Do you want to paint gorgeous florals

with courage and boldness?

What if you could create beautiful floral paintings that you were proud of? 

What if you felt encouraged, motivated and inspired to paint? 

What if you knew exactly what to paint every time you started painting? 

What if you belonged to a community of artists encouraging each other and helping each other improve their artwork? 

What if you were consistent with your artwork and saw the progress you've been craving? 

If you're anything like me when I was learning, the reality is that our painting experience is often the exact opposite. . . 

We feel discouraged, unmotivated and uninspired to create.

We have no idea what we're going to paint. 

We feel lonely and isolated. 

We're inconsistent at best with our work. 

Learning how to paint can be SO OVERWHELMING! There has to be a better way. . . right? 

I'm Dianna Shyne, award winning Acrylic Artist

I've been pursuing my passion for art for over 35 years.

I spent 15 years studying under renowned Russian Impressionist teachers including Ron Lukas, William Reese and Del Gish.

I have exhibited my work in over 40 solo and two person exhibitions, and won more than a dozen top National awards.

Over the past few years, I've worked with Acrylic University to share everything I've learned across my 35+ years of painting and now I'm sharing my secrets for painting flowers.

The problem with other art courses. . .

Teaching yourself how to paint is a difficult task.

There's an ocean of painting videos and courses out there.

Often times these courses:

Lack quality instruction: Some courses may be incomplete, confusing, or lack important information that a beginner may need. It can be difficult to know what instruction is reliable and what is not. 

Lack of feedback: Many courses don't provide feedback on your artwork. This can make it difficult to identify and correct mistakes.

Full of distractions: There are countless places to learn how to paint online! Many of these websites make it easy to get lost going down a rabbit hole of unrelated content OR overwhelm you with too many options. 

Lack structure: Learning to paint online often lacks structure. You learn a little bit from one course and a little bit from another but the concepts never build on each other in a logical way. This can make it difficult to develop comprehensive and consistent painting skills.

These factors can make it incredibly easy to lose motivation to paint. . . 

Is there a better way?

Over the years, at Acrylic University, we've seen many artists lose motivation to paint and wanted to figure out why. 

What we found is that most artists who lose motivation are not seeing the results in their artwork that they want. 

We dug a level deeper and found that these artists weren't giving themselves the chance to see results because they weren't painting consistently enough to get to where they wanted to be. 

But we get it - even on a good day, sitting down to paint is scary and hard. 

But on a bad day when life is crazy and things get in the way? Forget about it.

We knew there had to be a better way. 

We knew we had to create something that would help remove the roadblocks to just sitting down and painting. Roadblocks like:

• Lack of time
• Uncertainty about what to paint
• Loneliness
• Fear and insecurity
• Discouragement about progress

After lots of experimentation, we ended up creating the Miniature Painting Challenge.

It was a huge success! Artists were seeing huge results in their artwork and were falling in love with painting again. 

But. . .

What is the Miniature Painting Challenge and

why is it helpful?

We are so glad you asked!

The Miniature Painting Challenge is a program that gives you everything you need to create one painting that you're proud of every single week.

We remove all of the roadblocks so that you can just sit down and paint. 

The only thing we challenge you to do is show up for yourself every week and spend 30 minutes improving your skills as an artist. 

Our challenges cover a variety of topics and durations but they all:

• Give you a new doable painting lesson every week: Each week we give you a short painting lesson from the world's top acrylic artists that can be completed in 30 minutes or less. 
• Show you exactly what to paint: Each lesson provides you with a reference photo and instructions so that you know exactly what to paint and how to paint it. 
• ​Surround you in a community: Challenge participants get access to an exclusive members-only community full of artists who are there to encourage you on your journey.
  
• ​Give you courage and boldness: See real progress in your artwork over time and surround yourself with artists who are on the exact same journey as you.
  
• ​Improve your art drastically: Instead of spending hours, days, weeks or even months toiling over one large canvas, we scale it down and have you work on a small 6x6 or 8x8 canvas. We firmly believe that quantity is better than quality when it comes to learning how to paint. The more mistakes you make, the faster you can improve.
  
• ​Give you a sense of accomplishment: You'll finally be able to paint consistently and put in the time it takes to see the results that you want to see in your artwork.

What exactly is included in this course?

8 lessons, 3 1/2 hours of focusing painting instruction, one easy-to-use supply list, 8 downloadable 

reference photos, and a private community of encouraging artists from all over the world

"Flowers are always a struggle for me and this was no different. But it's also why I'm taking the workshop! One if the best things about painting is that there are ALWAYS opportunities to grow, stretch, and learn. And thankfully, we get to make that growth in a supportive community."

Paula S.

"I'm caught up on the Flower Challenge. This is such a great series and I feel like I've learned so much ... It was such fun playing and mixing colors for them. Thank you Dianna Shyne for helping me grow my skills in creating form and luminous light in flowers."

Brenda G.

"Dianna's yellow tulips. I love how this flower series is coming together and getting easier with her expert instruction and my ability to trust my eyes and brush strokes."

Mary C.

Frequently Asked Questions

What supplies will I need?

Please note: Inside the course, we will provide you with a full list that will include links if you'd like to order online.

You will need just a few supplies really.

1. Paint: A limited palette of paints (a yellow, a red, a blue) plus black and white will suffice. There may be a few more colors used periodically, but if you have the basics, you'll be fine.

2. Canvases/panels: All the demonstration paintings will be done on an 6x6 canvas. If there are exceptions, it will be noted. You can, of course, change the size if you want.

3. Brushes: You will need 3 or 4 brushes of various sizes. I generally use 2 or 3 "flat" brushes and one "round" brush for smaller details.

That's pretty much it! Again, you will find a more detailed list in the course.

Do I have to use acrylic paints?

The short answer is no. The vast majority of what's taught is foundational to all painting mediums. So, if you wanted to use oils, for instance, you would find all the main principles are totally applicable to you, but there would just be some differences in technique as the mediums have different properties.

The longer answer is that while you COULD use a different medium, there are SO many reason to paint with acrylics!

1. Water Cleanup: Acrylic paints clean up easily with water. You will never need to expose yourself or others to special solvents or thinners when you are using acrylic paints.

2. Fast Drying: I love the fact that I can touch my paintings after a short time and not worry about getting wet paint on myself or what's around me. This makes it much easier to store and transport paintings without all the headache you'd have if they were still wet. Also, when I want to make a change to a painting I can do it quickly.

3. Super Versatile: Acrylic paints can be applied to almost any surface because they adhere so well. They can also be applied very thin and transparent or very thick and impasto-like without having to worry about rules like "thick over thin" because of their quick drying properties. Acrylic paintings are easy to frame because they don't need to be protected with glass.

4. Cost Effective: Acrylic paints are fairly inexpensive when compared to other mediums. This means that you can paint and practice with freedom without being too concerned about cost.

5. Travel Easily: Because they are non-toxic and don't require fancy thinners, you can travel the world with your acrylic paints and never worry about boarding a plane with hazardous materials.

Are the lessons good for beginners?

Yes, but SOME EXPERIENCE is helpful! We want to be clear: this set of lessons is not primarily a beginner painting course. Some knowledge of your tools and materials and how to use them will aid in your enjoyment of this instruction.

Having said that, these mini-painting lessons are probably one of the easiest entry points for a beginning artist. They are short and don't take too long, so they aren't scary. Plus, you don't have to figure anything out on your own. You'll be able to see each step of the painting process and more - starting with what supplies you want to have and why. The bonus is that by starting and finishing several smaller paintings you will grow so much more than if you had worked an equal amount of time but had only completed a couple larger paintings. Your growth will be exponential as you will be able to see paintings come together from start to finish and never miss anything because you can pause, stop & rewind as much as you need!

Are the lessons good for experienced artists?

Absolutely, yes!

One of the things that can hinder artists of any level is feeling "uninspired". These short, mini paintings will help you get out and stay out of any rut that tries to slow you down. And they will be a springboard for your own creativity to soar.

What do I gain access to when I join?

You will gain access to one high-quality, professional painting lesson every week for 8 weeks, and you will keep access to those lessons for life, so you can come back and revisit your favorite lessons for years to come :-)

How will I access the lessons?

Your lessons will be accessible 24/7 through any computer or mobile device.

We built our site on a very user-friendly platform that anyone can navigate. And if you ever have questions or issues, you can contact us at support@acrylicuniversity.com. We are here to help.

What's the 45-Day Guarantee?

If, for whatever reason, you decide you aren't satisfied within 45 days, we will refund all of your money - no questions asked. We believe strongly in what we do and we want you to be thoroughly satisfied.