Green Atelier

Is it possible to learn drawing and painting online?

Testimonal from Rennard, current student:

Studying online before you, I hit a roadblock because I didn’t have someone critiquing my work. That's the bottom line. As an artist you need open and honest critique. No matter how many YouTube videos I watched, there was no one speaking back to me. I was stuck with my untrained eyes to spot errors and to find solutions. If you're not trained, you're not going to know what you need to know to improve: that's the roadblock.

What makes your online instruction different is you utilize technology to its fullest potential to make the experience not an online experience. You were very meticulous about recreating a classroom setting where it felt like you're there. We could have done our lessons through phone conversations, but you made it a point to use video so that you could look at what I’m doing. You trained me how to take quality pictures of my work for online critique, and sometimes videos. And to take them from different angles and under different lightings. If I sent you a picture that looks a little blurry, you're going to ask for a better picture. Other online instructors would have just winged it with the bad photos. You utilize technology to break the wall of the Internet.

Is learning drawing and painting online worth it?

Rennard, current student:

Completely, I became an artist versus a person with an online hobby. Many times with you I felt like I was studying art in Florence, Italy. It’s not the same experience that you had, but I feel like I got to visit. My life doesn’t allow for me to go to art school, especially abroad. That's not on the table, you know? I think for people like me that are really hungry, that want that experience, but cannot physically go to Florence and just lock in for 16 hours a day, this is the best alternative. I feel like I'm learning everything I need to know. People study online for a reason. They are looking for convenience, and that's provided. But they want as authentic an experience as possible, and I think that's what you provide. I can’t tell my job, hey guys I'll be back in six months, or I'll be back in three years. You provide as powerful of an experience online as I think realistically possible.

What are some of the unexpected benefits of studying online drawing and painting with Josh Green?

Rennard, current student:

I'm being taught by somebody who was over overseas and had that real experience. You're cutting out the fluff and unnecessary pain that I would have gone through of moving to a new city, having to learn the language, and taking on student loans. What if I didn’t fit into the culture there? That type of sacrifice is a huge sacrifice that sometimes can break people mentally. What happens if a relative is sick when I’m studying abroad? You know, those are real life issues that people that go study abroad have to deal with. It has been great to be able to maintain my personal life and be in a good mental space to learn.