As I reported in 2013, well regarded painter Mark Carder, who some years ago created a specific instruction method for those learning to paint, had put much of his former course into a series of new videos and made them freely available on his site Draw Mix Paint.

Carder has recently taken those videos, added a good deal of supplementary web based material, and arranged them into a more formal course, guiding the student through step-by-step.

In addition to the basic teach yourself course, Carder is offering a new premium version that is essentially an online class — with longer, more detailed videos and personal interaction with Carder.

Students following the free course can work from life, from their own photographs, or from laminated photographic reproductions of still life arrangements or portrait subjects prepared by Carder (these are available to those not taking the paid course, along with the deluxe videos, on a separate purchase basis).

The more detailed course, in which Carder interacts with the student, is based specifically around the pre-composed subjects of the photographic prints, so that instructor and student are on the same page. Students select one as included in their enrollment.

I’ll point out again that this course is not so much about a method of painting as a method of learning to paint, and by many accounts a very successful one.

Those who are already further along the learning curve in painting may find it laborious, as it is based on careful observation and measurement with sighting tools, and incremental steps of value and color changes. For those just starting, however, Carder has provided a method for going from non-painting to painting in the context of a single course.

Carder’s methods are based on traditional techniques, and are aimed specifically at painting straightforward representational realism in oil.

I provided a more detailed description of his method in my previous article on Draw Mix Paint.

The premium version of the online course, with interaction from Carder, is limited to 30 students per month. The initial registration step is to choose a subject photograph and the month for which you would like to register.

To start the free version of the course (which should give a preview of the more in-depth version), look for the “Start without Enrolling” button from this page.

Carder’s site also includes links to the original free instructional videos, his supply list and an active discussion forum.