Here’s what students had to say
about the Mastering Composition Drawing Course
“Most tutorials only want to make the student dependent on doing more tutorials. Ian is the only artist I’ve met who wants you to become an independent artist. It’s a rare gift to be given.”
Carol Cox
“There are many fine artists out there but very few of them are as gifted at communicating as Ian. This course on the fundamentals of painting has expanded my insight into the areas of painting that have confounded and eluded me for so long.”
Mindy Ando
“This course is not just about composing a painting. It’s a conduit to becoming an artist. We had to work hard but results were noticed immediately by my artist friends. The course is masterfully constructed.”
Julie Knapp
“You had promised at the beginning of the course that we would never see the same way again… Never a truer word spoken!”
Penelope Preen
“This is the best investment I have made in my life. The return on investment was huge. My whole life I had muddled through but this was astonishing for the insights it gave me into the building blocks of creative success. I learned more from Ian in one year than in five decades of self-study, reading books and experimentation.”
Peter McLaughlin
“I’m so grateful to Ian for his inspirational teaching. I can’t believe that an oil painter improved my watercolor paintings more than any other artist. I had mistakenly focused on obtaining technical skills until I hit the brick wall of not being able to do an original painting. Ian helped me leap that wall, for which I will be eternally grateful. It has given my life new meaning, literally.”
Carol Cox
“I had no idea when I signed up for these courses that it would be the best investment I could ever make in my artistic journey. I had no idea I would learn so much. This has been a hugely inspiring and life-changing experience for me. I will be forever grateful that I signed up.”
Amy Warren
“Your life as an artist will change and you will have new eyes to see.”
Beth Berman
“The Mastering Composition series is by far the most worthwhile art instruction I have ever received. Ian takes what can seem overwhelmingly complex and breaks it down into easily digested steps that build upon each other. It is a different way of thinking and seeing that I found evolved without my consciously thinking about it.”
Karen Gronnvoll
“If you’re looking for a class that will finally get you started, have some actual drawings and paintings that you can put up on your walls, see your progress grow, take this class. It is a life changing learning experience.”
Connie Young
“I had misgivings about spending money for an online course, but Mastering Composition turned out to be a lot of bang for the buck. Ian Roberts has a gift for inspiring his students to go to the next level.”
Judy McCall
“Ian Roberts courses are one of the most thorough, intense, well structured, well planned, challenging, and supportive courses of study I have taken. I feel qualified to say that as I have earned a BFA from an art college.”
William Daly
“I have taken several dozen art classes in person and online. Ian’s courses are in a league of their own. It’s a combination that virtually guarantees visible improvement in every student’s work.”
Toby A Smith
“This was the best workshop I’ve ever taken.”
Jeanne Williams
“Don’t miss this fabulous opportunity to learn from this excellent teacher!”
Ria Bruns
“I learned more from these courses than any I have taken since I retired 13 years ago (and that includes 8 college level courses, 5 years of small group lessons in pastel, oil, portrait painting; and numerous online courses and in-person workshops). These courses made painting fun for me again! I feel I’m out of the rut I was in. This was the best, most instructive set of classes I have ever taken. It was a fantastic journey!”
Dianne Liepa
“This is the best money you’re ever going to spend on improving your work as an artist whether you are amateur or professional. It is more than just instructional videos. It is a life transforming experience. The best part is that you can watch can actually see the improvement of your work as you go through the course.”
Paul Pryor
“My observations are that I’m loving this so much, all I want to do is draw! Housework and the day job, be damned. :)”
Donna Stevens
“You’ve got me interested and excited about painting again! I’m learning to ‘see’ in a different way”
Diana McLaughlin
“This course is so much more than I ever could have imagined! So well-thought out and thorough.”
Louise DeMore
“I’m a bit in awe at how well you have crafted these lessons. I am simply blown away by care that has gone into creating this drawing class. I can feel my own skills grow not just week to week, but exercise to exercise. I feel I am not only drawing better than I ever have before, but I feel I am SEEING the world with fresh eyes! Ian has provided a roap map for success, but more than that, I find myself spending relaxing, meditative and satisfying time crafting images that are transforming how I approach my photography as well as my painting. Thanks for a truly fabulous experience! I can’t say strongly enough how much I have valued and enjoyed this class!”
Donna Stevens
“I have taken a lot of courses and nothing has served me better and made more sense than yours. I never liked to draw before but now I find I am thinking and doing drawings all the time. I would recommend this course to anyone.”
Charlene Jamison
“I wish I would have had this years ago.”
Judy Wegenast
“I’m really seeing a change in my painting. How all the parts are fitting together. I’m really excited about that. This has been so worthwhile.”
Vicki Robinson
“This course has transformed my painting process. I get to the end stage of the 16 x 20s I’m doing in five or less days of short sessions instead of fiddling for a month, no kidding.”
Molly Siple
“I’ve been consciously doing art of one sort or another for 4 1/2 decades now, and this is the most multi-layered (meaningful on both nuts-and-bolts and deep issues), wide-open and enjoyable art community I’ve been part of. You have quite a creation here…”
Tracy Paz
“In all the workshops I have attended and the books I have read on painting,I have never encountered someone who can demo a concept in such a brief and clear way as you.”
Elizabeth Gorley
“Amazing! That’s all I can say. I’ve watched hundreds of hours of art instruction, from dozens of artist on the web but no one has ever really gotten to the core fundamentals of what makes a good painting. It’s like you’re pulling back the curtains and revealing what’s underneath – a hidden world. I’ve been painting for a few years now and sometimes compositions work and sometimes they don’t. I’m starting to understand why. And I’m also beginning, for the first time, to really appreciate what makes good art. I thank you for that.”
Trevor Sooley
“I wanted you to know that this class has helped me more than any other class I have ever taken! I’m definitely going to sign up for painting classes.”
Mary Anne Lewis
“It’s been a revelation (as you said it would be) to see the progression of my work. I’m seeing with new eyes.”
Hollis Shore
“I must say I knew from watching all of your videos and reading your books that this course would be excellent – and yet it still has exceeded my expectations! Thank you!”
Lisa Starnes
“This is the best class I have ever taken and I have taken quite a few with some of the top painters in the world. Thank you for putting this together.”
Liz Seaborn
“This course is so much more than just drawing techniques, and has really helped me to start visualizing the world in a different way.”
Linda Smiley
“You are a natural teacher…. generous, nonjudgmental, encouraging, inspiring, passionate and authentic.”
Lynne Parker
“Standing ovation Sir. Well done. I feel the quality of my output has increased dramatically. I now love drawing. Best money I have ever spent on myself. Deep gratitude and appreciation.”
Marti Major
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. The course has been life transforming. It has changed the way I feel about my own abilities and how I now approach drawing en plein air and back in the studio. I am no longer scared of it but challenged in a good way. thank you so much.”
Jo Wood
“And I think you might be the best instructor ever. Seriously!”
Diana Mohrsen
Yes, I want to learn the secrets of composition
and dramatically improve my painting!
“This really is an amazing course…once again, exceeding my expectations. THANK YOU!!!”
Marilena Schmidt
“There’s no question of how much my painting and my understanding of the process is improving because of your teachings. You’ve given me a new skillset and a way of seeing things around me. Thank you!”
Alan Morris
“You’ve had an impact on slowing me down and quieting my brain such that my focus on what I’m trying to express has really improved.”
Mary-Ellen Yeomans
“I have so enjoyed your courses. They have reignited my love of drawing.”
Patrice Burkhardt
“It’s all been just a really, really, really helpful process for me, so thank you so much!”
Ramona Bagley
“100% life changing art enrichment course like no other.”
Fran Ortiz
“I have absolutely loved the course. It’s been a game changer on both an artistic and personal level.”
Nicole Alston
“There are many teachers out there who can teach the basics (although your ability to connect the dots is something unique in my experience) but few expose much of themselves and their emotion around their calling. You really suck everyone in with your passion and reverence for art–and by that I mean not only visual art, but music, poetry and other art forms. Your analogies to the creative process across genres has been so eye opening for me. Thank you for sharing what is really in your heart about painting and the pursuit of artistic expression.”
Jenny Blackburn
“Everything is catching my eye these days…..I’m seeing so much more!”
Laurie Latner
“My work has taken a massive leap forward and now looks so much more eye catching and inspiring. It is worth every penny.”
Sarah Southwell
“It’s a life-changing course.”
Kathi Scarpace
“Somehow I came out with a confidence in my work that I have struggled with my entire life – well since the eighth grade when I realized how much I liked making art. I don’t have the words for how or why this happened only that it is a result of taking this course.”
Jeanne Benson
“I have always struggled with patience when I did drawings that were specifically for paintings. Just wanted to get the shape down and move on to the paint asap. This class taught me to slow down and see. And surprise! I actually enjoy the drawing process now and look forward to it as much as the painting!”
Gail Hight
“My#1 goal for this class was to improve my composition skills and it exceeded my expectations. I am enjoying my paintings more now and have far fewer issues with getting halfway done and discovering that it will never come to fruition.”
Wendy Peterson
“As an intermediate painter who had lost the spark that inspires, this course brought me back to what originally drew me to painting and continues to help me improve my art in so many ways.”
John E Davis
“This course has jump started my painting practice from every once in a while to daily. I really didn’t think I would learn so much from an online course but I did!”
Mary Grogan
“Massively enjoy everything you have created. Your teaching methods and explanations are the absolute best.”
Tully Moen
“You have put your heart and soul into teaching us and it will have a life long effect on my creative journey -thank you.”
Lara Lomer
“This course deeply respects the learner and understands what it means to learn to paint. It not only focuses on basic skills that many other courses skip over but deals continually with the human aspects of being creative: self doubt, procrastination and vulnerability. The course encourages participants to focus, pay attention and practice thus building creative courage.”
Ruth Radford
“This is by far the best online art workshop that I have taken and I highly recommend it to a painter in any medium who wants to improve their basic skills in a very enjoyable fashion.”
Stuart Gourlay
“The exercises he has designed for this course are amazing- it is totally a hands-on way of learning. With this course I was able to learn the foundations and the fundamentals upon which all paintings rest; I can now paint much faster and with far more confidence.”
Noreen Mulla
“I’ve been painting for about 60 years but feel your lessons have helped me really see how compositions make for a much stronger painting.”
Kathleen Heil
Yes, I want to learn the secrets of composition
and dramatically improve my painting!