List of Free Online Art Courses for Your Uplift and to Ease the Boredom (of 'Lockdown')

Blogging for you lovers of Art, Acrylic Pouring and Pattern

---

The last few weeks has tested the resolve of everyone in isolation/lockdown due to COVID-19. To draw some positivity from the strange situation, I have viewed it as a good time to up-skill and gain more art and creative knowledge via free online courses.

My initial online searches were for art marketing courses relating to SEO and content. However during the searches I came across good selections of Free Online Visual Art courses as well.

I decided to make a list of the free online art courses that interested me so I could go through them later. I am glad to offer the list here, use it as a gateway to a wide range of art and general courses that you will find useful for this time.

The courses on this list are free, when you search through to each provider you will find a mix of free and paid courses. Some courses offer certifications for which a fee is required.

LIST OF FREE ONLINE ARTS COURSES

You can Sign up for free Downloads - look along the menu.

THE ARTS

FUTURELEARN

Has a small selection of art courses lasting a few weeks or longer. One of the courses I completed was the - Arts and Dementia course- a 4 week course which came in a handy at a time when I personally experienced the effects of dementia on an elderly relative. This course opened me up to understand the future world for a number of us. The course information came in handy for me as I was able to volunteer and run a small arts workshop for a local elderly association.

I love using paper as a material in my art practice. Of course this one caught my eye, The Art of Washi Paper in Japanese rare books . It's a nice short 2 weeks course looking into the history and production of papers used by the Japanese in their rare books.

For those of you involved on the administration side, sounds like this course will give a good overview into the need for Effective Fundraising and Leadership in the Arts, again just 2 weeks long.

OPEN LEARN ( OPEN UNIVERSITY)

Two interesting subjects that popped up from this educational portal by the Open University were - Art and Visual Culture-Medieval to Modern and Introduction to studying Art and Humanities.

There were lots of other free courses on offer worth taking a look at, lots of institutions are offering free online sessions so we should take advantage while we have the time.

TATE UK

Tate UK has a an essay, on the Talking Point webpage, about the mental process artist go through when creating art in isolation. An apt topic for today's world.

The piece explores how artists of now and the past create in solitude. Is there creative benefits to this imposed isolation, how and why do artist seek isolation ?.

This essay explores the issue of isolation through a number of artists and their style of art practice. Look for Making Art in Isolation in the Talking point section of the Tate Modern website.

ARTYFACTORY

If you just need a read and reminder about the basic visual elements of art then the ArtyFactory's The Visual Elements of Art page will serve you well.

It's a good deep dive introduction into all the basic visual elements involved in the composition of Art - line, colour, shape, form, pattern, tone and texture.

This site a labour of art love, as all lessons were written and designed by an art teacher John MacTaggart

TEXTILES AND COLOUR

Textiles and colour have always been an interest of mine and I find that interest has expanded over the years with the ability to learn new ideas and techniques online.

ALISON

Artists and designers need to have a basic understanding of colour and its' effect when used across different materials . Catch up on this free Colour Theory Course offered by Alison.com for artist and designers.

OPEN LEARN ( OPEN UNIVERSITY)

For artists who are into pattern and textiles we travel to Ghana via the Open Learn portal to gain an understanding of the meaning and value of textiles. This free course Textiles in Ghana expands into the history, making and importance of textiles to this West African country.

A couple of extra providers offering online art and craft courses are Coursera and Udemy. There are lots of courses available online that you can get free access to by doing online searches.

BENEFITS of LOCKDOWN

I have used the time to layout plans for art blog posts I hope to write in the future and have completed up-skilling and general art courses I found online.

Some of the more useful courses I came across after searching online, were free marketing courses that helped me improve aspects of my artist website.

I completed copywriting, content marketing, SEO courses and got a better understanding of Google Analytics which enabled me to set up some GA goals.

Hope you are able to take advantage of this time and upskill to benefit yourself in your job, hobby or art practice.

---

BE INSPIRED BY ART AND ARTIST

Art and Patterns is my "Hub of Creativity', it's my online portfolio of handmade art, earring and blogging projects. I am sure Art has a positive effect on our mental health. I believe everyone can be creative, and find inspiration by engaging in all types of art.

I create colourful abstract collages for your visual stimulation and blog to give you useful information.