Beginner Art Program
Finished acrylic painting of a green and gold pear on a red table against a dark background
Finished acrylic painting of a blue bird with a yellow crest beside a yellow flower
Finished realistic graphite drawing of an eye with lashes and brow
Finished charcoal drawing of a chickadee on a branch

Draw and paint four pieces worth hanging, even if you're a complete beginner.

Elli MilanAnybody can learn art. Anybody. I'm Elli Milan, and I'll walk you through all of it, from the very first pencil line to a finished painting.

Start your first drawing

$229, one payment. Enrollment is open. Start lesson 1 today.

Hear why wanting to learn is all it takes to draw and paint.

It's my welcome video from inside the program, so you'll hear me talk to you like you've already signed up. Watch it now and decide if I'm the teacher for you.

Start your first drawing

10 lessons that teach the skills people call talent.

I designed these ten lessons to teach you the skills people mistake for talent: a straight line, shading from light to dark, proportion, mixing color, making a pear look solid. You make something in every one of them. About 6 hours of video in total, split across the lessons, and it's yours for life.

What you make in each lesson

Drawing

  1. Graphite pencil marks and a charcoal smudge on paper, from lesson 1
    1Drawing materialsWhat H and B mean, and how each pencil marks.
  2. Long straight lines and ellipses drawn on a pad at the easel, from lesson 2
    2Position and warm-upsStraight lines and ellipses, drawn from the shoulder.
  3. A sheet of quick graphite sketches: two bumblebees, a bunny and a kitten, from lesson 3
    3Gesture and shadingA bumblebee, a bunny and kitties, then grays from light to dark.
  4. The realistic graphite eye nearly finished, from lesson 4
    4A realistic eyeYour first finished drawing, in graphite.
  5. Elli's hand drawing the charcoal chickadee, from lesson 5
    5A charcoal birdA chickadee, erased into the light with my 3D method.

Painting

  1. A palette of mixed acrylic colors beside paint tubes and brushes, from lesson 6
    6Painting materialsPaint, brushes and mediums, and where not to skimp.
  2. An abstract acrylic painting in blues, pinks and black dots, from lesson 7
    7Laying down paintAn abstract, made just to play with paint.
  3. A painted color wheel with rows of tints and shades below it, from lesson 8
    8Color mixingYour own color wheel, with tints and shades.
  4. The finished acrylic pear, close up, from lesson 9
    9Light and form: the pearA pear that looks solid enough to pick up.
  5. The finished acrylic blue bird with its yellow flower, from lesson 10
    10The bird and its flowerEvery lesson in one painting.

Plus an introduction: why art, and are you good enough. (You are.)

Before you join

Find out which side you're on before you spend $229.

I built this program for one kind of person: someone who was never taught to draw or paint and wants to learn. If that's you, you're in the right place. If it isn't, I'll tell you where to go instead, because the wrong program will only convince you that you were never meant to do this.

This is for you if

  • You've said “I can't even draw a stick figure” for years, and you're secretly hoping you're wrong.
  • Someone told you as a kid that you had no talent, and you'd love to prove them wrong.
  • You drew all the time as a kid, then life took over, and you want that feeling back.
  • The kids are grown or you just retired, and you're done saving painting for “someday.”
  • You've quilted, knitted and carved, and drawing and painting are the last ones on your list.
  • You design on a screen all day and you're itching to mix a color with your own hands.
  • You can follow a YouTube tutorial stroke for stroke, and you want to know why it works so you can draw without one.
  • You want an hour where all you think about is where the light hits the pear.

Skip it if

  • You already draw and paint with confidence. You'll be bored by lesson 2, which is straight lines and ellipses. Go to the Mastery Program, where you find your own style and build a portfolio you can price and sell.
  • You want to sell your art. This program teaches you to draw and paint, and it never touches pricing or selling. That's the Mastery Program too.
  • You want to paint in oils. Every painting in this program is acrylic.
  • You want a finished canvas by bedtime. Put on a paint-and-sip video. The pear alone takes about three hours, and the bird and flower can take five.
  • You want to skip the pencil and go straight to paint. Half the lessons are drawing, and the last painting uses every one of them.
  • You want to hear “Beautiful!” under everything you post. My coaches tell you what to fix next, because that's how you get better.
  • You plan to watch the videos and never pick up a pencil. Keep your $229.
Elli standing at her easel, drawing

When I was a beginner at art, I sucked. I was not very good.

Built for beginners with zero experience.

You start before you know which pencil is which. Zero experience, and I mean zero.

  • Lesson 1: what the letters on your pencils mean
  • Lesson 2: how to stand at your paper and draw from your shoulder
  • Lesson 3: quick loose sketches and your first shading
  • Lesson 4: only then, the realistic eye

Soft pencils go darker and hard ones go lighter. That's lesson 1.

Elli's finger on a hand-drawn strip of boxes numbered 0 to 10, the darkest ones shaded in

I've been a professional artist for 30 years and sold more than 10,000 of my paintings. When I started drawing at 15, my mom was sure a friend at school was making my drawings. She tore a photo out of her magazine and told me to draw it, and two hours later she couldn't believe what she was looking at.

All you need is a table or a wall.

Tape your newsprint pad to the wall, or stand a table easel on the desk you love, and you've got a place to draw.

For a palette, find a giant piece of glass and put it on a table, and you're set for life.

Supplies aren't included, so here's everything you'll need before you join. Lessons 1 and 6 show you exactly what to buy, and the 24-page workbook prints at home.

See the full supply list

Overhead view of a table with paint tubes, a palette of mixed blues and yellows, brushes and a water bucket
A page from the printable 24-page Beginner Art Program workbook

The supply list

  • Graphite pencils
  • Willow and compressed charcoal
  • Erasers
  • A newsprint pad
  • Professional-grade acrylic paint
  • A glazing medium and a retarder
  • A few brushes
  • Some canvases or boards

Not included. Lessons 1 and 6 tell you what to buy.

The full supply list

Everything the lessons use. Take a screenshot and bring it to the art store. Lessons 1 and 6 walk you through each item.

You can also get most of it in one box. The Beginner Art Program Kit ($180) from our art store has all nine paints, three brushes, the gloss medium, pencils and charcoal. You'll still need erasers, a newsprint pad, retarder, a chip brush and canvases.

Drawing

  • Graphite pencils, light to dark, including soft B grades
  • Willow or vine charcoal
  • Compressed charcoal pencils, hard, medium and soft
  • A kneaded eraser and a soft white plastic eraser
  • A newsprint pad, 18 by 24 inches recommended (11 by 14 or larger works)

Acrylic paint, professional grade

  • Cadmium Red Medium
  • Opus Pink
  • Cadmium Yellow Medium
  • Transparent Yellow Oxide
  • Ultramarine Blue
  • Phthalo Blue
  • Raw Umber
  • Mars Black
  • Titanium White

Painting

  • Gloss acrylic medium, for glazing
  • Acrylic retarder, for blending
  • A few synthetic filbert and round brushes
  • A 2-inch chip brush
  • Canvases or canvas boards, 12 by 16 or 16 by 20 inches
  • Thick paper or a board for your color wheel, about 11 by 14 inches

From around the house

  • A palette: tear-off palette paper or a piece of glass
  • A water jar, a spray bottle and paper towels
  • An easel or a board you can work on upright
  • A pencil sharpener
  • Q-tips and makeup sponges
Elli lifting highlights out of the charcoal bird with an eraser
That's what erasers are for.

60 days of coach feedback on every project.

Starting on your group's Saturday, you post each drawing and painting in the Beginner Art Program community, and a Milan Art Institute coach replies within 24 hours to tell you what to fix next. Every week you can also get your questions answered live on Zoom. You're never left guessing why something looks off.

You won't start by yourself, either. The first group of 50 students starts Saturday, October 17.

Full refund within 30 days, even after you finish.

You have 30 days from purchase. If you decide this program isn't for you, ask for a full refund and you'll get it, even after you've watched every lesson and made all four pieces. I call it the finish-everything guarantee.

Start your first drawing
Finished acrylic painting of a green and gold pear on a red table against a dark background
Finished acrylic painting of a blue bird with a yellow crest beside a yellow flower
Finished realistic graphite drawing of an eye with lashes and brow
Finished charcoal drawing of a chickadee on a branch

What you'll be able to do, for life.

You'll hang four finished pieces. Here's what you keep after that:

Those skills don't expire, and neither do your lessons. Come back to them whenever you want to paint the next thing.

The Beginner Art Program is back, rebuilt.

We ran a Beginner Art Program before, and students loved it. We took it down because it didn't fit how we wanted to teach beginners. We knew there was a better way, so we refilmed it, starting at the very first pencil line.

What students said about the first version

“I have never drawn a face or a hand in my 74 years. I am proud of this work.”

Kathryn H.

“Thanks Milan for an outstanding beginner art class. I realized that with training (and practice), I am capable of creating any art that I want! I even enjoyed the pencil drawings and I thought I couldn't draw.”

Viv H.

“The Beginner Art Program was wonderful! I do not have any formal education in art; only basic classes given at school. ... It taught me how to draw and paint the correct way.”

Patricia L.
Elli in her studio with the four finished pieces on easels around her: the bird painting, the eye, the charcoal bird and the pear

It doesn't require talent. It doesn't require even an aptitude. All that it requires is the desire.

Make all four pieces with me for $229.

$229one payment30-dayfull refund
guarantee
Start your first drawing

Enrollment is open, and your lessons are ready the minute you pay. Each group is capped at 50 students so everyone gets the best experience we can give, and the first group starts Saturday, October 17, with a new group every Saturday after that.

  • 10 video lessons and an introduction, about 6 hours in total, yours for life
  • Four step-by-step projects: a graphite eye, a charcoal bird, an acrylic pear and an acrylic bird with a yellow flower
  • A printable 24-page workbook with the steps, reference pictures and my time limits
  • 60 days of coach feedback on every project, plus a weekly Zoom call for your questions
  • The finish-everything guarantee: a full refund within 30 days
  • Supplies aren't included. See the full list, or get most of it in one box with our $180 art store kit.

Answers before you join

Your lessons open the minute you pay, and you start with the next Saturday group that has room.

Start your first drawing
What happens after I pay?

You get into your lessons right away in the Milan Art App. Watch my introduction first, then lessons 1 and 6 before you buy any supplies, since they show you exactly what to buy.

I've never drawn anything. Is this really for me?

Yes. I designed this course for beginners with zero experience in either drawing or painting. Lesson 1 starts with which pencils to buy.

Am I too old to start?

No. All it requires is the desire. The lessons start at the very first pencil line, and you set the pace.

How much time will it take?
  • About 6 hours of video in total, split across 10 lessons and an introduction
  • Warm-ups: 30 minutes to an hour
  • The eye: an hour and a half to three hours
  • The charcoal bird: about one to two and a half hours
  • The pear: about three hours
  • The bird and flower: up to five hours

The lessons are yours for life, so take the weeks you need.

What supplies do I need?

Pencils, charcoal, erasers, a newsprint pad, nine acrylic colors, two mediums, a few brushes and some canvases. Supplies aren't included. See the full supply list, or get most of it in one box with the Beginner Art Program Kit ($180) from our art store.

When does the first group start?

Saturday, October 17, and a new group starts every Saturday after that. Each group holds 50, so if one is full, you start with the next. Your lessons open the minute you pay, and your 60 days of coaching start on your group's Saturday.

What if it's not for me?

Ask for a full refund within 30 days of purchase, even after you've watched every lesson and finished every project.

Bring the desire and a pencil. I'll teach you the rest.

Start your first drawing

$229, one payment. Enrollment is open, and a new group starts every Saturday.

$229one payment

Start your first drawing