Our Top Five
Online Courses for Oil Painters

In alphabetical order are:

Academy of Art University

The Academy of Art University's School of Fine Art is internationally renowned.
The program offers a painting school that encourages personal interpretation and exploration in numerous media while building technical expertise
and professionalism.

The classes are taught by successful, practicing artists who inspire students' individual visions and nurture their technical mastery. The School of Fine Art has become an epicenter for both contemporary and traditional training
in the development of fine artists.

The cost for online classes at the Academy of Art University is $2220 per Undergraduate Class, and $2520 per Graduate Class.

Artist Mentors Online

Kevin Macpherson's "Pro*D*J Program" is an in-depth study program where Kevin assigns a lesson to students each month requiring the completion of an average of ten paintings per assignment. The member executes the lesson and posts their images on their Pro*D*J gallery page. Kevin critiques the work providing instruction on improvement areas as well as the strengths and progress seen for each student. The lesson includes required paintings as well as
providing works on subjects of each student's choosing.

Because of the commitment and time required for this program,
Artist Mentors Online "Pro*D*J Program" accepts only 12 members
per year. The annual program begins in January of each year.

The cost of AMO's "Pro*D*J program" is $3000.

Famous Artists School

Famous Artists School was founded by illustrator Albert Dorne along with other famous artists and illustrators including Norman Rockwell. Charles Reid served as an instructor at Famous Artists School, and as a teenager was one
of the youngest students ever accepted by the school.

This course is $995. It contains a three-volume textbook, 24 assignments, and 24 critiques from your Famous Artists School Instructor.

We have been told by a Famous Artists School representative that this mail correspondence course will soon become an online course.

Starke Studio

The online video classes at Starke Studio are more like an art school than a general workshop because they are more in depth and goal oriented. The student has the advantage of working in their own studio, at their own pace without the expense of travel and lodging. The lessons cover all the aspects of painting
and drawing that will help the student set and achieve their goals.

Each weekly lesson plan includes a 45 minute to 1 hour video demonstration for each lesson. These videos are painting demonstrations that address different techniques and subject matter, how to solve problems in your paintings, and how to design and compose your paintings well. The video lessons can be downloaded and saved to the student's computer. The weekly lessons also include suggested exercises to practice elements from the video demo, and personal downloadable video critiques of your artwork with direction for improvement. Critique submissions are sent in every Thursday for up to 3 paintings. Video critiques
are returned to the student within a couple of days.

The monthly subscription cost to Starke Studio is $200.

Virtual Art Academy

The Virtual Art Academy program is the most comprehensive self-study program available for those wanting to learn how to paint. With this program of painting lessons you get a depth of information and knowledge on painting
that you can only get at a major art school or academy.

The lessons are contained in PDF files making it easy to study them anywhere. The quality is outstanding, comparable to that of a major art magazine. Included with the pdf files are a series of 20 focused videos to help with the learning process.

In addition there is a monthly newsletter with monthly assignments
to keep artists focused and on the right track.

There is no instructor however the founder, Barry John Raybould, does offer limited private tuition for those who need it, and provides a members-only online campus where students get a chance to interact with an international community of artists and receive support and critique during the process. This keeps the course inexpensive and affordable for everyone. If there were an instructor, the course would cost the same as going to an art school at an average of $20,000 per year.

Membership in the online campus is $20 per month,
and includes free course updates