Is it possible to learn art online?
Question from Helen
Can you get a professional career in art if you take the Drawing Academy course?
Will people hire you if they knew you learned online and not in an art institution?
Are these course videos really more effective at teaching than an art class where you can watch live examples and ask questions as the teacher draws?
Drawing Academy Tutors
Dear Helen,
Many thanks for your questions.
To answer, we have to ask few questions back:
1. Do you really believe that an artist is hired based on his/her diplomas rather then on quality of artworks and art skills?
Painting by Natalie Richy, Drawing Academy tutor
In our art practice, no one ever asked what diplomas we have or what subjects did we study. People want to know what we can do for them.
2. Have you been visiting any art graduate shows recently to see artworks or talked to art graduates?
We did. It is shocking. Contemporary art students often graduate with no drawing skills whatsoever, after spending 4 to 6 years studying “creativity” and “self-expression”.
Royal College of Art, London, UK. Degree Show. June 2012
As one of such students told us: “I graduated with no art skills, but with a diploma that gives me a license to put any rubbish together and call it art.”
3. Do you really think that art teachers in contemporary art colleges will sit and show by own example how to draw an artwork from beginning to the end in front of students?
This is simply not how skills are taught in such institutions. Quite often, we receive emails from contemporary art college students that say that they have very little support from their teachers.
4. Do you think that watching “live examples” from fellow art students will really help you in improving your drawing skills?
By definition, fellow art students are not art teachers and do make mistakes in constructive and tonal drawing, or perhaps use incorrect drawing techniques. Why would you want to learn on someone else weak points?
Of course, it depends what art college you go for. There are some very strong schools in Russia that still teach traditional drawing and painting techniques.
Repin Art Academy. Degree Show. 2013
Repin Art Academy. Degree Show. 2009
Nikolai Blokhin, Repin Art Academy drawing teacher
Repin Art Academy graduate artwork, 2010
If you don’t have a time to learn Russian and then spend 5 years preparing for the University and spending additional 5 years studying there, you will be much better off by taking the Drawing Academy course.
In this course, you will learn by watching how professional art teachers and artists draw from the clean sheet of paper to the complete artwork while listening all explanations about traditional drawing techniques you must know to draw proficiently.
You can also rely on unlimited personal support by the academy tutors. This service is provided for a lifetime at no extra charge. There is currently no other college or university offering the same quality and service.
Please let us know if you have any questions, we will be happy to help.
Kind regards,
Natalie Richy and Vladimir London
Drawing Academy tutors
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Very well put Nathalie and Vladimir. I did take private training in Russia, but there is nothing like that in other parts of the world.
Working as an IT professional for nearly 20 years in more than 8 countries, and following my passion whenever the time permitted has given me lots of experience. I have visited most renown museums and met with so many college students, who can’t even do the tonal drawing. I usually challenge them with just cross-hatching tonal drawing and they just fail to use their pencil properly.
Your website gives everyone an in-depth learning. But as you said, just having diploma/degree one can just call any rubbish as art. Degrees/Diplomas can get a job, but that doesn’t mean that once can perform the job. Big difference, isn’t it?
I have not checked with the University I graduated from as to whether students are, like myself then, producing trash and calling it art. Oh! A moment here. Maybe they are correct afterall. They are producing art, just not Fine Art. There is obviously a difference. Maybe if they were calling what they do Fine Art then there would be an issue of debate. However, it really does not make any difference, art, Fine Art they both contain the critical term “Art”. Not sure anyone has come up with a solid definition for the word but at least the term Fine Art has a qualifier “Fine” and this makes all the difference.
I am not certain that any of the Major Universities world wide pronounce they have a curriculum specifically dedicated to Fine Art.
I am now encouraged to return to my Alma Mater, 24km away, and see what is being produced by students.
As to diplomas, they are merely a filtering system for any employeer who wishes to narrow down the applicants. Can you imagine what an employeer would have to go through to weed out all the useless applicants without some sort of filtering system? So a diploma, certificate or achievement award of some credibility becomes essential in our modern world. I taught for 35 years and without my diploma and State Certifications, I would never have been permitted to teach. I have to believe this is the case world wide in developed Nations. Not saying this is good or bad but the diploma has become an evil necessity for employeers to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Anyway, that being said, I can only agree 1000% with the statement provided above and am pleased that I signed up although I do not have a life time remaining.