Art School for
the Rest of Us
You don't have to attend an art school to
become an artist. Learn to make realistic
drawings and paintings, even if you're a beginner!
Limited Time Offer:
20% Off 1 Year of Video Art Classes
Make 2025 your year with beginner through advanced realistic drawing and painting classes! Gift option available.
Learn More!
Classes Open for Enrollment
Free Figure Drawing Challenge
Daily video lessons with reference photos included.
January 1st - 5th, 2025
Learn basic skills for working from photos or from life.
FREE!
Figure Drawing Academy: Foundations
Virtual Class
January 10th - February 14th 2025
Receive a video lesson each week: Reference photos, practice videos & feedback included!
6 Week Class
$165 Video Course
Classical Drawing
Virtual Class
January 13th - March 3rd, 2025
Receive a video lesson each week: Reference photos, practice videos & feedback included!
8 Week Class
$220 Video Course
IRL: Painting from Direct Observation
In-Studio Class
Saturdays 9:30am-12pm
January 11th - February 15th, 2025
6 Week Class
$350 In-Studio Includes all materials
Portrait Drawing in Graphite & Charcoal
Live Virtual Class
Saturdays 1-3pm Central Time
January 11th - February 15th, 2025
6 Week Class
$185 Virtual attendance
Advanced Painting Compositions
In-Studio & Live Virtual Class
Wednesdays 6-8:30pm CT
January 15th - March 5th, 2025
8 Week Class
$240 Virtual attendance
$475 In-studio includes materials
Figure Drawing in Charcoal
In-Studio Class
Saturdays 10am-12pm
March 1st - April 5th, 2025
6 Week Class
$375 In-studio includes all materials
Portrait Painting in Oil
Live Virtual Class
Saturdays 1-3:30pm CT
March 1st - April 5th, 2025
6 Week Class
$200 Virtual attendance
Foundations of Oil Painting:
In-Studio & Live Virtual Class
Wednesdays 6-8:30pm CT
March 26th - May 14th, 2025
8 Week Class
$240 Virtual attendance
$475 In-studio includes materials
Work smARTer when studying art at home with
On-Demand Video Classes!
Maintain consistent progress through free and affordable video courses created for your ability level!
No more plateaus or feeling aimless or stuck.
Find the course for your level and goal, with options for feedback and help from a professional artist.
See Video CoursesFREE Sketching Video Course
If you can't draw a stick figure, you need a little guidance for how to even get started drawing, and you have paper and a pencil, then you're ready to start the challenge! Get 5 free sketching lessons including reference photos.
Start Drawing!
Learn From a Professional Artist Who Didn't Go to Art School
When I was 15, I knew I wanted to be an artist.
At 16, I became a mother.
I wouldn't say that motherhood prevented me from going to art school, but it did force me to think critically about the decision. I graduated from high school with the rest of my class, and went on to get my Associates in Studio Art, graduating Summa Cum Laude.
However, I found that the instruction I found in college wasn't teaching me what I really wanted to know: How to paint and draw realistically. And being a mother meant my priorities dictated that I should not go into an incredible amount of debt to 'find myself' in a 4 year art school somewhere.
So instead, I dedicated every evening from 8pm until midnight to painting, seeking out feedback from artists I admired, and researching methods of art instruction from the French Academy to Golden Age Illustration. I created my own art education, and I can guide you through yours!
Check out Lacey Swift's art website.Be the first to know about new classes and freebies!
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