfortunately not the case! I discovered that these tutorials only gave me the fish, not the fishing rod. Barry gave me a fishing rod so I can catch my own fish. The course is well planned, the lessons are clear. Simple. And I can always repeat the assignment as much as I want. And that’s what I was looking for. It opens one’s mind. It opens my eyes to all aspects of art. I see now the scene I want to paint and I think of values, preparation for the notan painting, colour. I can plan how I want to paint the scene or portrait. It’s brilliant. What I really like about Virtual Art Academy is that it takes it all apart and puts it back together. Starts from scratch, comes back to basics. It gives a fantastic foundation. It does what it says on the tin.

I wanted to get a comprehensive art education with the freedom to work at my own pace. I’m several years into the curriculum and I feel like my work has drastically improved. I’ve found holes in my knowledge that I didn’t know I had. Critiquing other students posts and reading their feedback to mine has helped me to improve.

 
The Virtual Art Academy is the perfect art course I’ve been searching for. Barry’s decades of knowledge are condensed into fantastic lesson plans, creating a vibrant community. The apprentice course delves deep into drawing, painting planning, and color theory. It’s like obtaining an art degree at my own pace and more affordably. The structured format encourages interaction and feedback, enhancing the learning experience. Overall, a fulfilling way to study art from home.

I have been working my way through the Virtual Art Academy for almost a year now, and cannot recommend it highly enough. The Workshops are thorough, structured and substantive. There is a logical and step by step progression that makes the learning process so much easier, with new concepts being introduced and then practiced along with what was learnt before. The online peer community of fellow students is vibrant and supportive, and I have learnt a lot from reading the posts and comments of the more advanced students. Having tried many face to face and online painting courses, this is by far the most useful and thorough one I have ever come across. I am not yet half way through, but I can tell my painting has improved already significantly since starting.

Before repurposing my vocation into avocation, I spent 20 years in the corporate world as an instructional designer and performance consultant creating training curricula for diverse clientele from NASA to General Motors. I know curriculum development and how to guide a learner from beginning to certification.
VAA is the only online learning program I have ever discovered using a training industry best practice of incorporating Knowledge and Skills to support learning a new activity. Every building block (Drawing, Form, Observation, Concept, Notan, Composition, Colour, Brushwork) incorporates a “spiral learning” approach where you are introduced to the Knowledge/Skill at one level and then reintroduced to it again elsewhere in the curriculum. Sure genius.
I’ve attended workshops, read books, and watched YouTube videos — and none of them provide the scaffolded approach to learning the VAA offers. If you are just starting your painting journey, start here. If you are a mid level or advanced painter, start here. There is a sense of community with artists around the globe. You are part of a peer to peer learning process bigger than yourself.
As a result of the VAA, I have been juried into several shows, am represented by a local gallery and have been selling my paintings on a consistent basis. VAA curriculum’s approach will grow your ‘artist’s brush’ and aid you in finding your artistic voice. As your basics improve, your art improves. Henry Hensche said, “There is study and there is performance, and we should not confuse the two, study is done for perceptual development, our performances show us where we are in that development, and we must have both…”. VAA curriculum offers both.
I went through the entire curriculum, did every every exercise, and today review my printed books/exercises on an annual basis to keep myself fresh and ready for my next painting adventure.
Onwards/Sideways,
Jay “jbird” Holobach
https://www.jayholobach.com/

I finished the VAA course a few years ago, but always refer to the notes, rereading the course many times. This is not a course the day you are finished, you are done. No, you keep practising the assignments getting better and better over time. When I look back at my work when I had just finished VAA, I can see that I have grown over the years as well. I will always be grateful to Barry John Raybould for taking the time and sharing his knowledge with us. You don’t need to buy expensive art books to help you with your paintings. Just do the VAA four year course. I still refer to it. The course is most informative and you will never regret doing the course. I certainly am glad I did.

I am extremely impressed with the process that Barry has developed for VAA.  Learning to paint can be intimidating, but when broken into many small projects it is very do-able.  I just did my first live model painting session- a 5 hour, one day session.  Thanks to VAA, I was able to break the painting down into chunks- the notan; using triangulation to check drawing points; the colours- hues, saturation, values; focal point; how to mix and handle the palette.  I did not expect a masterpiece with this first session, but was pleased to get as far as I did.  I look forward to continuing with the program.  Thank you!

This is a great course for anyone who is serious about improving their painting. I have been a student here for several years. When I am finished, I will have the equivalent of a 4 year art education at a fraction of the cost. I can do the lessons anywhere and at my own pace. Before I took this course, I could copy a photo given enough time. Now I have the thrill of standing in the landscape and painting not only what I see but what I feel in the moment.