Which art class setting is better for you? Online or Traditional

  In an age where you can sit, jammies on watching online classes and learning, attending an actual class may seem antiquated.  It is certainly good to have the flexibility and diversity of online learning.  Somehow magic happens when you attend an actual class.  You may or may not see who is actually teaching you online.  Meeting your teacher in person gives you the extra benefit of learning who the person is, what motivates and inspires them.  Having a teacher present is great to help a painting go in the right direction.  
     I recently attended Gathering of Artists in Black Mountain, North Carolina.  A life changing event that is hard to explain with words.  GOA was a 4 day event which provided opportunity to take classes during the day from Master Artisans on a variety of styles and techniques.  Anyone that follows my Art knows that I love painting abstract and traditional landscapes. Jacob Daniels from www.overflowstudios.org in Boone NC was teaching how to capture reflections I signed up without second thought. 
     On day one we first painted a spoon with rich reflections.  My brain was hurting!  Tiny precise slowly placed strokes of oil paint lead to a realistic looking spoon.  I am a fast painter painting from a place of intuition.  Some of my paintings with thick texture take a long time to allow for everything to dry properly but they are a more free style of painting.  So I was definitely out of my comfort zone.  
     If I was watching this teaching online the human factor would have been missed.  My table mate was a slow almost Zen like painter.  Her attitude and demeanor had a calming effect on me.  Once I was more relaxed it was easier to learn.  The encouragement from other class members was awesome.  We persevered and painted some awesome looking spoons!  There were no distractions!!  We painted for hours and built endurance.  
     The second painting was a cloud and way more in my comfort zone.  I love trying to capture the majestic sunsets and water.  Jacob taught us how to paint the entire canvas to add a richness to the final painting.  Painting clouds is a process of building up layers.  It was neat to see how everyone’s painting looked different.  As is often the case I take risk with color.  My final painting is a majestic colored sky, the type of sunset you see out on the water that a camera just cannot capture.  
     I teach Art Journaling and painting on FB live weekly and enjoy connecting with people and old friends from other states.  This will continue, and a more organized You Tube channel is being created.  Having videos allows for rewind until the lesson is captured.  
     Since I did not take good notes and do not have a video the class is now a memory.  There may never be another cloud paining however; life long friendships were forged.  I also now want to experience the connection that comes from having an actual class.  In November we have Open Studios November 9 - 11 th I will be offering sign up for classes at the studio 10 Central Ave, Greenville, SC.  How lucky we are to be able to learn online but I also encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and take a class in person.  What kind of class do you prefer online or in person?  What has been your most memorable class taken?  What made it so special?  Thanks for leaving our comments below.  Happy Creating - Love Angela