Saturday, March 16, 2013

My first online Art Course about to go LIVE!

For about the past six weeks I've been working away on a new painting.
What's so remarkable about that you ask?
Well, for the first time ever I've been chronicling every step of the way with HD video with the intention of creating my first ever online Art Instruction Course through the world-famous Udemy.com, one of the most respected and successful online Academies of Learning in business today.
I got an email from one of their administrators recruiting me in early December 2012.
After the extreme learning curve that I have surmounted since then it seems like that was a life-time ago.
First thing I needed to get started was a high-definition video camera, because at Udemy they take the online learning experience very seriously.
After a bit of comparison shopping, I settled on a Panasonic Lumix model camera, based on the advice from a friend in the biz.
Between the camera and Corel Video Studio Pro X6, I have managed to pull all the moving parts together into a semblance of order.
The first trial by fire was the creation of an 'Intro Video' that promotes the course...oh yeah, called "The Art of Acrylic Glazing". 
Here's what I came up with:


The painting I referred to is finished and so is my first series of 12 demonstration videos that make up the 'Art of Acrylic Glazing' course.
It was really interesting to put that much thought and energy into not only trying to clearly explain the technical aspects of glazing, but also all of the technical considerations of creating a legible video document of the process as I went. It was quite the balancing act!

At first I must admit, I was a bit overwhelmed by it all. 

But as time went on and I got deeper into the process I started to find my groove.

It was a big help to be on the receiving end of all of the generosity of time and expertise that was offered by the staff at Udemy.com during those early moments of sheer panic. They have likely heard it all before and lots besides from their rookie instructors.

The pain was kept to a minimum thanks to the studio that they've set up on Facebook where instructors are invited to field any questions and anxieties they might have when starting up. That has been a huge help!

I'll be writing more as this thing gets hatched aka goes live in the next little while. 
I think it has a lot of potential to do well.

While I'm here I may as well show you the 'demo' painting that I decided to create for my first course.
I love the great out-doors and our yard with the flower gardens, so I decided to tackle a painting of 'Tiger Lilies' that grow every summer just outside our big picture window.

This painting was created in 12 organized steps for the 'Art of Acrylic Glazing' course.

Once I get my 'Art of Acrylic Glazing' course authorized by the administration of Udemy.com it goes LIVE. 

The plan is to roll out a series of demonstrations that offer a variety of genres for you to choose from as your introduction to the glazing technique: landscape, still-life, floral, portrait, etc. I've found that this 'technique' lends itself perfectly to the whole spectrum of genres, even large mural-painting.

As a little bonus (and to experiment with my new toys) I built this 1 minute video for you:




And try this next one on for size while you're here...12 steps from a blank canvas through to a finished piece in just 48 seconds. But who's counting?

This is me experimenting with some new toys.



So long for now, thanks for all your support!


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