Online Coaching with Stefan Baumann

Participant receives help with her painting on location at the Middle Falls at the Summer Workshop.

I Coach At All Levels from Beginning to Advanced

Some students want to become professional artists and I offer advice about how to set up websites and facebook sites and help them create their artist’s mission statement. The focus of the weekly session is determined by what each student requires to get to the next level.  Students can also text me during the week to me ask quick questions about their paintings. It’s like having a personal coach in your pocket 24/7!

How Much?

The fee for this service is $150.00 a month and students pay via credit card. You can quit at any time.

If you want to discuss this opportunity to work me as your personal art coach, let’s talk about it on the phone since that is where our coaching calls will take place. My phone number is 415-606-9074.

Please feel free to call me if you would like more information about how personal coaching might work for you.
—

Your Personal Painting Coach

Stefan Baumann

This is a powerful approach to improving your abilities and skills as an artist.   For information call  Stefan:  415-606-9074

What Online Coaching Has Done For Me:

Paul Beckingham

Boston MA

Baumann Coaching student Paul Beckingham

I am an amateur photorealism painter, and I’ve been slowly painting detailed images from photographs for almost two years. I’m finding that it’s enjoyable, but not a very creative process, and it is more mechanical copying than anything artistic. The results are good, but … lacking.

I have been watching Stefan’s videos for a long time, where he talks about light, effects, composition, focal points and more, and I decided I want this in my paintings, so I called Stefan, and we set up a coaching slot.

Seven weeks later, I’m starting to get it, and understand where we’re heading. The coaching session is a blur of excellent critique, encouragement, and theory. I’m finding that I look forward enormously to the coaching call, and the next weekly assignment. The assignments are enjoyable, and the results are showing me that coaching was exactly the right choice. I’m now creating more compelling and interesting work, in a fraction of the time, and we’ve only just begun.

I just had to send u this message! Only u would understand! I’m in happy tears all of a sudden because I’m working on a piece! I take pics intermittently to see how the progress is looking, and it popped up on my iPad with the boat and palms and I just realized that after 12 years of searching, hard work, emotional turmoil and extreme frustration that I finally found me in my work! I have my style my signature work and thank u, thank u, thank u! Success is never accomplished alone” and that’s one reason I contacted u because I knew I had taken “me” as far as I could go by myself. I am grateful! But I also know that now the real work starts and it’s a lifetime but I’m all in shooting for the moon and maybe landing on a star!

Baumann Student Silke Sauritz

What Students Have To Say About  Stefan Baumann Coaching Classes

Wendy

I have been watching Stefan Baumann for the last few years on YouTube. I was so inspired by the way he teaches that when I saw he had started online coaching I signed up immediately. Because of where I live, I can’t attend his classrooms lessons but he can now coach me one-on-one online instead. Although I have been a serious artist for the last 8 years I realized I was not possessing the skills needed to reach the level of a professional artist. Now, prior to our online coaching session every week, he gives me an assignment just like his in-person classes. He analysis my painting very honestly and points out where I can improve so he can help me bring my art to the highest standards. He is very encouraging but firm with his coaching, he has such a way that as soon as we finish our session, I prepare my next painting or sometimes even redo the previous one until I get it right by incorporating his feedback. He is an expert coach and after a few lessons he has uncovered my weaknesses and has pushed me beyond my comfort zone. I have noticed a marked improvement in my artwork and feel more confident remembering to “paint what you see.” Stefan has not only reviewed and coached my artistic abilities, he has helped me advance my career by insisting I write an “artist statement” and helped me improve my website which are essential parts of being a professional artist. I would strongly encourage any artist that wants to further their career and hone their artistic abilities to contact Stefan as I believe he has helped me make the greatest leap in my art career so far.

Baumann Student Maria Tepper

Tess Turner

Prior to beginning coaching with Stefan, I’d never taken an art class, unless you count painting “classes” at Pinot’s Palette. I thought it would take a year or two of painting daily to get to the point of entering a juried exhibition, but here I am, seven months into working with Stefan, and a recent homework assignment has just been accepted into my first juried exhibition.

Stefan’s coaching consists of a thirty-minute phone call each week. He’s also available throughout the week via text messages for quick questions about the homework assignment, still life set up, etc. I have been amazed at what can happen in only thirty minutes per week. He balances his critique with positives about each piece. In the beginning, some of my first pieces were horrible, but I what I recall is Stefan finding something positive to discuss about each painting. His critiques are gentle yet honest. He advances his critique to your skill level, but the balance remains for every session. I’m inspired and rejuvenated after every call, buoyed by the successes and the insights on how to improve my paintings.

As I’m writing about the weekly coaching sessions, I realize while I’ve covered the gestalt of each call, I’m missing a critical element. Every week, something magical happens. With ever phone call, I see a bit differently or appreciate something on a deeper level. Each week, I see light and shadow differently or appreciate a new color a bit more. The something extra is the opening of the artist’s eye. Not just the painter’s eye, but the artist’s eye. 

Something I’ve come to appreciate, more now than when I started, is how he lets you develop your own style. While Stefan encourages you to emulate other artists or try different styles, he leaves openings for you to find yourself and your style. He isn’t saying, “paint it this way”. He does tell you when something is definitely not working, but he is able to say when something that may be different does work. This combination allows you to learn the few wrong way to do things, such as signing your paintings in water, and figure out your painting style. For instance, I have discovered that I like extra space around my still life setups and a sense of space in landscapes. Stefan is helping me to add space to my paintings with an artist’s eye. 

Baumann Student Maria Tepper

He has this ability to gently push you out of your comfort zone and try something new. In some ways this happens every week with his unique homework assignments, such as Chinese takeout or a pair of old shoes. In other ways, he nudges you to try different ways of painting. He’s very receptive to his students trying new things and will often ask, “what did you think of that”? This is such a wonderful environment in which to experiment and figure out who you are as an artist.

Some people who are proficient in their area are simply unable to teach others. I think everyone has experienced that in a math or chemistry teacher. Same is true with some artists, they simply can’t explain what or why they are doing something. Stefan is an excellent teacher in that he can explain why you should or should not do something. He is able to distill the complexities of creating great art into comprehensible bits. He also really enjoys teaching. It’s like teaching and inspiring others energizes him. Every phone call he is excited to help you discover or see something new. 

I would highly recommend his world wide coaching if you are at all considering learning to paint or want to become a better painter. If you’ve never stepped foot in a classroom, yet are filled with the desire and passion to paint and don’t know where to start, then Stefan’s coaching is a great place to start. He is able to coach anyone from the very beginners to professional artists. 

Baumann Coaching student Moazzam Khan

Cori Dyson

“I contacted Stefan when I decided it was time to quit my job and do what I love doing, painting. However, I have no formal training and before  I quit my job, I need to get better. While I was on YouTube, I came across Stefan’s videos (I highly recommend watching). I contacted him to inquire about online coaching due to living on opposite ends of the country. He immediately responded back to me and we started working together right away. He was very honest with his assessment of my work. I appreciated that. We talked about my goals and we have a plan to get where I want to be. He has taken everything I’ve been doing and broken it down so I can start learning how to paint what I see how to put what I see on canvas. The homework assignments are enjoyable. Every week we go over my assignments and we discuss what I was thinking and he points out what I’m missing from a viewers viewpoint and shows me things I hadn’t noticed before in a very constructive way. I thoroughly enjoy working with Stefan and I can see the improvement in my work in the short time we’ve been working together. If you are serious about becoming a better artist or want to make a living doing what you love, I highly recommend contacting Stefan and working with him. I’m glad I did!”

-Jason Nye
Reading, Pa.

“Since I am unable to receive one-on-one coaching with Stefan due to logistics, I found that sending him a photo of my painting for coaching purposes is excellent. I listen more acutely to his critique than perhaps I would have if done in person. I write down everything he says so that I can accurately translate what he is saying. I was able to sit with my painting and re-examine what he is suggesting. The phone critique allows me more time to be with my painting, understanding the why’s and what’s. I believe this process makes you study and assimilate the answers in a different way compared to receiving help in person.

If you are unable to get one-on-one help, this method does work.”

Candace Troy

Pacifica CA”

Baumann Coaching Student Agnieszka Niemiec

“I am overwhelmed with the opportunity of lessons online that can reach into my home! From my wheel chair, I have sought instruction to study oil and art, but transportation and ill health have been lifetime obstacles.  Thank you, Mr. Baumann, for conceiving  such an idea of reaching out to the Whole World in this way and lighting the golden candles of Art all around the earth.”
Sincerely,

Delaine Strandberg

“The last time I took a paint brush to canvas was back in college some 20 odd years ago. That all changed one weekend when I discovered Stefan’s videos that he posted on YouTube. Stefan’s passion for creating had me glued to my laptop for the entire weekend. On Monday I purchased some paints and canvases and produced two small paintings using the information Stefan shared in his videos.  I was pleasantly surprised by what appeared on the canvas. Those two paintings caught the attention of my friends and family, all of whom raved about my skill.  Well, that was all the motivation I needed to begin coaching sessions with Stefan. His technical understanding of the painting process is so encompassing that I have learned more in a few sessions with him than the numerous courses I had taken in college. Stefan has a gift for teasing out the creative potential of an individual and I have been amazed how much my skills have improved in a short period of time. His tips on setting up a focal point and attention to value have moved my paintings from amateur renderings to more professional looking works of art. I would encourage anyone interested in developing their creative abilities to take advantage of the opportunity to work with Stefan one on one.”

Anne Saffers painting on location in Italy Stefan Baumann workshop

Dr. Michael Wise

“Stefan Baumann’s extensive library of training video’s combined with his personalized coaching took my creative visual works from average to impactful. It has directly increased my business both from direct sales of works to acquiring new clients.  

His methods and understanding of the visual arts has provided me with the ability not only to create visually dramatic works, but also to understand how and why.  The guessing game and trial and error process has been replaced with a crafting process.

Thank you Stefan!”

Karl Fritz

In May, I set myself a painting goal: improve my plein air painting skills. As we are moving into the festive season, it is time for me to take stock over this “Summer of Painting Plein Air” as I called it when, after a long and grey Winter, brighter days began to make their appearance.

So why my focus on plein air painting? Why not paint some still life setups or scenes from beautiful pictures in the shelter of my studio (bedroom corner)?

To me plein air is one of the most difficult forms of painting to master, because you are always under time constraints (the light changes every 7 minutes) and in an uncontrolled environment (clouds, rain, people, animals etc etc). These constraints tend to drive emotions to shine through more intensely in these paintings, as you are physically and emotionally experiencing the site and the events surrounding it while painting.

Because I like a challenge and because at this point in my painting journey, my overarching pursuit is “I do not want cute, I want passionate” (in a controlled kind of way, as in ‘know the rules to break them’), my reason initially for wanting to master plein air was that I feel it would be beneficial for all painting I would want to do down the line. After all, if I can master painting decent paintings outside, surely I will be able to paint Great Passionate Paintings in the studio?

Shortly after I started coaching with Stefan Baumann in May 2018, I started, very timidly, doing some plein air painting here and there in Prague, Czech Republic, where I live. Hidden in a park, out of sight of people as much as possible. Painting as a beginning artist amidst the hustle and bustle of the city, with a million tourists walking around seemed impossible to me because well…a whole lot of insecurity and, frankly, because of this thing called Ego, too, I guess. I remember Stefan got pretty upset with me when I told him I could not find anything to paint “how is that possible, you are living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world %$&#!!”. He had a point. So while I definitely took my first stabs at plein air that Summer, I knew I had to change my approach if I really wanted results!

First step towards plein air excellence in 2019 was to register for Stefan’s plein air workshop in Tuscany in September. Then, I finally invested in some serious plein air gear (Hello Strada Easel). With that commitment and some professional gear in my backpack, I was setting myself up for a steep plein air learning curve.

By then, it was clear to me that I also had to work on my mindset in order to squash the obstacle of fear and ego and GO OUT and PAINT. Every artist was first an amateur became my mantra and it really has helped me be more confident and relaxed to paint plein air for all to see. I know now deep in my heart that I am a student of plein air with no obligation to produce a masterpiece on the spot. What a relief.

These days I am painting in places I would have never painted before. Sometimes it can be quite hectic, but it is always exciting. I have been surrounded by hordes of Asian tourists, wanting to take a picture with me. Another time a police car stopped in front of my easel and 2 police men came out. As they approached me I thought I was in real trouble but after they realized I was just painting for myself they were super nice and even told me some fun facts about the monument I was painting.

Changing my mindset and attitude helped me breakthrough my fears and so I managed to do a decent amount of plein air this Summer, culminating into the plein air workshop in Tuscany by Stefan Baumann in Tuscany, which was even a bigger boost, where I learned a tremendous amount under Stefan’s guidance and first and foremost connected with an incredible community of like-minded artists.

So did I reach my goal? Have my plein air painting skills improved? Comparing my paintings from the beginning and end of the Summer, I can see progress and it is a good feeling. But most importantly, I learned that producing better paintings is just as much a matter of the mind, and that by working diligently on both, progress will be made. ‘Do Good Work’, as Stefan always says.

Chantal Spapens