Happy new year to all my students and wishing you a wonderful 2023 of art!
2022 has been a very busy year! I finally finished a multi-year project to build a brand new online art school to replace my old school (see the video below), and have been exploring lots of new and exciting ideas in painting. I painted in Ireland, a brand new landscape for me, and had a great time meeting our Irish artist friends at the Art in the Open event, including some of my Virtual Art Academy students. And then back to Montenegro to capture some more of its awe inspiring scenery.
Plein Air Painting In Ireland
Below are a few pieces of artwork I did in Ireland.
After this experience, I admire the plein air painters in Ireland. The winds are ferocious! The one advantage though is that it is a good solution to overworking your painting.
When you have to constantly hold your easel with one hand, you only have time for a few brushstrokes, before you have to get back to holding your easel to stop it from blowing over!
You can see above from the video above showing my palette and brushes scattered on the pavement that that I failed the test!
The Ring of Kerry was as beautiful as its excellent reputation. In the course of painting this piece, I packed my painting gear and painting away three times to protect it from the frequent rain showers!
Plein Air Painting In Montenegro
I continued my exploration of landscape painting in Montenegro this year, and did something quite abstract here on its Adriatic coast, which is an incredible place to paint.
In the piece below, I am using a combination of watercolor and oil painting techniques.
Here is some of the scenery on the coast of Montenegro to whet your appetite. I look forward to doing workshops there!
I love taking pictures of my palette after a painting, trying to find abstract painting compositions.
I also like transforming a sleepy Montenegrin mountain village ….
into this ……
The tug boats in the port of Bar, on the coast of Montenegro provided some interesting subject matter.
Plein Air Painting In Italy
And finally a piece I did during my workshop this year in northern Tuscany, Italy, of the village of Licciana Nardi, just below my studio.
New Online Art School
This year I put a lot of work into making improvements to my Virtual Art Academy online art school. Effectively, it has been completely re-built for 2023. So far the reception to the new school has been fantastic.
I restructured the assignments and feedback system to improve the quality of feedback you get on your assignments, and built a new path through the Apprentice Program curriculum for those of you who only have limited time for your art. The new curriculum path teaches you about painting by leading you one-by-one through all the key principles and secrets the masters used to make their paintings truly great. The new curriculum takes only takes about 15 minutes a week.
If you want to see how my new online art school works and a preview of these new features, watch the video below:
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
Since I started the programme I can see improvements in my composition and use of colour
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… Read more “Since I started the programme I can see improvements in my composition and use of colour”
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 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… Read more “No need to buy expensive art books…. Just do the VAA 4 year course. I still refer to it”
The course has a steady learning curve that keeps revealing itself as you advance
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… Read more “The course has a steady learning curve that keeps revealing itself as you advance”
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 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… Read more “Barry gave me a fishing rod so I can catch my own fish”
The improvement in my own work reaffirms that I’ve found the right program to develop as an artist
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… Read more “The improvement in my own work reaffirms that I’ve found the right program to develop as an artist”
It is a real course that trains you in a structured way
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,… Read more “It is a real course that trains you in a structured way”
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 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… Read more “The most comprehensive art instruction I could find anywhere online, and trust me, I had been looking for a long time.”
The small steps are easy to do
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… Read more “The small steps are easy to do”
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 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.… Read more “The equivalent of a 4 year art education at a fraction of the cost”
Read my tips about plein air painting.
Beautiful paintings in so many parts of the world, Barry! Hope you can come to Hawaii one day and I will show you some beautiful places to paint here!
I see painting in both oils snd watercolor mentioned in the introductory video . Will these classes provide the same instruction to painters using acrylics
Yes Nancy, acrylics and oils are both covered in the online painting classes. In fact, the Apprentice Program was written for all painting media, including pastels and digital painting media as well as oils, acrylics and watercolors.