Fine Art Instruction at Home

Creating a Masterpiece is a wonderful tool for all families! The instruction by Sharon Hofer is done in such a way that students from 4 to 94 can understand and imitate to create something beautiful. They are very affordable at only $35 per DVD and discounts for buying entire levels together and can be used multiple times by multiple family members.  The DVD we were given to review is Caribbean Lighthouse, a lesson in acrylic painting.

Below you can see several photos of the process. Mr. T really enjoyed using real paint and brushes. Sharon recommends good quality materials even for the youngest students.  (I admit to having to take a very deep breath before buying real acrylic and brushes for Mr. T. It is an investment and I know how rough he can be with art supplies, but I didn’t want him to become frustrated with his results because I didn’t give him the proper tools!) If the thought of trying to find the right supplies at your local art supply store give you a case of the vapors, don’t worry! There is a link to Blick Art Supply where you can just add a pre-filled cart with materials for the whole series or for individual projects! Easy-peasy!

The DVD does move rather quickly so we learned about half way through the first lesson that we needed to pause the DVD or keep replaying the section Mr. T was currently working on to prevent him from becoming frustrated and yelling “wait, wait!” at the screen. It is much easier to do that with a DVD than in a live art class! The process is explained step by step. Each lesson breaks down a single part of the painting (or other project) so it is not overwhelming. This DVD had 4 lessons. For the younger artist, I would recommend 1 lesson a week. It keeps them from getting tired and sloppy in their work.

 

From the top right you can see our set up. While I enjoy painting standing, it is easier for Mr. T to concentrate on instructions while he is sitting, so that’s how we set it up. I purchased a palette that was small enough for Mr. T to use for mixing and he thought that was the coolest thing ever! He became more comfortable handling the brush as the lessons progressed. This was a huge accomplishment since the Apraxia has caused some fine motor delays. 

He watched Sharon closely, especially when she demonstrated ways to hold the brush or your hand when painting details. I was very impressed with how engaging she was, even over the computer screen with a DVD. It makes the streaming classes that Creating a Masterpiece will be offering soon even more exciting! Sign up for an account to receive the newsletter and new offerings from Creating a Masterpiece!

Here is a short video with snippets from different lessons and an interview with the artist.

 

 

During the Artist Interview, you can see that the painting is hanging in our home. Mr. T picked out the spot. The beauty of Creating a Masterpiece is that your child is given the tools to create more than just “refrigerator art”. Your child gets to create a keepsake piece of art and gets a wonderful sense of accomplishment for doing something they did not know they could do!

We were extremely impressed by the ease and fun of Creating a Masterpiece! The simplicity of the explanations and the way it inspires creativity is exactly the kind of fine art education we strive for in our homeschool. We will be adding at least one new DVD project each semester to explore different media and will incorporate it into our Artist Study. I highly recommend adding these wonderful masterpiece lessons to your home. All children from grade school through the University of Mom, home or public or private school, artistically inclined or not will benefit from the joy of creating something beautiful.

About Creating a Masterpiece

We are offering you dynamic art instruction. What makes our video instruction different from others is that Sharon is an artist herself, and she teaches in such a way, that when your student is done with the video and art project, they will have truly made a masterpiece all their own! This is artwork that they can be proud of, and it can easily grace the walls in your home for years to come!

Listed below is a list of art media instruction we offer at this time on DVD to our customers. More media will be added each year, such as Batik, Copper Tooling, Printmaking, Watercolor Pencils, Silk Painting, Oil Painting, Scratch Art, Gourd Art, Woodburning, Oil Painting, etc.

• Charcoal Drawing
• Sculpture
• Pencil Drawing
• Watercolor Painting
• Acrylic Painting
• Pastel Painting
• Ink

 You can find Creating a Masterpiece on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

*We were given a copy of Creating a Masterpiece: Caribbean Lighthouse DVD for review purposes. No other compensation was received. The opinions and examples are my own. Thank you for stopping by!*