Alan McGowan - Art Teaching Reviews 

I have attended a week long portrait workshop with Alan teaching as well as his 10 week anatomy zoom class. Alan is a fantastic instructor and incredibly knowledgeable. Alan's ability to convey his knowledge in a way that helps the student grow is impressive.

Hello! I participated in Alan's Anatomy for Artists course as I wanted to gain a better understanding of human anatomy. Alan's course exceeded my expectations as he presented the course material in a very interesting and creative way. I highly recommend his course. Thanks, Alan for enhancing my understanding of Human Anatomy, I know my life drawing will be a much more enjoyable process with what I've learnt from you!
Helen

I have both enjoyed and learned a lot during this course despite having started 3 weeks late.
For me the 9pm (Cyprus time) evening start is a little late and I could find it hard to keep myself focused and not fall asleep.... Such is my aging brain!!!
There is a huge amount of information to absorb in the instruction and utube videos. I would have liked life time access to the videos that are relevant for the course so I can keep on practicing.
I have never before tried to copy any of the masters and have really enjoyed both learning about the various master's styles and discerning the incredible knowledge they had about anatomy. I have always known that the masters studied anatomy by dissecting and observing corpses, but this course has 'brought that alive' for me.
I have refreshed and learned a lot about anatomy thanks to your great explanations, Alan.

I would have liked to be able to easily print out each participants labelled homework. Listening to the critique of each participants drawing is a great way to learn, but would be better reinforced if I could print out everyone's drawings and the corrections.

I hope to participate in future courses... from the start!

Thank you.

A thoroughly informative and enjoyable experience delivered by a tutor who clearly understands the subject matter to the highest level. The structure of the weekly tutorials and the overall course has provided me with a positive understanding of the human anatomy without being too intense and overwhelming. Personally I doubt there are many to rival Alan's passion for the subject and his unique teaching style. The balance between being informative and keeping everyone attentive is a difficult task but Alan succeeds in this respect, undoubtedly aided by his obvious artistic talent coupled with a great sense of humour. I would have no hesitation in recommending this course to anyone wishing to expand their knowledge of the human anatomy from an artists perspective. I can't believe how quick the course has flown by and disappointed that it has, but this is surely further testament of a very positive experience.

I liked the balance of the presentations each week: one third was a review of students’weekly submissions, pointing out where the anatomy was good or not so good. Very constructive in tone, never critical. One third was a technical video to digest, relevant to the following week’s submissions. Last third was an overview of the work of masters whose work engaged closely with anatomical detail. These formed the basis of the next week’s submissions, or “ homework.

The “homework “ was a huge challenge, if you were a newbie, like me, on the anatomy front. Very, very time- consuming, also unexpectedly enjoyable. I was unable to submit every week. When I did it took hours, but I was wholly absorbed. Without the direct challenge it is unlikely that I would have learned as much as I did, so they are a highly relevant and valuable part of the course.
A terrific course, not at all easy and requiring a great deal of dedication. But very rewarding. Thanks, Alan

Linda

I recently attended Alan McGowan Anatomy online course and I strongly recommend it for any artist/painter in any level willing to learn the anatomy basics that underlay the human figure.
Course covers all main parts of anatomy, duration is right and ways of teaching (zoom meetings) are OK, removing the need to travel to another city for each class.
Alan has a very deep and broad knowledge of the subject, makes the classes entertaining and easy to follow and is always looking to help with any doubt or suggestion.
In summary a great anatomy study that will help to lay down the foundations of human figure painting/drawing for any artist in love with human figure.
Very Highly recommended!!

This ten week online course presented by Alan has been fantastic. Alan's knowledge, teaching style and ability to connect made the course really good fun. The course provides so much information on muscle groups and bone structure which has really enhanced my knowledge of important landmarks in figurative drawing. If you want to develop your drawing skills - this course is for you.

I found the Anatomy for Artists course to be well structured and very informative. The sections of anatomy are broken down into manageable chunks over the 10 weeks, with time to explore the themes on your own each week. I found the review of student drawings each week to be very helpful and aided my learning. I especially enjoyed seeing how others had interpreted the master drawings. Overall, Alan is a master of Anatomy and shares his knowledge very generously throughout the course.

Took part in the on line Anatomy for Artists course. Alan's teaching style is relaxed and fun, but still thorough and insightful. Each week he covered a different part of the body with clear drawn explanation, and then followed up with examples from master drawings. I have done anatomy courses before but this one was the first I have done to properly teach each muscle and bone. Highly recommend.

This was a well structured, well delivered informative course on anatomy. A good mix of live group tutoring looking at both the work of masters and students together with recorded material ensures this was a very comprehensive course. Alan is very knowledgeable in both anatomy and it's context, offering insight when guiding through the subject. Would highly recommend for anyone interested in figurative work.

Having attended a short painting workshop with Alan I already knew he was a great teacher, and an incredible artist. Alan's 10 lesson course on Anatomy For Artists has enabled me to finally start getting to grips with the subject. Really well structured, a great mix of theory and practical, with really useful feedback on assignments. Entertaining and varied too. Suitable for experienced or less experienced artists, who want to improve their work from the figure.