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The April 2021 FASO competition was judged by Dan Gerhartz, and Thomas’s painting was chosen from over 3,000 entries.
It’s always nice when a graduate of the Virtual Art Academy has a major success. So our heartfelt congratulations to Thomas Ruckstuhl for getting a well-deserved 2nd Place in the BoldBrush Painting Competition, for “Back Home”. Read on to get the story of how he got to this stage from being a complete beginner in oil painting just a few years before, to becoming a professional award-winning painter.
The Background
Thomas’s career was originally as a Professor of Optical Physics at a University in Germany, and a few years ago started oil painting from scratch with the Virtual Art Academy. He never had a live teacher, but instead learned completely online by going systematically through the Virtual Art Academy four-year Apprentice Program curriculum. After just a few years he turned professional painter with his first exhibition, and is now doing going from strength to strength in his paintings.
How he did it
The secret to Thomas’s success is quite simple. He worked hard at acquiring key skills that are critical to great paintings. I remember him doing study after study to master color pair relationships, eventually becoming quite a master at it. He worked systematically through the extensive learning assignments in the Apprentice Program to master the key principles of painting and built up his skills one-by-one.
One of of the problems with a lot of painting instruction is that it relies too much on watching videos, or reading. Those are useful, it is true, but you don’t actually learn much that way. Read this article I wrote on the fundamental problems with art video instruction to learn the underlying reasons why.
The secret to learning is in directed, and focussed, skill based assignments.
It’s not a quick path to success and it will take quite a bit of work―at least a couple of years. You will steadily improve bit by bit. But it will ultimately lead to success.
Other approaches might be fun, but your paintings won’t get much better and you will start to get frustrated with your progress―and you can waste a lot of money in the process by not having a structured approach to your learning.
There is no silver bullet to becoming a good painter, I’m sorry. But there is a way you can achieve success. Thomas has proved that.
Well done Thomas!
Barry
P.S. Here is Thomas Ruckstuhl’s website and story
… and some of his wonderful art work
Invest in his work now before he gets too famous!
P.P.S. Read about another Virtual Art Academy student, Meng Qing Sheng, who has had recent major success with a national exhibition in China.
I started learning oil painting with VAA from scratch. Just one year later my paintings started to sell
Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope you find it useful. If you would like to get free painting tips by email, please sign up for my free tips newsletter.
If you are interested in a structured approach for learning how to paint, take a look at my online painting classes.
Happy painting!
Barry John Raybould
Virtual Art Academy
What The Students Are Saying
Barry gave me a fishing rod so I can catch my own fish
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… Read more “Barry gave me a fishing rod so I can catch my own fish”
The equivalent of a 4 year art education at a fraction of the cost
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… Read more “The equivalent of a 4 year art education at a fraction of the cost”
It is a real course that trains you in a structured way
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‘Ladder of Learning’ adds to overall positive experience of this awesome course
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The most comprehensive, in depth and well-organized painting course available online
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… Read more “The most comprehensive, in depth and well-organized painting course available online”
Only online learning program I have ever discovered using a training industry best practice
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… Read more “Only online learning program I have ever discovered using a training industry best practice”
The most comprehensive art instruction I could find anywhere online, and trust me, I had been looking for a long time.
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… Read more “The most comprehensive art instruction I could find anywhere online, and trust me, I had been looking for a long time.”
No need to buy expensive art books…. Just do the VAA 4 year course. I still refer to it
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… Read more “No need to buy expensive art books…. Just do the VAA 4 year course. I still refer to it”
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