The definition of art appreciation generally encompasses an understanding of the timeless qualities that make great art, well, great. Ordinarily, an art appreciation course will cover several different art periods, styles, mediums, and techniques.

The problem for Christians is that these same courses often approach the topic from a secular, humanistic perspective. They do not view God as the original, ultimate Creator.  They do not make fascinating connections between art, artists, and the Biblical timeline. Most importantly, they do not present Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection (a large percentage of art through the ages) as truth. Rather, they present Jesus as a mythological character alongside Zeus, Hades, and Athena Nike.

Why settle for second best when there is SO much more to art appreciation?

This resource is excellent if you have NO artistic background OR you are a seasoned artist looking to expand your artistic repertoire with new styles, mediums, and creative approaches.

10 Foundational Art Principles first provide you with the understanding and skills needed to create any great work of art. These include Drawing What You See, Value, Lighting, Texture, Composition, Perspective, Proportions & Grids, Transferring, Color, and Sculpture. Each is presented with well-illustrated, easy-to-follow instructions. Nevertheless, “college-level” concepts like linear perspective, compositional techniques, and color theory are thoroughly covered.

30 Projects then further introduce you to a wide variety of mediums, styles, and approaches. Each is placed in its historical context, so you learn from the Masters while simultaneously developing your own unique pieces. The wide range of styles, mediums, and subject matter literally provides something to catch everyone’s interest, whether that is landscape painting, architectural drawing, still life sculpting, nature photography, portrait sketching, or less-frequently covered areas like mosaics, printmaking, digital art, comic creations, calligraphy, and (faux) stained glass.

Easy-to-follow instructions let you work at your own pace for a fun and relaxing experience. A budget-friendly supply list is included, and over half of the projects can be completed with just a “Drawing Kit,” assembled from items you probably already own! The rest have inexpensive or even free options, like using a bar of soap, a cell phone (for photography), a potato, some cheap air-dry clay, or even Canva’s free online drag-and-drop visual editor or other free “Paint”-type digital art program.

Plus, each project gives as much artistic freedom as possible. This means that you can personalize pieces by choosing the medium, style, theme, subject matter, etc. This is NOT a paint-by-number type of class, so ultimately, no two pieces will turn out exactly alike, even though they are based on the same instructions!