Hello everyone! I’m a beginning artist who found the Virtual Instructor on YouTube. I noticed I kept finding Matt’s tutorials whenever I was looking for new art to try. I signed up for the VI program so I can develop as an artist. I enjoy watercolor painting the most. I started with watercolor, but am learning to draw with the 25 Days to Better Drawing. I have also enjoyed using oil pastels and colored pencils.
Kali Pelham
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Hi everyone ~ I’m Kat. I’ve spent most of my life with a camera in my hands, but since quarantine, my outings have been limited. I decided it would be nice to learn to draw (again), and to paint. My husband retired last year and took up acrylic painting, but I prefer the looseness of watercolor, so here I am! It’s nice to be able to use some of my landscape and nature photos as reference pictures.
I love the lessons, and the daily challenge. Thanks, Mat!
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Hello everyone!
My name is Margie, and I’m 45 years old. I’ve been drawing ever since I was a little girl. I would consider myself above average drawler with the potential to be much better. Aside from high school and some college classes, I’ve never had any formal training.
Some things I’d love to learn from this process are to be freer with art, not get so caught up into details. I tend to get mental blocks with creativity, and I had stopped drawing for years. I found myself getting frustrated with the minor details that i couldn’t seem to get exactly right, and I’d give up mid-drawling. I have countless unfinished drawlings. I’m sure this is a standard part of the process, but I just stopped enjoying art. I’m so excited about this class, and Matt is a great instructor. I’ve already learned so much about technique, and I’m excited to learn more. Thanks!
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Hello, my name is Patience and I just was introduced to here. I been trying to go back to the basic’s to help improve my own art. I am hoping to discover new technics. The photo is what I am currently working on. I am struggling with my moon as you can see in the photo. Once I am done I will upload to get everyone’s input. 
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Patience this is an AWESOME contour drawing! I sense great things about it. Enquiring minds want to know- what kind of artwork is this going to be?
a painting? colored pencil? graphite*?? so many good things could happen with this interesting and creative idea/outline.
*yeah, prolly not- thats Ink or my eyes are funny.
I encourage you to bust through that feeling Margie.
I’m nearly Exactly the same age and I feel funny after Every drawing; posting it to this site (and another).
if you can relate; I often feel like I’m a little kid hanging my garish drawings on the refridgerator (didn’t we ALL do that when we were small?).
but here is the truth as I understand it. the purpose of a draw is to express yourself and if you never finish that expression it feels hollow and pointless. (this is speaking for me)
I can show you MANY quote from many Incredible artists (including Matt!) that all stress the importance of producing art when your not skilled and there are many, many mistakes.
so feel free to post and finish your drawings.
Hi there. I agree, that feeling of hollowness is a real thing for me. And yes, I’m extremely hesitant to share my drawings with people. It’s something i’ve always held very close to my heart and i was and still am, very fearful of putting it out there. Not so much because of fear of what someone will say or think (although that is part of it), more because i feel vulnerable. Again, i have a lot to learn and when i was young i focused more on pencil drawing and sketching and a lot less on color, technique and mediums. I’m really looking forward to learning that here . Thanks for your feedback and response. I appreciate it!
My compliments and you are right: Matt is a wonderful instructor and will tell you: never give up. It is a wonderful hobby
Hi everyone,
This is the first time I e ever joined an art forum like this.
I started painting at a late age…after retirement. Found out I loved it! I started with drawing, then acrylic, the. Oil, back to acrylic. I have done some acrylic pouring with enhancements as well.
I hope to learn a lot from all of you and share some of my pieces for critique.
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Hi - I am really enjoying the colored pencil lessons. I tried to apply the principals taught in the lesson on drawing apples to these floats I found on the beach. Would greatly appreciate advice & assistance! Thank you.
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Also, meant to ask if the virtual instructor offers a course on botanical illustration. Thanks.
Hi - Loved your comment about your husband. (I am from SC). You have such great talent and I look forward to seeing more of your posts!
Hello from Canada! I used to draw back in high school but stopped for about 20 years (primarily due to depression.) I’m now doing better and have rekindled my love for art. I’m an architectural technologist by trade, so I have lots of experience “drawing”, but in a technical nature. I’m looking forward to taking many of the courses (I’ve already completed a number of the drawing courses) and sharing my work with you. I’m inspired by the great work you’ve all posted and enjoy seeing work at all stages of the journey.
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Hello All! I’ve been a member since 2018 but that was right before I jumped back into school. I work full time (even now) and attend class online but with the condition be what it is in the world, I now have some time to devote to my art. So, here I am and I’m so excited. I really hope to make some strides in building my skills. I have some but what I’ve learned has been in bits and pieces. I wanted some comprehensive knowledge and I believe I can find that here. I’m looking forward to seeing your work and participating as well.
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Welcome, I wish you the same positive experience that I experienced since I joined in June. Enjoy!
Hello there everyone. I have been working with colored pencil for about 6 months now and am truly hooked. When I started using colored pencil I had no idea on how to effectively use the medium and thought it was used as you would draw with graphite pencils. I thought my drawings were really good until I discovered “the virtual instructor”. My drawings really changed after hanging out using Matt’s drawing courses and colored pencil courses. My colored pencil drawings are much more vivid and detailed. I am hoping to learn more techniques in colored pencil and to continue to draw using this medium.
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Excellent piece! Thanks for sharing.
Jack
Thanks! I can’t figure out how to upload a photo of my work, though.
Hi! Welcome aboard. If you look at my response of April 6th to Headhound (In the Introduce Yourself Here! section, you will find the information on how to upload your photos. Remember to keep the file smaller. I think that there may be some information to that effect somewhere.
Patricia a.k.a. Sterlingsiam. 
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I’m a bit computer-challenged. How would I get back to your post to Headhound?