How To Choose An Oil Painting Class
There are several things you need to consider when choosing oil painting classes. Here are the key factors:
Decision #1: Where to take your oil painting classes? at home or on location?
You can either learn online or go to an instructor at a physical location. The advantage of taking oil painting classes online is that you don’t have to travel to a physical location, which leaves more time for your art, and it is a lot easier to find a good instructor online compared to looking in your local area.
However, there is some benefit to having someone at hand to help you while you are learning, provided it is good quality instruction. Also this forces you to work since you will have to have a fixed schedule to go to your classes.
Online classes are easier because you can take them from your own home, and also keep learning if you travel since all you need is an internet connection to take your oil painting classes.
Online advantages:
- no travel needed
- choice of instructor from all over the world
- can work from anywhere
- can work to your own schedule
Physical studio advantage:
- forces you to a fixed schedule
- someone to point out mistakes
Decision #2: Self-study or instructor led oil painting classes?
You can take oil painting classes either via an instructor-led course or a self-study course. Instructor-led courses have the advantage that you will get feedback from an experienced painter.
However you need to be careful that the instructor is a professional painter and not an amateur painter, who is earning a living only by teaching. That might lead to a problem of you not getting the best advice and getting into bad painting habits. If you get into bad painting habits from the beginning, you will probably never be able to get rid of them and you will have a lot of problems in the future.
So if you choose instructor-led oil painting classes, make sure you check out your instructor. Look for a professional website where they are selling their paintings, a biography in which you can see their awards and the exhibitions they have participated in, and if they have participated in joint exhibitions with other notable artists in a prestigious museum. This latter is one of the best ways to tell if you are being taught by a professional as amateur painters do not get invited to participate in joint exhibitions and shows in museums.
With a self-study course, make sure it was created by a top-professional artist so you can be sure of the quality of the content you are being taught.
Self-study advantages:
- much more affordable as you would have to pay ten times more for a truly professional instructor
- high quality content if created by a professional artist
- can work at your own pace
- can take the oil painting classes any time that is convenient for you
Instructor-led advantages:
- direct professional feedback so you don’t get off track
Decision #3: What style of painting do you want to learn?
There are many different styles of oil painting, so you will have to consider what style of painting you are interested in. Many oil painting classes focus on teaching you just one style of painting. For example they might focus on teaching you the highly realistic painting styles of realism, or naturalism, sometimes referred to as academic painting. The oil painting classes might focus on the complete opposite style of abstract painting in which the subject is not recognizable. Or the painting classes might teach the more freer and modern style of impressionism.
There is another classification of oil painting classes that gives you a foundation course in all the basics principles of painting and that will let you choose your own style. This type of painting course will give you the most flexibility, because, armed with a knowledge of the all the fundamental principles of painting, you will be able to choose any style of painting you like.
See Also
- recommendations for oil painting for beginners
- landscape painting tips
Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope you find it useful. If you would like to get free painting tips by email, please sign up for my free tips newsletter.
If you are interested in a structured approach for learning how to paint, take a look at my online painting classes.
Happy painting!
Barry John Raybould
Virtual Art Academy
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