Painting Lessons Reviews

The Virtual Instructor Review: Painting Lessons

We've analyzed the best Painting Lessons to help you find the right solution for your needs.

2026 Painting Lesson Reviews

Where is the Best Place to Take Painting Lessons?  Painting is a beautiful, creative, artistic outlet. It gives you the ability to see a stunning nature scene and recreate it, use your own style to capture a moment in time, or pour your emotions into a project and make a visual representation of what is inside of you. It's one of the most calming and soothing hobbies you can take part in, leaving your mind and body grounded.

5.0

EXCELLENT

1

Best Option

  • $13.30/month or $67.90/year
  • Learn to draw or paint
  • Beginner and intermediate/advanced material
  • Video and ebook lessons
  • 7-day free trial
  • 30-day money back guarantee
  • Useful blog posts
  • Fantastic student reviews

EXCELLENT

5.0

On the The Virtual Instructor website

The Virtual Instructor is a course put together by artist Matt Fussell. He is a world renowned visual arts instructor who loved teaching and took to the internet to increase his reach to more students. The Virtual Instructor was created in 2009 and over 23,000 people have been a part of the membership program so far. Students can explore both drawing and painting through The Virtual Instructor and find beginner or intermediate/advanced materials to match their skill level.

Narrow by skill level

There is a variety of watercolor, oil, pastel, and acrylic painting courses from The Virtual Instructor. You can browse through the courses to see which one looks most interesting to you or use the filter features on the site to narrow down your best options. You can filter courses by drawing, painting, digital, beginner, or intermediate/advanced. The names of some of the painting courses include "Line and Wash", "The Watercolor Workshop", "The Oil Pastel Course", "Jungle Path with Acrylics", or "Oil Painting Master Series" among others.

Ebooks with each module

When you click on a course you're interested in, you'll be shown how many lessons are included and be able to review the course curriculum topics, read highlights of what you'll learn, and view snapshots of the ebook it comes with. The Virtual Instructor says that they've designed their course to accelerate learning by teaching in different styles. Each course module includes an ebook with clearly defined steps and illustrations with corresponding videos.

Best Painting Lessons

Buy a course or subscribe to all

The painting course lengths range from 1.5 hours with 7 lessons to 4.5 hours with 22 lessons. You can buy a course outright for $12 - $37 depending on how much material is included or have access to all the courses with your membership.

Monthly or yearly membership

At the time of this review, The Virtual Instructor had a banner on their website offering 20% off of any course with a provided discount code. The cost for a membership where you get access to everything on The Virtual Instructor site is $13.30/month or $67.90/year. Besides the courses we explored and the virtual ebooks they include, members also can join weekly live lessons where they can get real-time instruction and ask questions. These are saved for later streaming and you'll find over 490 of them online.

Free trial and money-back guarantee

If you're hesitant about signing up for The Virtual Instructor, you'll be pleased to hear that they offer a free 7-day trial. It includes access to everything on the site, and once the trial is up you'll automatically be billed for the plan you sign up for. Even after you've signed up and your plan has gone into effect, you are still eligible for The Virtual Instructor's 30-day money back guarantee. If you aren't completely happy with your subscription during this time, you can reach out to the company and get a full refund.

Best Painting Lessons

Explore free blog posts

On top of the courses from The Virtual Instructor, they have a fun and useful blog with articles about drawing specific things, the best erasers for sketch artists, the differences between pastels, tips and tricks for storing and protecting art, and instructions on how to paint a variety of objects and animals. This is free information that is worth exploring when you have some extra time on your hands.

Worth the money

Like many other painting courses, The Virtual Instructor has student testimonials on their website that sing their praises. Outside of this, we found that most everyone felt the course was well worth their money. People feel like no matter what you want to learn about, you'll find a video that covers it here. There are thousands of followers on The Virtual Instructor's social media sites and students are impressed with what they're offered through the courses. There is no Better Business Bureau rating for The Virtual Instructor, but that's not especially uncommon with small businesses like this.

Affordable and low risk

We really like that students have the option to purchase a single course outright with lifetime access or get a broad array of material with a subscription. Whichever route you choose, you won't be overspending here. You're getting a lot of bang for your buck, especially considering the free trial and 30-day money back guarantee. The Virtual Instructor offers a comprehensive learning experience and is a really safe bet for painting lessons. This is our favorite option among online painting lessons and has earned our highest rating.

On the The Virtual Instructor website

Continued from above...

Where is the Best Place to Take Painting Lessons?

Painting is a beautiful, creative, artistic outlet. It gives you the ability to see a stunning nature scene and recreate it, use your own style to capture a moment in time, or pour your emotions into a project and make a visual representation of what is inside of you. It's one of the most calming and soothing hobbies you can take part in, leaving your mind and body grounded.

Finding someone who teaches painting in-person is much harder than finding a piano teacher or a dance class, so quite a few companies have created online programs for you to do from home. It's significantly less expensive than in-person lessons would be and you can go at your own pace, pause, or rewind different sections to hone in on a technique you're struggling with. You can do a few minutes at a time or spend hours on a masterpiece - it's up to you.

Painting is great for people of any age to take part in. Whether you've got a finger-painting toddler or you're a retired professional exploring new hobbies, painting suits everyone. If you're like most of us, the majority of your artistic "training" and painting experience came through the classes you took in school while you were growing up.

Some of these may have even been mandatory, so you might not have appreciated them at the time. Unless you took extra painting credits, dove deep into all the episodes of Bob Ross you could get your hands on, or found a private studio that teaches classes, you may have hit a dead end in your training and are wondering what your options are.

Online painting lessons are as convenient as it gets. The class you choose can reflect the style you're interested in learning. If you're wanting to learn to draw people rather than nature scenes, you could find a class for this. Maybe you're interested in acrylics, watercolor, or oils specifically. There's a class for that too. With our help here, you'll be able to match yourself to online painting lessons that fit your experience level within just minutes. Before getting started, you'll likely be given a list of materials you need so that you can get your own in-home studio set up and ready to go.

We've done a lot of the important research regarding some of the best online painting classes available to you and recommend keeping the following things in mind when you're looking around:

The experts at Top Consumer Reviews have researched the most popular online painting lessons available to you. We hope this information helps you find a company that accelerates your painting skills and gives you a relaxing, enjoyable experience!

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Painting Lesson FAQ

What will I get in an online painting class?
When you sign up for an online painting class, you'll usually receive downloadable videos that have a series of lessons to watch. You'll get step-by-step guidance from a master painter. Depending on the type of painting you're interested in learning, you'll be instructed in all the techniques that you'll need to know to improve your painting skills. Some classes also offer an eBook with helpful tips you can always refer to, as well as the option to submit your artwork for critique.
How do I take painting lessons online?
Taking painting lessons online is just like being in-person, except you can pause, play, and rewatch anything you're learning. You'll have your own papers, brushes, and paints at home to work with and you'll follow along with what you see in the class to create your own artwork. The idea is that you can create your own masterpieces from home on your own time and not have to find a local studio to go to.
What devices can I use to view my painting lessons?
Most classes have downloadable videos that can be viewed from nearly any electronic device. If you're using a smartphone, iPad, tablet, or computer, you should have no problem viewing your painting lessons. Some older courses have you buy DVDs that ship to your home, so you might watch those on your laptop or TV. In short, you can plan on being able to access your painting class from anywhere at any time since they are more accessible than ever now!
What mediums are taught in an online paint class?
Any and all! You could select a paint class that specifically teaches a paint medium you're interested in like acrylics or watercolor. The other option would be to find a class that touches on a little bit of everything so you can dip your toes in the water and decide what you like best. Online learning is so popular now that you can find painting lessons that cover all mediums, topics, and techniques with just a few clicks.
Are online painting lessons expensive?
Compared to the cost of doing in-person painting classes, online courses are fairly inexpensive. Not only are you avoiding driving to an art studio at scheduled times during the week, you also can spend as long as you want learning from your online class without worrying about the cost. Some companies offer online courses on a subscription basis and you pay month-to-month, or you can purchase the class outright and have it forever.
What if I need one-on-one help in my online painting class?
If you have a question about the class itself, you should always be able to reach out to customer service and get answers that way. If you're wanting help with your painting, we suggest choosing a course that offers live Q&A sessions, the chance to submit your artwork for critique, or video chatting with an instructor. Although online painting courses are done remotely, there are still many ways you can connect with other students and teachers as you learn.
Do I have to finish my online painting class within a certain timeframe?
The beauty of an online painting class is that you can start, stop, and rewatch any parts of the lesson. You don't have to "keep up" like you would in a face-to-face class. You can master techniques by watching them over and over again and take as long as you want to finish the whole lesson. Online paint classes are 100% flexible and can be done around your schedule.
Do online painting classes have a 100% satisfaction guarantee?
Not all online painting platforms allow you to get your money back if you're unsatisfied. If you're unsure if a painting course is right for you, it would be wise to choose one that offers a trial period or money-back guarantee if the class isn't as you'd hoped. Companies want customers to be happy with what they're offering, so if you don't want to use your painting class anymore, you'll likely be able to cancel your subscription or get a refund within the first few weeks.

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