Of course, not everyone can draw perfectly, and your individual drawing skill will depend on how much, or how little, talent you possess; however, even if you’re unable to draw as well as your favorite artist, nevertheless, you still possess the ability, with practice and training, to draw well enough to achieve a personal sense of satisfaction. My belief in everyone’s ability to draw is a direct result of my exposure to of one of my heroes, the artist, Jon Gnagy.

I believe that you are an artist. I believe that everyone is an artist. When I say this I am not trying to be sensational. I merely state it as a conviction which has been proving itself for years in my beginners’ art classes.
—Jon Gnagy

Jon became very famous in the 1950’s as a result of his TV show which continued to be shown until 1970, a very long-running show indeed. I guess I was about eleven when I discovered Jon, and I lusted after his “Learn to Draw Kit”. The kit was out of the question for my mother. In those days a single parent, especially a woman, had all she could do to keep food on the table, much less buy art supplies for her child, no matter how much the child wanted them. …and so, I made do, with a #2 pencil and a rubber eraser, and I followed Jon’s show for several years, learning to master his basic shapes, the ball, the cone, the cube, and the cylinder. As the years passed, I went on to other interests, but always returned to drawing. These days, I can afford wonderful pencils, pens, brushes, and pastels, but they have never replaced the early thrill of being able to produce “art” from my simple tools, a pencil and an eraser.

More than Jon’s lessons, his philosophy is what kept me pursuing art and drawing over the years, and I believe his philosophy to be true, that everyone is an artist, and that each of us contains that spark. So, don’t let your lack of confidence hold you back. Pick up a pencil, a pad of paper, and an eraser. Set up a still life in your kitchen, go out in the yard and sketch a tree, hold your hand out in front of you and draw it, but whatever you do, don’t stop trying. You will never know where it can lead you, and the journey will be one of the best ones you will ever take.

Elaina Moore-Kelly is the instructor of the Painter online classes at LVS. Elaina lives in Florida with her husband, her dog, her 2 cockatiels, and various finches. After spending 15 years at IBM, she never expected to have a computer in her own home. In 1997 her husband decided he wanted to be “plugged in” and he bought a MacIntosh with a whopping 32 megabytes of RAM. He finally convinced Elaina to give it a try and she was immediately hooked, but soon got tired of sharing, so she bought a PC for herself and got a free version of PrintMaster with it.

Once she followed the instructions and created her first greeting card, Elaina decided she loved computer graphics. She tried several other printing programs and finally settled on The Print Shop. While making her own cards, she also began making her own graphics and became a Paint Shop Pro junkie. Eventually she began writing PSP tutorials and became a Beta tester for both Jasc and Corel.

As her interest in computer graphics grew, Elaina discovered the exciting world of Corel Painter. After taking several classes she began using the program to create digital paintings, and at last was able to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming an “artiste”. You may view some of Elaina’s digital paintings here: http://www.nightshadowfx.com/Gallery/imagegallery.php

These days, in addition to creating custom cards and gifts for friends and family, Elaina hangs around on the web talking to other graphics addicts, teaching, and taking more classes at LVS.

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Podcasting is an exciting technology that has become very popular on the web and in the media. New services for listening to and creating podcasts are constantly popping up. This industry is seeing very exciting growth. Since podcasting became popular in the fall of 2004, thousands of shows have been created. So why is podcasting so great? You can listen to what you want, when you want, and how you want. Anyone can create a podcast. All you need is a computer, a microphone, speakers, and the Internet. Podcasting takes very little time and very little cost.

People will pay money for valuable information. You can listen to audio podcasts on anything that plays MP3s. This online course will take you through the basics of finding podcasts on the web, software and hardware for podcasting, listening to podcasts, writing podcasts, recording podcasts, and publishing your own podcasts on the web.

Yvonne Zaborac is the instructor of the Podcasting Online Course at LVS. Yvonne loves web design and creating graphics. She is currently working as an Application Programmer at a minor university in Illinois. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems with a major in Computer Science. She also has an Associate’s degree in Computer Networking, a Web Developer certificate, and a Web Administrator certificate.

Yvonne lives in Illinois with her husband, Sheldon. She has four children and two grandchildren.

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By the end of this online course, you will know how to use layers, and you will know how to use type and understand Elements brushes. You’ll understand the clone and healing tools, and will also have the skills to correct your photos and be ready to move on to the intermediate classes.

Photoshop Elements 8 Basics II: Clear Sailing Online Class is taught by Sara Froehlich:

I am the co-author of Microsoft Expression Design Step by Step. I started in computers in the mid-80’s but I didn’t start teaching until 2001 when I discovered that was what I really love to do: write and teach! Things have come a long way since then, and my abilities have grown along with the computers and programs I use. I’ve probably tried almost every graphics program out there and have written classes for most of them. Since 2001 I have written over 40 courses for PS Elements, Photoshop, Illustrator, Xara, Corel Photo Paint, Dreamweaver, Expression, Acrobat, Freehand, and Fireworks.

I am the mother of 4 and have two grandsons. My husband Tom and I have been married since 1974, and he still keeps me even with my computer addiction, so that’s a good thing! We go to Disney World several times a year as that is my second addiction!

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The Personal Finance Online Class is instructed by Chizoba Morah. Chizoba has an MBA and is an accomplished author. She has taught personal finance classes at different educational levels, for five years. As a tax preparer, she is often involved in giving personal finance tips to customers to help them enhance their financial and tax situations. She is an instructor at Home2Teach and a financial writer for Forbes Digital (popularly known as Investopedia).

When she is not teaching, she writes short stories and novels and knits items for charities that cater to the homeless.

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This 6 week Intro course focuses on learning the interface, tools, and basic features of Flash. You will create animated logos, buttons, and simple movies to brighten up your web site.

Flash gives web developers the ability to create interactive, animated web sites. Before Flash appeared on the scene, creating animated web sites (especially with sound) involved using large, multiple files. This requires high bandwidth that the general public does not have. Flash files, in contrast, can be very small, so bandwidth is less of a concern. Flash also brings a level of advanced animation and interactivity previously unavailable using traditional Internet technology.

Click here to view a very clever Flash movie created by Alan Becker.

Anyone can make a Flash movie, but is it optimized for the net? The Flash CS4 Intro online class will take you step by step in doing it the “right” way from the ground up. We begin by introducing you to the interface and tools, then discuss grouping, creating graphic symbols, using multiple layers and keyframes. Then we move into the fun stuff…. animation, which consists of frame by frame, motion tween, and shape tween. We wind the class up with learning how to create a button symbol with getURL action, inserting javascript in buttons, and Publishing the movie.

Flash CS4 Introduction online course is instructed by Kat and Frieda.

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This online course is the first of three in PhotoPainting & Portraiture classes. You start with the basics; a simple clone then on to painting Still Life, Landscapes and Portraits by making application of Painter’s brushes, textures and other applications and much more.

Each week you are given an image and step by step instruction to transform a photograph into a lovely, painterly image. You are then requested to paint your own. Do not feel daunted by this. Once you have painted a few photographs, it will be more or less … easier!

I do request that you have completed Painter Brushes I & II before commencing PhotoPainting & Portraiture unless you are an experienced user of Painter then this will not apply to you. The Painter Brushes classes give you a well rounded introduction to all aspects of Corel Painter and an in-depth study of Painter’s Brushes and many techniques.

This is an exciting and challenging art to pursue, one of which I’m sure you are going to enjoy. So, come and sign up for a class and learn how to PhotoPaint.

Maureen Eves-Lavis is the PhotoPainting & Portraiture online class instructor. She also teaches the Introduction to Corel Painter Brushes I & 2 and The Art of Collage with Corel Painter online classes.

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After completion of this course, students will understand key components of business and management. Students will be able to:

• Assess the U.S. Business System and explain how it operates
• Discuss how to conduct business in an ethical manner
• Explain how to manage a business
• Discuss different managerial styles and effective forms of leadership
• Discuss how to manage and motivate employees
• Discuss the global context of business

The Business and Management Introduction online course is taught by Kateesha Manderson. Kateesha has an MBA and is the founder, CEO and Director of Kalynn’s Kids Childcare based in Woodbridge, VA.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in English in 2005 (minor in Writing & Rhetoric) from James Madison University. Before deciding to work for herself she held positions within State and Federal Government ranging from Executive Assistant to Economist. Throughout her professional career she has developed a very strong background in execution and implementation and has always prided herself for reaching organizational objectives and demands all of which has been enhanced through completion of her MBA program.

Through travel with my family, she has gained cross cultural awareness as it is a very important aspect of life and business, especially with a business as diverse as childcare.

When she’s not busy attempting to conquer the world, she loves spending time with my husband of 6 years, Marcus, and our two beautiful children, Kamari (3) and Marcus, II (2).

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Check out our complete selection of online classes!

• $30.00 New Students
• $24.00 Returning Students
• Courses are 6 weeks long unless otherwise noted
• Certificates of Completion are available.

Instructor-led classes begin March 13, 2010. Head on over to LVS Online Registration to enroll today!

Registration for the March 2010 session ends March 10, 2010.

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