Master Profile: The Art of E. Charlton Fortune

 
The Virtual Art Academy is the perfect art course I’ve been searching for. Barry’s decades of knowledge are condensed into fantastic lesson plans, creating a vibrant community. The apprentice course delves deep into drawing, painting planning, and color theory. It’s like obtaining an art degree at my own pace and more affordably. The structured format encourages interaction and feedback, enhancing the learning experience. Overall, a fulfilling way to study art from home.

Five star rating from me for Virtual Art Academy (VAA)!
I retired last year, and decided I wanted to spend my time in retirement learning how to oil paint. But having never painted before, I wasn’t even sure what to look for in an online painting course. However, I did some searches for “Best Online Oil Painting Courses,” and found several references to VAA.
I signed up for VAA’s ongoing Apprentice Program last October (2023), and I am incredibly glad I did! As a beginner, I didn’t know what I didn’t know, but I didn’t have to: VAA has already mapped it all out for me. It starts out with basic, fundamental stuff, but also teaches me the THINKING that goes in the painting: the composition, my color choices, how to consciously select which darks and lights need to be emphasized, etc.
Bottomline, I am learning how to create paintings that have both visual music and poetry, and it is super fun to see my growth! I cannot recommend this course enough!

I would recommend taking VAA study to everyone who seriously strive of becoming exceptionally skilled professional artist. It gives more than you can ever imagine! The lessons structured in the best possible way that lead to understanding and skills you never acquired before which are so important in art. It is impossible to fail or gain little through extensive 4 year study at VAA! I am glad that I have joined friendly and supportive community and am able to study at my own pace. Thank you Barry for so generously sharing your time, immense knowledge and inspiring painting skills with us!

In the last couple of years, I took online painting courses and in-studio classes adding to my university courses from many years ago. After researching Anders Ericsson learning systems and Ultralearning, I was struggling to design my own painting learning plan. Then I discovered the VAA and with the endorsement from Richard Robinson, I jumped in… and it has completely exceeded my expectations. You’ve management to include first quality education, materials, layered learning systems, feedback loop and social support and lifelong learning – amazing.
Thank you again for such an amazing program and opportunity. I wish you continued and even greater success. You have contributed to many many people… thank you from all of us.

After weeks and even months of searching YouTube, “googling” and spending a fortune on art instructional books I finally came across the Virtual Art Academy®. When it comes to purchasing online I am always very careful how I spend my money. Especially when I already spent a small fortune on art books. They always seemed great: presenting wonderful tutorials – and beautiful colorful paintings as a result. You then tend to think you will be able to create something equally beautiful after completing particular tutorial. Unfortunately not the case! I discovered that these tutorials only gave me the fish, not the fishing rod. Barry gave me a fishing rod so I can catch my own fish. The course is well planned, the lessons are clear. Simple. And I can always repeat the assignment as much as I want. And that’s what I was looking for. It opens one’s mind. It opens my eyes to all aspects of art. I see now the scene I want to paint and I think of values, preparation for the notan painting, colour. I can plan how I want to paint the scene or portrait. It’s brilliant. What I really like about Virtual Art Academy is that it takes it all apart and puts it back together. Starts from scratch, comes back to basics. It gives a fantastic foundation. It does what it says on the tin.

After a thorough research, my personal conclusion is that the Virtual Art Academy (VAA) is, by wide margin, the most comprehensive, in depth and well-organized painting course available in the internet. Unlike most tutorials and color mixing recipes commonly found online, VAA’s philosophy is rather to provide the students with detailed information about all aspects of painting – color theory, brushwork, drawing, composition, techniques, materials – in an organized manner, in a way to allow for short-term improvements while optimizing the learning curve throughout the course. And, while the VAA curriculum, by itself, is already among the most valuable literature about art one can find (both online or offline) – for its depth and comprehensiveness –, the online platform adds a lot more to the learning experience, since the exchange in information and experience with other students is of immense help. Finally, what is most unique about the VAA, in my opinion, is that its creator Barry J. Raybould not only has a successful career as an artist himself – with an economic style and distinguished understanding of color – but he was also able to distill his own knowledge and experience into an accessible and effective method (as can be proven by the works of some of his earlier students). If you are serious about learning art and (as was my case) can’t enroll formal art schools, I would say there’s zero chance you will regret joining the VAA. In fact, I truly believe that, in the centuries to come, people will still learn to paint through Barry’s method.

This is a far more superior school than anything I have seen being taught at colleges across the country and have learned much more from the Virtual Art Academy® than from any art course I have ever taken! I cannot begin to tell how the Virtual Art Academy has improved my observation of potential compositions in my daily travels. Because of the VAA2 I find myself looking at trees/buildings/landscapes as shapes and not as structures, etc. I find myself looking at values more closely and observing strong and weak notan in a particular subject as I go out and about. Thank you so much for VAA2, just one disagreement though; the Virtual Art Academy is not just the best online course, it is the best course period.

I joined VAA in 2014, it seemed a perfect fit in content, ease of access and cost. It turned out to be all of this and much more. The wealth of information on all practical aspects of painting is invaluable and I think incomparable to anything else out there. The course structure is such that you can work through everything systematically or choose to focus on your own weaknesses. Whichever you choose, you will benefit immensely. The course is for beginners, intermediate and advanced artists. It covers the basics, laying a solid foundation for drawing, color, composition and design. Building on this it takes you to advanced levels of color harmony and creating your own unique art. You meet likeminded people from all around the world, each on their own journey. Encouraged and motivated by the progress I saw in others, my own work improved. This was confirmed by people who did not know I was studying through VAA. It took me 4 years to complete and it was worth every minute and every cent. I can highly recommend this course for any artist wanting to go to the next level. Go for it, put in the time and dedication and thank me later! Thank you to Barry Raybould for sharing your knowledge and expertise and for creating this excellent platform.

I never had formal training in painting and my style has always been very realistic, slow and not at all artistic, just a copy of a photograph.
When I got word of the course available through Virtual Art Academy, I was very excited for the opportunity to learn what I never knew about painting.  VAA has provided me an excellent  foundation on so many aspects of painting.  The course is organized very logically, provides great examples, diagrams, thorough explanations and worthwhile assignments.  I highly recommend this course to anyone with a desire for an in-depth education of art.
Thank you again, Barry, I love this course  Jeanne

This is a great course for anyone who is serious about improving their painting. I have been a student here for several years. When I am finished, I will have the equivalent of a 4 year art education at a fraction of the cost. I can do the lessons anywhere and at my own pace. Before I took this course, I could copy a photo given enough time. Now I have the thrill of standing in the landscape and painting not only what I see but what I feel in the moment.

I have been working my way through the Virtual Art Academy for almost a year now, and cannot recommend it highly enough. The Workshops are thorough, structured and substantive. There is a logical and step by step progression that makes the learning process so much easier, with new concepts being introduced and then practiced along with what was learnt before. The online peer community of fellow students is vibrant and supportive, and I have learnt a lot from reading the posts and comments of the more advanced students. Having tried many face to face and online painting courses, this is by far the most useful and thorough one I have ever come across. I am not yet half way through, but I can tell my painting has improved already significantly since starting.

The VAA gives you a really solid foundation for learning and improving how to paint.  When you’re frustrated with your work, it’s not getting accepted into exhibitions, you’re not selling and you’re just not happy with what you produce the VAA is the answer.   It is explained easily with examples and exercises.
It does mean you have to look at things differently in the beginning but it is really exciting to learn a new, simpler way of painting- its all about VALUES!!!
It all seems a bit strange, making Notans, outline studies, value studies all in greys, colour maps, ie not painting a pretty picture in colour, but you must trust the experts and just do it.    It’s all about being able to see the big shapes and values which takes, in my case, a long time for the brain to learn how to do.  Once you see, it the lightbulb goes on and everything clicks into place. 
Be patient, do the exercises, trust the process and you will get good results.  I did as Barry suggested and  just worked through the exercises in my sketchbook from life, I didn’t paint pictures for long time.   I stayed on values studies for a very long time and found I was enjoying painting again.
It’s ok to take your time. Just keep working and try to find a routine for studying, keep at it.  After a long time working like this I am now getting pictures into Art Societies in London (The Chelsea Art Society and the The Mall Galleries- RBA, NEAC and Pastel Society) selling them and even winning prizes. I’ve joined Plein Air groups in London and Surrey (which are free) met and made new friends and am part of a community of like-minded artists which is important to me and makes me happy.
Georgie Rey
https://www.artmajeur.com/georgina-rey

The VAA course is built on four main building blocks including PROCESS, REALISM, MUSIC AND POETRY. These are further divided into topics that are continuously developed throughout the curriculum. Drawing, Form, Observation, Colour, Brushwork, Notan, Composition and Poetry are all thoroughly taught. Working on-line we meet students from all around the world, interacting with them regularly in a process we call the ‘Ladder of Learning’. We help each other regularly as we proceed and this adds to the overall positive experience of this awesome course.

I joined 2 years ago with my daughter. We have both learnt so much and have enjoyed our VAA time together. My daughter is now 13 and already produces amazing paintings.
The Virtual Art Academy is simply the most comprehensive art instruction I could find anywhere online, and trust me, I had been looking for a long time.
Even art schools and academies I’ve been exposed to are nowhere near as thorough, VAA is just amazing!
Most paintings I see where the artist clearly has some skill still lack in either the values or notan department, or fall down on composition – it’s baffling that VAA seems to be the only program that goes into detail on this. Therefore, if you are new to painting or an experienced artist, studying with VAA will get you to that next step.
I also find that Barry is always interested in what we students do and is at hand with great advice. Worth every penny, Thank you Barry!!

This course was exactly what I’d been looking for as a recent “empty-nester.” The Virtual Art Academy coursework taught me not only HOW to paint well, but also how to SEE to observe a scene more closely to interpret it effectively in paint, and what to look for to create an interesting composition. It helped me recognize the difference between fine, well executed artwork and so-so efforts and how to strive for a professional level of excellence in my own work. I completed the course in less than four years but decided to continue with the program because of the ongoing encouragement and support I was able to both obtain and provide in the online student community, and to take advantage of the continual addition of new enrichment material being incorporated into the program. My first time through, I worked with watercolor and acrylics; the second time through, with oils. Approaches to all three mediums are discussed, but even more importantly, the program emphasizes application of artistic principles that apply to any medium. I highly recommend the Virtual Art Academy to anyone wishing to reach beyond what they may (or may not) have learned through the public school system or on their own. It “fills in the gaps.” The course is well designed for home study, so each student learns at his or her own pace and determines how much they participate in the online forum. At a very reasonable price, it’s perfect for people with full-time jobs, family demands, travel schedules, health issues, or (like me) retirees looking for a creative outlet … without going deeply into debt and utterly disrupting their already-full lives at a brick and mortar school. Because of VAA, I have learned more and have gone farther in art than I ever expected to. With VAA, the sky’s the limit.

The Virtual Art Academy program is really comprehensive and gave me all the information and directives to learn painting in one package. The material is very well organized, just beautiful to look at and motivating to carry through. The online campus is a wonderful place to meet other artists and receive critical feedback on my progress – a place to make and meet friends. I started with the program in June 2012, to learn oil painting from scratch. Just one year later my paintings have start to sell.

I am extremely impressed with the process that Barry has developed for VAA.  Learning to paint can be intimidating, but when broken into many small projects it is very do-able.  I just did my first live model painting session- a 5 hour, one day session.  Thanks to VAA, I was able to break the painting down into chunks- the notan; using triangulation to check drawing points; the colours- hues, saturation, values; focal point; how to mix and handle the palette.  I did not expect a masterpiece with this first session, but was pleased to get as far as I did.  I look forward to continuing with the program.  Thank you!

Although still a novice, the Virtual Art Academy has taught me the skills needed, not only to produce reasonably good art but has given me an understanding of the complexities of art. All the basics of art, as well as composition and studies of master artists are covered in the course. No reason not to improve exponentially on the VAA.

Before repurposing my vocation into avocation, I spent 20 years in the corporate world as an instructional designer and performance consultant creating training curricula for diverse clientele from NASA to General Motors. I know curriculum development and how to guide a learner from beginning to certification.
VAA is the only online learning program I have ever discovered using a training industry best practice of incorporating Knowledge and Skills to support learning a new activity. Every building block (Drawing, Form, Observation, Concept, Notan, Composition, Colour, Brushwork) incorporates a “spiral learning” approach where you are introduced to the Knowledge/Skill at one level and then reintroduced to it again elsewhere in the curriculum. Sure genius.
I’ve attended workshops, read books, and watched YouTube videos — and none of them provide the scaffolded approach to learning the VAA offers. If you are just starting your painting journey, start here. If you are a mid level or advanced painter, start here. There is a sense of community with artists around the globe. You are part of a peer to peer learning process bigger than yourself.
As a result of the VAA, I have been juried into several shows, am represented by a local gallery and have been selling my paintings on a consistent basis. VAA curriculum’s approach will grow your ‘artist’s brush’ and aid you in finding your artistic voice. As your basics improve, your art improves. Henry Hensche said, “There is study and there is performance, and we should not confuse the two, study is done for perceptual development, our performances show us where we are in that development, and we must have both…”. VAA curriculum offers both.
I went through the entire curriculum, did every every exercise, and today review my printed books/exercises on an annual basis to keep myself fresh and ready for my next painting adventure.
Onwards/Sideways,
Jay “jbird” Holobach
https://www.jayholobach.com/

I finished the VAA course a few years ago, but always refer to the notes, rereading the course many times. This is not a course the day you are finished, you are done. No, you keep practising the assignments getting better and better over time. When I look back at my work when I had just finished VAA, I can see that I have grown over the years as well. I will always be grateful to Barry John Raybould for taking the time and sharing his knowledge with us. You don’t need to buy expensive art books to help you with your paintings. Just do the VAA four year course. I still refer to it. The course is most informative and you will never regret doing the course. I certainly am glad I did.

My painting “Primitive Pots” recently won the award given by the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour at the recent selected exhibition of the Society of East Anglian watercolourists.
I have been working through the VAA course for over five years and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their painting. There is a huge amount of information on the site and it is well presented and regularly updated and added to. When other members have commented on work I have posted I have found it really useful. When I review my work over the time since I started the programme I can see improvements in my composition and use of colour.
 

The course is working great, the lessons are set out so well that every week I can see growth. In following the program it’s given me direction, and the information in the lesson plans are of a professional level. There is no way I would have tracked down the information by myself, and being in a rural area the online campus provides enough interaction without being too much of a distraction. My hope for joining the Virtual Art Academy® was to gain proper art/painting instruction and I haven’t been disappointed. It has been so much more than I expected. The course has a steady learning curve that keeps revealing itself as you advance.

I wanted to get a comprehensive art education with the freedom to work at my own pace. I’m several years into the curriculum and I feel like my work has drastically improved. I’ve found holes in my knowledge that I didn’t know I had. Critiquing other students posts and reading their feedback to mine has helped me to improve.

Hi I’m Richard Robinson. I’ve been a professional painter since 2001. My claim to fame is only that I’m making a living as an artist and doing pretty well – something which I hear is not so easy to do, and I guess it does take a lot of work, but it’s work that I love doing.
In my opinion Barry has created the best online art training available. I found the Virtual Art Academy course of painting lessons many years ago and was so inspired by it that I contacted the author and got to know him personally.
Two Critical Keys
If you are looking (like I did) for the best painting course available there are two key things you should know about the Virtual Art Academy course which make it stand out above the other online painting courses available today:
1. It’s Comprehensive.
It covers ALL the key painting concepts and then goes further, revealing more and more painting insights. Most courses miss a LOT out – this one doesn’t.
2. It’s easy to understand.
All that information could easily become confusing, but each piece is laid out clearly and concisely using Information Mapping® making it a pleasure to learn.
If you can find another painting course which does these 2 things better, please let me know. As I said, I have been searching for many years and continue to do so, so you could save yourself a lot of precious time and money by joining the Virtual Art Academy today.

I have been a student of VAA since 2011. I had been searching for an online art program that could assist in helping me develop as an artist. VAA is a complete program for beginners as well as advanced students of art. The course is well structured and takes you step by step so you gradually learn and understand the nuances that are essential to develop as an artist. The online academy is highly helpful. The feedback that is given helps a lot in encouraging one’s artistic ambitions. I would recommend the VAA program to all who are interested in the intellectual as well as practical side of art. The analysis of Old Masters and contemporary artists work helps one to evaluate one’s own work and set goals. The breakdown of topics and assignments helps one to fully understand and assimilate the principles. The improvement in my own work has helped to reaffirm that I have found the right program to develop as an artist.

The questions you ask yourself are,”Will it be worth the cost?” and “Will it be truly useful?”. After a couple of weeks working on/in Virtual Art Academy®, I can say that the amount of work it represents – by Barry – is incredible! The information presented alone is more than worth the price and, yes, it is a real course that trains you in a structured way. It’s very well done!

I joined 5 years ago when I didn’t know anything about oils, painting, composition, or drawing. Barry’s way of teaching is extremely well versed in many aspects of painting. His building blocks of learning is the best I have seen. The academy is designed well and the community of fellow students is engaging and friendly. I highly recommend anyone at any level to join us. I have learned so much and have enjoyed my journey in painting.