Review of Creating a Masterpiece Fine Arts Curriculum

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Creating a Masterpiece. I was given access to the Drawing Program in exchange for an honest review.

After coming home from the library with yet another How to Draw book, my kids asked if they could take art lessons to learn to draw better. The books were okay, but they really wanted more instruction and guidance to increase their skills. I was excited to say, “Yes, we can! We have this awesome program to learn from.” The Drawing Program from Creating a Masterpiece came at the perfect time.

About Creating a Masterpiece Fine Arts Curriculum

Creating a Masterpiece is a Fine Arts Curriculum that is perfect for the homeschool family. Although, anyone wanting to learn or improve their skills would benefit.

The classes in Creating a Masterpiece are taught by master artist, Sharon Hofer, through a series of videos. Sharon guides the student through gentle encouragement and clear instructions.

Students will use a variety of mediums to create with. They do suggest quality supplies are used. You have the option of purchasing supplies through their site or buying them on your own. I found the prices on the site were comparable to what I could find on my own.

About the Drawing Program from Creating a Masterpiece

We received the Drawing program to review, which contains four levels:

Beginning Drawing

• Lessons in Pencil: Giraffe in Cartoon
• Lessons in Pencil: Simplicity
• Lessons in Pencil: Hoot Owl
• Lessons in Pencil: Polar Exploration
• Lessons in Charcoal: Field of Daisies
• Lessons in Charcoal: Baby Elephant
• Lessons in Colored Pencil: Moonstruck
• Lessons in Charcoal: Angling for Trout

Drawing Level 1

• Lessons in Colored Pencil: First Thanksgiving
• Lessons in Charcoal: Ornery Ostrich
• Lessons in Pencil: Arctic Seal
• Lessons in Pencil: Drawing the Egg
• Lessons in Pencil: Penguin Family
• Lessons in Pencil: Tuckered out Turtle
• Lessons in Charcoal: Alaskan Wilderness

Drawing Level 2

• Lessons in Pencil: Polar Bear
• Lessons in Pencil: Antique Lantern
• Lessons in Colored Pencil: The Lion Cub
• Lessons in Colored Pencil: Orbiting Saturn
• Lessons in Colored Pencil: The General’s Horse
• Lessons in Charcoal: Dawdling Duck

Drawing Level 3

• Lessons in Pencil: Rocketing through Space
• Lessons in Pencil: The White Rhinoceros
• Lessons in Pencil: Snowed In
• Lessons in Colored Pencil: The Rose
• Lessons in Colored Pencil: Tabby Cat
• Lessons in Charcoal: Prairie Buffalo
• Lessons in Charcoal: Dreaming of Africa
• Lessons in Africa: Cunning Wolf

While you could do the projects in any order, the skills, at least within the same medium, do build upon each other to a small degree. For example, skills you learn about shading in Drawing the Egg are applied to Tuckered out Turtle.

I had my kids work with the same medium during a level before moving on to the next. We focused on lessons in pencil and I had my children work in the order they were listed, just for consistency.

Creating a Masterpiece Video Lessons

Each lesson is broken down into a series of short videos. I liked this because it made the drawings feel more manageable. If you had plenty of free time, you could watch the videos back to back and complete the drawing in one sitting. If you didn’t have the time (or attention span) then the videos give a clear stopping point.

Having the lessons broken down into several 3-10 minute videos also makes pausing and re-starting the videos more manageable.

Homeschool Art Taught by a Master Artist

I was really impressed with the quality of Creating a Masterpiece and Sharon Hofer’s ability to teach even the most novice of individuals to create beautiful artwork.

Ellawyn (11) and Haydn (9) were my two children that worked on the program. (Although all my children were interested, it just didn’t fit in their schedules right now.) I was impressed with the artwork they completed. More importantly, they were pleased with what they did.

They were also able to carry over the skills they learned into their own projects. My daughter loves birds and after drawing the Hoot Owl, took to drawing a parrot on her own.

Easy to Follow Online Art Classes

Now, my children have some artistic abilities. I was curious if their drawings turned out well because of their talent, or because of the lessons. So, I did a lesson myself.

Art is not my thing. I’m the mom who messes up stick figures. I was curious to see if I would find it difficult or if I would be able to produce anything that looked like it didn’t come from a toddler.

I followed the videos for Moonstruck and was amazed! At no point did I feel like it was too difficult or that I couldn’t do it. Her instructions were easy to follow. Only once or twice did I even need to pause the videos to catch up. Mostly I just followed along as she worked.

While I would in no way consider my piece a “masterpiece,” I was very proud of what I accomplished. I drew a cat! And it looks like a cat!

Online Fine Arts Program for the Whole Family

This is a fine arts program the whole family can enjoy. With the different levels, it caters to a range of skill levels, so there’s something for everyone. I love that I can use this across ages, as well as skill levels. It is truly a perfect fit for a multiple-grade homeschool family.

Creating a Masterpiece Art Curriculum is Charlotte Mason Friendly

If you follow a Charlotte Mason approach, then you will also find this works well with her philosophy. Children are learning art from a master artist and the lessons are broken down so they can be fit into a ten-minute daily art study.

Try a Free Lesson in Creating a Masterpiece

If you would like to try the program, they do offer a free lesson in soft pastels. It is a different medium than is used in the Drawing Program, but it would give you an idea of the lesson style.