Online Drawing Program by Creating a Masterpiece Review

We received a one year subscription to the online Drawing Program by Creating a Masterpiece which I really looked forward to given I have a house full of young artist. Recently, I took up rock painting as a new hobby and I even learned a few things. Our access included a variety of lessons such as: Beginning Drawing, Drawing 1, Drawing 2, and Drawing 3. Each section included instruction in drawing using pencil, colored pencil and charcoal. We created many masterpieces but for this review, I'm going to focus on a couple of different projects. The drawing above was done by one of my daughters after taking a few lessons and utilizing the techniques taught.

FIRST PROJECT

Lessons in Pencil: Tuckered out Turtle. 

Each project provides a button to see what supplies are needed and as a nice feature, there is a chart that provides how much supply is needed based on the number of students working on the project. Another nice feature is Sharon provides the products she recommends via purchase supplies link. You are not required to purchase from that link but it does provide you with what supplies you will need to purchase on your own. Below is example screen shots for the information I just mentioned:

RECOMMENDATION

I recommend reviewing each project ahead of time to obtain the supplies needed and to check out the videos if you won't be sitting with the student just to have an idea on how to guide and help if needed. There is a Helpful Tips section for each project that really is helpful. Sharon explains techniques and provides suggestions that are worth ensuring your student reads.

VIDEO LESSONS

The projects have videos that teach the corresponding lesson. For Tuckered out Turtle, there were eight sections. The videos are just right in duration.  

The FINAL MASTERPIECE:

SECOND PROJECT

Lessons in Pencil: Drawing the Egg

This was a project that seemed like it was easy and required little instruction. However, Sharon provides all the necessary techniques and suggestions that allows the student to not only draw but to understand different techniques such as why you might hold a pencil a certain way. The videos are taught in a manner that are easy to follow and clear to understand. They are broken into segments that allows the student to continue forward in one sitting or to stop pending each student's needs.

"Creating a Masterpiece lessons were easy to follow. I learned different drawing techniques and the teacher was easy to understand," ~Jamie.

"The lessons were short and didn't require a long time to get through each one," ~Danielle

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I think the online Drawing Program by Creating a Masterpiece is a very good program to teach children and even adults how to draw using different mediums. The videos are paced just right to not be overwhelming and versatile to allow each student to proceed through each lesson. Sharon teaches in a manner which is not intimidating and uses encouragement and great tips on how to get the masterpiece you want.

We recommend the curriculum.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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Our Review of Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance, K-3 Vol. 4 from ARTistic Pursuits Inc.

I remember taking Art History in college and even though it was something I didn't really want to take, I'm glad I did. As I progress with teaching my own children, I want to ensure they have an introduction to artists as they proceed through each grade. My favorite time period was the Italian Renaissance so when I had a chance to review Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance, K-3 Vol. 4 from ARTistic Pursuits Inc. , I couldn't wait to get started.  ARTistic Pursuits Inc. offers a series called K-3rd Grade Level, Volumes 1-8 which provides a complete art curriculum across a variety of ages and grades. For our review, I made sure I studied the book, which provided a host of artists that shaped our views of art, to ensure we had all the necessary supplies. I also wanted to see how the lesson's history matched my memory from many years ago when I was in college. I wasn't disappointed either as the book, although more concise compared to a year at college, it covered some of the main artists and techniques. 

The book provides twelve lessons and the six video lessons. First, I'm going to cover the video lessons and what we thought of them:

• They were our favorite part of the curriculum. They did such a great job starting out each video with a scene first and then they moved on to the lesson. The only drawback I would give is the music was a bit too loud. Other than that, we give the video lessons an A+! They were charming and captivating. 
• The video lessons were just the right length. They were not boring nor did they cover too much material. 
• The tips and tricks were done in a speed slow enough to allow us to grasp each tip and suggestion. They also repeated the key parts to each lesson to ensure the child(ren) retained the pointers.
• The video lessons were projects that were not too difficult and were fun to try.

The ARTistic Pursuits book is nice and colorful and has a smooth cover which allows for easy paint removal if one should happen to have it too close to the budding artists. I found the book very helpful and engaging and will list out the details:

• The comprehensive Contents page allowed for an easy reference point to see which artist was going to be covered, the major works of art to be featured along with instructions.
• Another page provided all the materials needed for every project contained within the book and the video lessons.
• The section on Teaching Simply explained how the curriculum was designed to "activate thought and creativity throughout every part of the lessons." The video lessons are used to teach each new art medium. It's a simple to use curriculum that will provide a thorough art education in my opinion.
• Each lesson included questions for the student such as Lesson 15 in the painting A Game of Chess by Sofinisba in 1555: The table tilts towards us. What does that help us to see? Not only is history taught but they also learn about watercolors, fresco, scratch art and oil pastels.
• The reproduction of the artwork is beautiful too!

This curriculum was a hit in our house! Everyone started to paint and we had so much fun!

Photo capturing one of the lessons from the video lessons.

Overall, the curriculum is done really well and I love how comprehensive it was. The different grade levels offered provides me a resource to turn to as my children advance in their lessons. The ARTistic Pursuits Inc. book was an asset to the curriculum and together with the video lessons, it was perfect. Our review really reflects what ARTistic Pursuits Inc. states:

Even the youngest student is creating art that is personal. Art is far more than imitation; it is a language that allows the doers, our children, to speak for themselves and to express their own ideas and interests through pictures.

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Check out what others on the Crew thought about ARTistic Pursuits Inc. and the various curriculum from the K-3rd Grade Level, Volumes 1-8 series: