Steve Bretel Creative Arts

Each course is carefully structured. It’s my job to give you confidence, so by following every lesson from start to finish, your creative ability will develop naturally. It’s all about finding out about what interests you, and not putting yourself under pressure by trying to work in a particular style, or making comparisons with other artists, especially if you're just starting out.

I'm a qualified and experienced professional artist, and I have a passion for teaching creative arts, which I’ve done for over 25 years. I really want to help you learn, so you’re able to share in the enjoyment of drawing and painting.

One of the main advantages is that you can ask me questions directly at any time, and benefit from being part of a community of like minded people, that gives you more rounded support for your learning. I provide associated resources such as ebooks and pdfs which enable you to benefit from a much more comprehensive base of knowledge, which you can refer back to over time. Also, though this is not academic study, you can still obtain a certificate of completion, which shows that you are able to apply yourself consistently, something which is valued by potential employers. I do also have videos on You Tube!

The most important thing is to try and study regularly, but this doesn’t need to be large chunks of time - little and often will still work, if that’s all you can manage. You may be working long hours, between doing the school runs, looking after kids, caring for someone - life can just sometimes get in the way! I give advice about how to prepare yourself, so that even 15 minutes a day will really help you achieve your goals.

Less materials are needed for watercolour compared to painting with oils or acrylic, for example, and a lot depends on what you’d eventually like to do. The Primary Simplicity course uses just three colours and one brush, the biggest expense being good quality paper (see the materials list), and it’s likely that you already have many of the other things - like kitchen roll and a pencil - around your house already. Much of my work uses only two brushes, seven colours and paper, so watercolour painting should be accessible to almost everyone. It’s only at the point you might feel you need more materials to achieve different things, that you will end up spending more. There are so many ways you might choose of using this wonderful medium. If your preferred method is using a small pocket box with just a few colours in pans, and your paintings are small, then your materials could last for many months. If you find you like to make big, expressive brushstrokes with lots of paint at a large size then of course, that will also scale up the cost. You also have a choice between ‘student grade’ paints (a good brand is certainly not substandard, and often still the choice of some professionals), or to opt for ‘artist grade’ paints. All this is covered in the course. I take you through lots of options in detail - and you can always ask me for advice.

In the Primary Simplicity course, there’s some basic, simple outline drawing involved, but don’t worry, this isn’t a drawing course. Sometimes people underestimate they skills they already have. If you’re capable of using a pen to write your signature, or even doodled while on the phone, you’ll have the skill level needed to follow along with the lessons. I also include tracedown sheets of all the references used in the course, and show you how to use them if you’re not confident.

What will really help is to have somewhere you can store your materials and paintings together in the same place, that you can access easily for each period of study. You don’t need to have everything set up in a studio or spare room, although that would be great if you’re lucky enough to have that. We aren’t all able to have our things out and ready, so I show you how to make a ‘pop up studio’! OK, it’s essentially a modified box to keep your things in, but it also doubles up as a small table top easel, and really works, if you’re short on space.

If you’re used to following along with videos online, you’ll know how easy it is to break things up into small chunks, so you don’t have to do each lesson from start to finish in one go. You’ll be wanting to move on to a proper course with support materials and exercises so you can develop quickly, and this is what I give you. As with everyone, I’d recommend watching the videos in this course in real time, and not to speed them up, as it’s possible to miss important details, such as the speed at which colour is applied as it affects how the paint is absorbed by the paper. Colleges and universities appreciate students who’ve gone the extra mile, and done some extra study before applying. And anyway, learning to paint will be fun!

Everyone would need to be individually enrolled, as this course doesn’t provide a group license - so yes, if everyone has paid the course fee. Courses take a lot of time, money and effort to plan and produce, as I'm sure you realise. This is the same as if everyone was attending an in person course. Families and groups studying art together is great, as you can compare your paintings, and keep yourselves motivated along the way.