What a beautiful eagle, Estelle. Very unusual pose. 
HI, I am Yasmin. i live in California in the last 5 years. originally i am from Israel. 3 years ago i started to learn realistic drawing with a teacher and group near me , but when she close for the summer i was looking for online tutoring videos at Youtube and i found the virtual instructor. first i took one course and than another one and another one until last year i think i decided it is time to be a member! since than i created every morning with Matt with the recorded live videos. i love graphite and oil painting especially but i do not see Matt paint with oil paint too much 
every drawing i finished ,i post in my Instagram account
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Welcome, Yasmin. You mention your instagram account. Would you link to it so that we can see it?
sure it’s @yasminnoam
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Thanks! Very nifty. 
Hi everyone, I’m studying with Matt and I’m learning a lot. I’m interested in making art using the mediums
Graphite
Charcoal
Coloured pencils
Soft pastels & pastel pencils.
I used the older for a lot at some point then i wanted to concentrate more onmy art. I lost a year recently because of health concerns due to long term illness.
I do still want to learn more and I’m working on a few projects at the moment and also doing lessons.
I always love to see other people’s art and keeps me inspired in doing my art work.
Hope you are all well and I know there will be some brilliant artwork on these forums 
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Hello Matt and other members in this forum,
My name is Judy Steffey. I have been a member of the Virtual Instructor since August of 2014. I have enjoyed and have learned a lot from Matt. I started studying art after my retirement. I have to say that Matt saved me in 2014 from failing a course “Drawing 110” at the local community college. I got the top grade in the class by studying the information on Matt’s site along with the class at the college. I did not know the fundamentals of art at that time. I do now and have not stopped learning thanks to Matt. I am enjoying my retirement so much more thanks to you Matt and Art. The symbols are a bite confusing to me but I will learn them. Looking forward to participation and evaluation. My next goal is to learn how to post a photo of my self. I am a retired nurse of about 42+ years. And I do like Art of just about any medium.
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Hi, I’m Dee and am new to the Virtual Instructor. Am impressed with all the content and plan to have fun
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Hi, I’m Patricia Newman and most of my friends call me Pat, but I’ve chosen “P.A.” as my artist signature, because it recalls fond memories of my childhood since it became a nickname in my early youth as my older brother was unable to work out the many syllables of my long first name. Also, it’s easier to put on a work😬. I’ve been following Matt’s work for a few years and really appreciate his approach and find his philosophy inspiring . I have a BFA from the University of Texas at Arlington… a state school not an art institute… and was focused on film, photography, and print making although I did complete all the core art curriculum too. I went on to work in film for a short while, but finally succumbed to peer pressure promoting the belief that I would never make the life I wanted as an artist and got a corporate job in I.T. and an MBA in technology management. Now I’m about to retire and want to get back to art, so hear I am slowly overcoming the fears and lack of confidence from my past. I got nothing to lose now🤡
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Rats … I hate typos …”here” I am😁
Hello, Patricia. I’m glad you’re here. 
Thanks Ginny. I did some time in Ohio working for LexisNexis in Miamisburg. Owned a home in Springboro. What part of Ohio do you live in?
Mount Vernon. Central. A little northeast of Columbus.
Nice I bet it’s a pretty area.
Hello everyone; Im Tom Richmond ,i live in New Jersey and im 76. I haven’t been drawing long ,started after i retired and this is the start of my second year on this site. I enjoy graphite and think id like to start to add color pencil to my work. also im going to start learning watercolor.
The live lessons are my favorite ,even if its a medium i don’t do Matt gives us so much info including composition, value etc that every lesson is an opportunity to learn. I can already see that this forum is going to be a wonderful addition and another learning opportunity with friendly artists. So ,its back to drawing leaves on trees for now but ill keep checking in to say hello and ill post something that i’ve done in the last year soon. bye for now
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Hello P.A.
Sounds like you have had an interesting life. Art saved my retirement insanity 
and the VI. I loved my work. Retirement at first was difficult. Enthusiasm! Don’t loose the enthusiasm. The VI website can help with that.
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Hi Tom! Welcome aboard. Just like you, I signed up with VI about 2 years ago (when I retired). I am also what I would call a newbie and have followed a similar path to yours. I agree with you, this forum will be a great place to share and learn.
Hello Sterlingsiam, I’m brand new to all things art and am inspired by reading your post. I found VI a couple of months ago and already things are beginning to click.
OMG Ginny so funny - I want to own it & do it allllll too…only part is I forget I need to learn how to use the art supplies I buy!! 
Hello new friends, I’m happy to be here! Thank you, Matt, for creating this wonderful site and for sharing your gift of teaching with us.
I’m really new to trying to art, and am very eager to learn and improve although I admit it’s very slow going at the moment. I’m currently taking 25 days to better drawing.
I really want to learn to draw. I have this desire to draw what I call “old-timey scenes” from where I live (Northern Nevada), and I feel called by “urban sketching” tho I can’t perspective to save my life 
(yet!) And I am in love with watercolor.
I’m happy to see this forum and hope to continue connecting with you throughout our journey here.
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