The idea of free and cheap painting lessons has always been a bit of a dream of mine. I’ve always loved art, but it’s always been hard to find an affordable way to fit it into real life.

When we lived in Utah, we lived down the road from a university that allowed community members to come in and take classes. After years of debate, I finally signed up for some painting classes and have been so grateful ever since. There is nothing quite like having a real expert teach you how to hold your brush and which paints to use to capture an image.

My health hasn’t been great lately and I’ve really been trying to focus on spending my limited energy on things that give me the biggest benefit. The great majority goes to caring for my son and basic things like making sure we aren’t swallowed whole in a mountain of dirty dishes. But every once in a while I get a few moments where I actually get to do something for myself. And lately, the thing I’ve wanted to do most is paint.

I don’t have the strength to take a class in person anymore, but lucky for me the internet is really come through with some great resources! Not only can I learn about painting from home, there are a lot of resources that are free or very low cost. So much cheaper than the in person classes I took years ago!

I’m by no means an expert, but I have been collecting a little list of online painting classes and I thought I’d share my favorites.

Have you found any good online resources for art? I’d love to add to me list!

Free and Cheap Painting Lessons

Winslow Art Center

The first recommendation has to be the Winslow Art Center. This is an art studio that, I believe, did in person art classes and then switched to virtual during the start of the pandemic. They’ve stuck with their virtual set up ever since and I’m so grateful!

Each Spring they do a Spring Fling where they offer a 15-20 hour long classes for FREE. All you have to do to attend live is sign up before hand. And if you’ve missed them, you can go to their site and sign up to view all the past classes you’ve missed. They have a great collection of free online classes you can go through and plan to have more to come. They are a wonderful resource to know about!

YouTube

Obviously, YouTube would be one of the first places to go for a free painting lesson. But it’s hard to wade through all the videos and find someone who really knows how to paint AND how to teach. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Miss Mustard Seed – A great way to get started with simple landscapes.
• Paint it Simply – Great if you want to work on florals
• Evolve Artist – These guys will try to get you to sign up for their class, but they do offer some great free videos you can take advantage of with no payment
• Artist Network – Again, they have a paid option, but also lots of free videos
• Andrew Tischler – A great way to see a very detailed painting process in action

Patreon

I am new to Patreon, but I have found it to be a wonderful resource for artists. So far, I’ve only signed up for one Patreon account, Eileen Murphy. She is a university level painting instructor and she makes video tutorials teaching the same techniques she would teach to her students. I’m currently working through her collection and am finding it just as helpful as when I want in a university class. The main difference is that you can get access to her videos for $3-$15 a month. (as you want more advanced videos, you’d pay a little more. But honestly, $15 a month for university level learning is a GREAT price.)

There are a lot of other artists on Patreon that I am excited to try out, but I figure I might as well focus on the one I’m paying for now and then go from there. Have you worked with anyone on there? Any suggestions on who I should try next?