9 Art Classes From Teachers I Love
My creative instincts get a festive jolt during the holiday season. All the extra sparkle and joy invites me to make more art, and I love it! My creative side craves new outlets and I often feel braver in venturing into something new. I am sure you can relate.
Creative people need to create, right? So I’m sharing with you my most favorite art courses that push me to be a better artist in the hope that these courses might interest you or that special creative person in your life.
OR, maybe it will inspire YOU to take some time to feed your creative soul this season.
Or both!
Creating surface pattern designs is my go-to art form, of course, but there is a world of creativity just waiting to be explored.
I’ve taken and love each of these courses because they open my eyes to new perspectives, open my mind to new skills, and open my heart to greater creativity. Please enjoy the list and share any courses you like too!
Here is a downloadable guide with links to each class.
As an extra bonus for you to use yourself or share with your friends and family, be sure to scroll down to get my code for 2 months of Skillshare courses completely free.
Art Courses You’ll Love
#1 Carla Sonheim
(Artist & Creative Curator)
Carla’s a very talented artist known for her drawings and sketches of quirky imaginary animals. Carla is the author of Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun! (Quarry Books, 2010), which sold over 100,000 copies.
Carla offers classes through her website, and in addition to teaching some of them herself, she curates a never ending series of courses by other artists. The classes are always beautifully filmed and photographed by Carla’s husband, Steve, and they never disappoint.
I could list more than a half a dozen courses from Carla that I love but I’ll limit myself to just two to keep this “Gift Guide” manageable.
My favorite courses from Carla:
Flower Crazy Mini by Carla Sonheim
Here are a few examples of artwork I created in these classes.
#2 Teela Cunningham
(Hand Lettering & Procreate)
I found Teela on Skillshare a few years ago and quickly became addicted to her YouTube channel where she offers a free video tutorial on graphic design, Procreate or hand lettering every Tuesday. Her website is called Every-Tuesday.com and literally, she uploads a new tutorial every Tuesday with very few exceptions. She had her first child last year, baby Tuesday Rose, and even though I don’t know her personally, I feel like I know her because she answers her emails and she shares her business journey with her audience.
I’ve purchased several of her classes which are of the highest quality. Her jam is hand lettering and creating (and selling) hand-made fonts. She has a best in class hand lettering course that’s only available a few times a year.
On her YouTube channel, she focuses on teaching you how to draw, sketch and paint using Procreate, the leading edge design app that works with your iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. She's my go-to resource for Procreate tutorials and I look forward to Tuesday with great anticipation every week.
Here are the two courses I’ve purchased from Teela, which are both outstanding:
#3 Shayda Campbell
(Watercolor & Botanicals)
Shayda is an incredibly popular teacher on YouTube. With over 300k viewers on Youtube, you may already be familiar with her. From the minute you click the “play” button, you enter her carefully curated and gorgeous world. Her whole vibe is calm and minimal and she preaches the “perfectly imperfect” which is such an important message for artists to embrace.
Her watercolor and illustration work is simple and clean. She creates pretty botanicals and teaches you how to create your own in her step by step videos. She is also remarkably approachable and humble and continues to evolve her channel in wonderful ways. I like to watch Shayda because she carefully demonstrates each step, and her sets are beautiful.
Check out her website at shaydacampbell.com. She publishes two videos a week now and I try to never miss any of them!
My favorite videos from Shayda:
I love to practice what Shayda teaches in her classes and here are some of my attempts.
#4 Dylan Mierswinski
(Illustrator & Lover of Flowers)
Unlike the other creatives on this list, I’ve actually met Dylan in person!!! We met through a mutual friend and I immediately fell in love with Dylan’s quirky style and distinctive color palette. She got her start teaching on Skillshare and has fantastic, if a bit complicated, classes on that platform. She quickly became a top teacher and branched out into licensing with a bunch of different companies including Anthropology. She was also recognized as a leading designer on Society6 because of her unique style and recognizable color palettes.
She is also quirky and brings her sense of humor with her in everything she does.
If you are not a member of Skillshare, click through using my private teacher link and get 2 months free!
I love her classes on Skillshare, especially:
1. Illustrator Basics: The Shape Builder Tool
2. Illustrator Basics: The Pen and Pencil Tools
#5 Gemma O’Brien
(Typography & Illustration)
I found Gemma O’Brien on Skillshare a few years ago and was blown away by her talent. She specializes in typography and illustration and has won many prestigious typography awards. She lives in Australia but attends international design conferences and teaches workshops around the globe. She only has one class on Skillshare but it’s so outstanding that students watch it over and over again. It’s all about floral-filled letterforms and her approach and workflow is mesmerizing.
Her work is so unique that major companies hire her to do huge wall murals for them and her Skillshare class comes with a highly produced, beautiful video of a project she did in New York City.
Here is a link to her class on Skillshare and to her website.
I have not mastered Gemma’s technique although I am keen to do so. In the meantime, I’ve played around with a much simpler version of flower filled letters. Here are some examples.
So what, if anything, do these classes have in common? They are all taught in a very methodical, step-by-step manner that I love. Each teacher is truly passionate about their craft and that shows in the amazing value that they deliver and the passion with which they teach. And they are all a bit quirky or kinda complicated, for lack of a better description.
I am so lucky to have these wonderful teachers in my life. They inspire me everyday and I enjoy watching their progress as artists and creative business owners creating something truly unique and beautiful that they share with the world.
Treat your favorite creative (and that could be you!) to one or a few of these courses. You’ll be so happy you did.
Don’t forget to use my private teacher link to access Teela, Dylan and Gemma’s classes free for 2 entire months.
Also, here’s a clickable link to my guide that contains all of these courses in one place for you. Download it, check them out and have FUN creating.
Remember,
It’s Never Too Late to Create
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MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation. I grew up in Paris on the Place St. Sulpice and walked to school through the Luxembourg gardens. And that was only the beginning… Learn more by watching the video on my About page.
