How can we help you?

Click on an option below...

1. What do you want to know about the School?

I want to know more about the equipment I'll need

You can find a complete list of the recommended equipment, along with links to buy, on this page. You’ll also find videos explaining why this is the most suitable equipment to use, as well as information about making substitutions.

You’ll see that the recommended paints include an ‘essential range’ which is a great place to start if you don’t want to invest in the full palette initially. Most of the beginner level tutorials in the online School only use paints in the essential range. 

Getting the right equipment might mean a small investment at first, but your new materials will last you for ages - possibly years.

You can buy your equipment online via the links we've set up on this page. There are options for buying from UK or US suppliers, both of whom offer international shipping.

If you’re in Australia, you can also buy your supplies online from Eckersley’s and if you’re in New Zealand, you can also order online from Gordon Harris.

Alternatively, you can print off the downloadable PDF provided via this page and take it to your local art supply store.

To get the best results from painting using Anna’s unique watercolour method, you will need to use the right equipment for the job.This is explained in more detail in the videos on the Equipment Page.

The make of paints you use doesn’t matter, but the quality does. You need professional quality paints because they are transparent, and this is essential for painting in layers. The PDF on the Equipment Page lists the pigment number of each paint in the recommended range. If you are using other brands of paint, you should match them by the pigment number and not the name of the colour.

Still need help? Contact us at [email protected]

I want to know more about how the subscription will work

When you pay to join the School, you set up a subscription (like a Netflix or Amazon Prime membership) which you can easily cancel at any time. 

We use trusted online payment processor Stripe to process the School’s subscription payments. Setting up a subscription is completely safe and secure. Our website is SSL certified, so you’ll see the padlock logo in the address bar to show it is secure. We do not see or store your card details; this is all handled by Stripe, who are PCI compliant to the most stringent standards.

Types of payment methods accepted

Stripe will accept payments by all major credit cards, including Visa, Master Card, American Express, Discover, and JCB.

You can pay in any one of 19 major currencies, so the answer is probably yes! This means you’ll know exactly what you’ll pay each time, and payments won’t be subject to exchange rates.

You can select a currency from the dropdown list on the sign-up page.

Yes, you can give a 6 month membership as a gift. Find out more and buy one here.

You can read the full Terms of Purchase for Anna's online School here.

You can very easily cancel your payments whenever you like with the click of a button. This can be done via the Account page you’ll have within the School website.

Still need help? Contact us at [email protected]

I want to know more about the tutorial videos

Yes, the videos come with English subtitles which you can switch on or off. Perfect if you are hard of hearing or if English is not your first language and you want to be able to pause and look a word up.

The videos come with English subtitles, making it easy for you to pause a video and look a word up if English is not your first language. The videos are not translated however, so you will find it much easier to use the videos if you have at least a basic understanding of English. Try the free class here to see how you get along.

The tutorial videos are streamed through our website so require an internet connection. They cannot be downloaded, but while you’re a School member, you can watch them as many times as you like.

If you're going to be away or not have an internet connection for a short while, Anna's Books are a good alternative.

You don’t need super fast internet to be able to view the video tutorials, although consistent broadband is a requirement so that the videos don't freeze.

You can test whether your internet connection will be strong enough by trying out the free pear class here to see whether you can watch the videos satisfactorily.

The videos are hosted on the School website and can only be streamed (watched when you are connected to the Internet), so to access the video tutorials you need to be a member of the School website, with an active subscription.

As a member, you have access to ALL the video tutorials so you can access everything the whole time you’re a member.

If you leave and then re-join the School, you’ll have access to everything you accessed before, plus all the new content. Your user profile won’t be deleted, so you’ll be able to pick back up where you left off.

Still need help? Contact us at [email protected]

I want to know if the School would be right for me

Not at all; you can join the School at any level of painting experience. Whether you’re brand new to painting, feeling rusty after a break from painting or an experienced artist, there are tutorials of all levels to help you to develop your skills in realistic watercolor painting. 

As well as the tutorials, there is a comprehensive section of the website called the Knowledge Base, where all the basics are covered. 

You can complete the tutorials in any order you choose, or if you’d prefer to follow a structured course and learn in a methodical way, you can follow one of our suggested courses.

No; every tutorial comes with a line drawing that you can print and trace, allowing you to get straight into painting. Techniques for tracing and hand drawing are covered in a video in the School Knowledge Base, which you’ll have access to once you've joined the School.

To complete the tutorials, you're going to need to be able to navigate your way around the website to find the tutorials and download the PDFs which are provided with each tutorial. This will require having a computer or device that you keep up to date, and a decent internet connection. 

If you’d like to get involved with the community elements of the School, such as uploading your paintings to share with others or participating in conversations in the forum, it will help if you have reasonable internet skills, or are willing to learn them. 

We provide step-by-step help articles in the School Help Centre. These show you how to make full use of the website and School experience. The low cost nature of the School as a learning platform means we're unable to provide you with a significant amount of one-to-one IT support.

The School is a self-directed, group learning experience. We have a fantastic system for ensuring School members’ artwork will be appraised if you ask for it to be. Our supportive and experienced community are excellent at providing feedback to people who are earlier in their painting journey. They are supported by Anna and her team who are on hand to offer their experiences and advice.

There are thousands of people following Anna's watercolour teaching from all around the world, and whilst the School content is designed by Anna and she’s active in the School community, it's just not possible for Anna to give individual feedback upon request. Anna does often comment on paintings posted to Instagram with the hashtag #AnnaMasonArt and she regularly comments on work posted by her students in the online School, but this is not guaranteed.

The School is PRIVATE, and therefore everyone in our community is there purely to learn and to encourage others. 

Our vibrant community has creative people just like you from all around the world, ready to support and encourage you. You’ll get the best from your learning experience if you decide to join in with the community elements of the School, but if you’d prefer not to participate in this side of things, there is no pressure for you to.

I have always been reluctant to join any online forum before, but once I saw the work people were doing, and the friendly interest which Anna and the other members showed to each other I lost my apprehension!

Wendy Kind, Norfolk, UK

There really is no way of getting ‘behind’ in The School. Although new tutorials are released regularly, all the previous tutorials remain available, so you are not rushed to complete them, and can do so at your own pace.

If you find yourself struggling to get down to a painting session, Anna's weekly emails will help spur you on – as will your fellow members in the School.

We want you to be happy in The School. If you join and decide it’s not for you, please contact us within 7 days for a full refund.

Still need help? Contact us at [email protected]

2. What problem with joining the School are you experiencing?

I can't pay with my credit card

We accept bank debit (checking) and credit cards for payment to Anna's Online School.

If you’re not in the UK, we recommend using an international credit card such as Visa or Mastercard as some overseas banks do not allow international payments on standard bank cards without authorisation first. This is particularly the case in the US.

Has your payment failed?

Please ensure that you enter the correct card details and that your billing address is the same address your card is registered to, otherwise it's likely to be rejected if the zip / postal codes don't match.

If you receive a message that your payment has failed, please check that you have sufficient funds. Then you can either call your bank and ask them to authorise a payment to Anna Mason Art Ltd and try again, or try with an international credit card if you have one.

If your payment fails and your subscription is put on hold, you’ll need to contact our support team ([email protected]) so that we can cancel the pending payment and enable you to try again after receiving authorisation from your card provider.

The website says I already have an account, but I don't

It’s possible that your web browser is getting confused. This can sometimes happen, especially if you’ve already tried to sign up, or if you’ve been a member before,

Try using an Incognito or private browser window just for the sign up process and this should fix the issue. Our website works best in Chrome, so we recommend using it as your browser.

I can't remember my username or password

Your username is the email address you registered with when you joined the School as a member. If you’ve previously taken the free class but haven’t ever joined the School before, then you don’t have a username or password.

If you've forgotten your password, you can reset it on the same page where you enter your login details.

If you haven’t received the password reset email after 12 hours, please check your spam / junk folder to check that it hasn’t been filtered out by your email software. 

If you're sure that you're using the correct login details, we suggest clearing your cache as your device or PC could be struggling with filtering out old information if there have been updates to the site. You can find out more about how to do that  here.

If the above steps don’t work, please contact the support team at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help you.

I have a coupon, but I can’t get it to work

Check you’ve copied and pasted the coupon from your email to avoid any typos. Also check that you're applying your coupon to the correct type of subscription, i.e. monthly, 6-monthly or annual.

After entering the coupon code, you need to press the " Apply coupon" button so that the discount is applied to your cart. 

If you receive a "Coupon has expired" message, please check the coupon expiry date and time.

I've just joined but I can't log in

Once you've paid, you’ll be diverted to a welcome page and you’ll have immediate access to the School site.  You’ll also receive an email receipt as well as a welcome email from Anna.

If you’ve tried to sign up but are unable to login, please first check your bank or credit card statement to check that your payment has actually gone through. 

If you know that you've definitely paid and have received a confirmation email to say so, it's likely that you're using the incorrect login details. In this case, you can reset your password yourself or you can contact us to do it for you.

Payment hasn’t gone through?

If you're not in the UK, we recommend using an international card as some overseas banks do not allow international payments on standard bank cards without authorisation first.

Please ensure that you enter the correct card details and that your billing address is the same address your card is registered to, otherwise it's likely to be rejected if the zip / postal codes don't match.

If you receive a message that your payment has failed, please check that you have sufficient funds. Then you can either call your bank and ask them to authorise a payment to Anna Mason Art Ltd and try again, or try with an international credit card if you have one.

If your payment fails and your subscription is put on hold, you’ll need to contact our support team ([email protected]) so that we can cancel the pending payment and enable you to try again after receiving authorisation from your card provider.

How do I activate my gift membership?

If somebody has bought you a gift membership, you'll need to complete the registration form on this page, entering the coupon code you've been given in the correct box (don't forget to press the "Apply coupon" button). The coupon will give you a 100% discount at checkout as your order has already been paid for.

Once you've completed and submitted the form, you'll be able to login and will have immediate access to the School.

My question isn't listed.

Still need help? Contact us at [email protected]

3. I've got a question about Anna's artwork

Does Anna have images available for license?

Anna does make some images available for licence for use in projects such as company and product branding. Check out her Portfolio in the first instance for images you are interested in and then send us an email to [email protected] with the names of the images and the nature of your proposal. If we can help, we'll get back to you with a quote.

Can I commission a painting?

Anna usually accepts a few commissions each year (though less at the moment as she has two young children). For an idea of the sorts of prices for original paintings, see the originals page of Anna's shop website here and then send us a message with details of your proposal so, if Anna is able to take it on, we can provide you with a quote and timescale.

Where can I buy prints of Anna’s artwork?

Limited edition prints of Anna’s artwork, as well as some of her original paintings, are available to buy in her online shop.

Where can I buy Anna’s books?

You can find out more about Anna’s two books here, where you’ll also find links for buying. 

If you’d like to buy a signed copy of Anna’s latest book, you can place an order through Anna’s online shop here.

My question isn't listed.

Still need help? Contact us at [email protected]

4. I'd like to get in touch with Anna

Will Anna read my message and reply personally?

Anna has two very young children and a busy School to run, so she isn't able to read and reply to all the emails she receives. But she is supported by a small team who help to read and reply to emails, and pass messages on to Anna.

Does Anna teach face-to-face workshops?

In the past, Anna has taught workshops in the UK (where she's based) and in the US. At the moment she is taking a break from this as she has two very young children. If this is something you'd be interested in for the future, please send us a message and we'll keep your details on file. Also, please do join her mailing list as any future classes will be publicised via email and you can of course always join Anna's online School.

Will Anna attend my art group?

Anna has attended art groups in the UK (where she's based) and the US in the past. However, she has two young children at the moment so is not attending groups. If this is something you're interested in for the future, please send us a message and we'll keep your details on file.

My question isn't listed.

Still need help? Contact us at [email protected]