What Does an American in China and a South African Artist Have in Common?

No this is not an intro to a joke or something political. Rather it is a story about the universal language of art. It is a story about about an American a long way from home. He is working in a China as a teacher. To fill up his spare time he decides to take up painting. After all, what better way to appreciate the new sights than to paint them?

But our young American artist needs a few painting lessons. Where to find a convenient course on painting? He decides to try udemy.com and comes across a course called Learn to Paint With Impact. A course presented by yours truly from South Africa.

Meet Danny Dixon. Teacher and art student in China. Danny started with Learn to Paint with Impact and then took my other painting courses too. He is currently working on my plein air course Learn Outdoor Painting With Confidence. As you can see from his photo Danny is getting stuck in and loving it!

Danny Dixon painting plein air in China

There are many amazing parts to the internet revolution. Some bad and others downright wonderful. One shining success of the internet must be online learning. So much to learn! 
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Take my painting courses for instance. There are students from 108 countries who have enrolled. That is the wonder of online learning. I would never have been able to reach people in these different countries without the internet.

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There are still artists skeptical about online courses though. For these the traditional workshop at the teachers's studio is the way to go. I do admit that personal attention is a plus. However this can still be met through online teaching as I will explain later. 
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So what are the advantages of online art courses?

1. Much cheaper for students to attend online. No accommodation and travel costs to another town, for instance.
2. Time saved. Physical classes require lengthy time away from home which is tough for working folk who need to rely on vacation time.
3. Pause, Repeat - Students get to repeat sections at will. Future access to the lessons can make learning more effective when you are ready for that lesson.
4. Pace Yourself - everyone learns at a different pace. Often you are not ready for a particular point, but next time around that point makes sense. Online access on demand makes this a breeze.
5. Future Updates - Good teachers update their courses from time to time. Students get these updates for free.
6. Shy Students Benefit - if you feel too shy to ask questions or you are embarrassed about painting in front of others then online classes are a blessing.

But what if you want personal guidance with your particular painting? No problem if you are comfortable with internet services like Skype. I can schedule a lesson with a student, one on one, simply using skype video calls. A quick demo painting, a few pointers and feedback are easy to manage this way. Okay this may cost a bit extra, but it is still a bargain compared to the traditional version
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So there you have it. The ancient art of painting combining with cutting edge technology to benefit artists all over the world. 
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What do you think? Do you take online classes? What has been your experience with online learning?

PS:To learn more about my online classes click here. 
PPS: Would You Like to receive personal painting lessons via Skype? If so please contact me for details.