Artistic Pursuits

Artistic Pursuits is Brenda Ellis's K-12 art curriculum, the oldest continuously-published homeschool art program of its kind, and the one that most art-serious families end up with before the child is done. It covers technique, art history, and the elements of composition in a sequential structure across grade bands, and its newer editions integrate video demonstrations alongside the core books.

Last updated: 2026-04-24 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Subject-specialist / sequential art curriculum
Worldview	Faith-neutral (the curriculum itself carries no religious framing; the author is Christian)
Grades	PreK-12
Formats	Print books; DVD / Blu-Ray / streaming video editions
Cost tier	Standard
Parent intensity	3
ESA-common	Yes (widely approved as fine-arts material)
Accredited	No
Established	1999
Website	artisticpursuits.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	4	Systematic coverage of technique, art history, and composition across grade bands
Ease of teaching	4	Open-and-go books; DVD editions remove even the parent-read-aloud burden
Content quality	5	Full-color master-work reproductions, thoughtful projects, strong sequencing
Flexibility	4	Books are grade-banded but usable by slightly older or younger students
Value for money	4	Reasonable per-book pricing; DVD adds meaningful cost
Worldview scope	5	No religious framing in the curriculum; usable across every worldview
Visual/design	5	Full-color throughout; excellent master-work reproductions
Support resources	4	Companion supply kits, lifetime streaming options, convention presence

Who the publisher is

Artistic Pursuits was founded in 1999 by Brenda Ellis Abbey, an artist and art educator, and her husband Daniel Ellis. Brenda is a 1980 graduate of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine and an honors graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, where she met Daniel. The couple homeschooled their three children while developing the curriculum, beginning with a high-school drawing book in 1999 and expanding backward into the elementary grades over the subsequent decades. Brenda's credentials matter: the books are written by a working artist with formal training, and that shows in the curriculum's respect for technique and its willingness to engage master works directly.

Artistic Pursuits has accumulated a long list of recognitions in the homeschool review ecosystem. Practical Homeschooling Reader Awards, Homeschool Crew Favorite Fine Arts Product, Excellence in Education awards, and Cathy Duffy's 101 and 102 Top Picks. The program is distributed through the publisher's own site, Christian Book Distributors, Rainbow Resource, and Amazon. The newer editions, rebranded with the typographical stylization ARTistic Pursuits and integrated with DVD or streaming video, add a demonstration component alongside the core books.

Although Brenda Ellis is Christian and the publisher has a quiet Christian self-identification, the curriculum itself carries no explicit religious content. There is no Scripture in the lessons, no doctrinal framing, and no worldview-specific interpretation of art. The curriculum is treated as faith-neutral in editorial practice. Families across every worldview. Christian, Jewish, secular, Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim, use Artistic Pursuits without adaptation, and the publisher does not position the program as specifically for any one tradition.

The core pedagogy

Artistic Pursuits is organized as a sequential art curriculum across grade bands. The K-3 level is covered by multiple books introducing the visual arts through drawing, color, shape, and early art history. The Upper Elementary level (grades 4-6) moves into more technical drawing and the elements of art and composition. The Middle School level (grades 7-8) covers the elements of art composition and introduces art history more systematically. The High School level (grades 9-12) is organized by topic, drawing, color and composition, art of the ancients, art of the western world, with each volume functioning as a semester or year-long study.

Each book pairs instructional text with full-color reproductions of master works and guided studio projects. A typical lesson covers a specific technique or art-history topic in two to four pages, presents master-work examples with context and discussion questions, and then directs the student to a studio project applying the lesson's concept. Supplies are sold as companion kits matched to each book, pencils, watercolors, pastels, specific paper, or listed for families to gather independently.

Signature mechanics: (1) Sequential grade-banded structure, the curriculum progresses in coherent stages from PreK through grade 12, each book building on prior. (2) Art-theory / art-history / technique integration, every book covers all three rather than isolating one, so students learn to draw and learn art history simultaneously. (3) Master-work reproductions in color, genuine color reproductions of Vermeer, Monet, O'Keeffe, Kandinsky appear in the books, not as afterthoughts but as the examples the studio project references. (4) DVD and streaming video editions, newer ARTistic Pursuits with Art Instruction DVDs add video demonstration of each technique, available as DVD, Blu-Ray, or lifetime streaming.

A day in the life

A fifth-grader using Artistic Pursuits Elements and Techniques spends about forty-five minutes to an hour on an art lesson, typically twice a week. Day one: the student reads the lesson's instructional text (two to four pages on, say, one-point perspective), studies the accompanying master-work reproduction (a Vermeer interior, perhaps, with annotation showing the perspective lines), and discusses with a parent or sibling. Day two: the student completes the studio project, a perspective drawing of her own choosing, using supplies from the companion kit or gathered independently. The parent's role is to discuss the master work, confirm the studio project instructions are understood, and critique the finished piece constructively. A family using the DVD edition replaces the reading with a video demonstration and shortens the parent's teaching role further.

A tenth-grader using the High School drawing book works more independently. Each lesson is longer, requires more time per studio project, and assumes the student can read and interpret instructions without parent mediation. A typical high-school art week is two to three hours, divided between reading, master-work study, and studio time. Transcripts for college-prep students can claim art credit based on completed portfolios from the High School books.

What they do exceptionally well

Integration of technique, history, and theory. Most homeschool art programs pick one focus. Artistic Pursuits covers technique (drawing, color, composition), art history (masters across periods and cultures), and art theory (the elements of composition and design) in integrated lessons. A student who completes the curriculum has seen the full span of Western art alongside practical instruction, which is closer to a real art-school foundation than most homeschool programs attempt.

Quality of master-work reproductions. The books are full-color and the reproductions are genuinely good, not the thumbnail-quality images common in textbook-style programs. A student studying Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring sees it in adequate reproduction to make the light and color the lesson discusses actually visible on the page. This quality has been maintained across editions.

Sequential structure across grade bands. A family that starts with Artistic Pursuits in kindergarten can reasonably follow the curriculum through high school without ever leaving the publisher. This kind of continuous K-12 sequencing is rare in homeschool art and relieves the annual "what do we do for art this year" question that plagues families using fragmented resources.

What they do poorly

DVD and video editions add real cost. The core books are standard-tier priced, but the DVD editions roughly double the per-level investment. Families wanting video demonstration should budget accordingly. A family committed to the full K-12 sequence with DVD at every level is looking at $500 to $800 across the span, which is meaningful even spread across thirteen years.

Supply kits push total cost up. Artistic Pursuits recommends specific supplies for each book, good-quality pencils, specific paper, watercolors or pastels depending on the level. Companion kits are convenient but priced at retail art-supply rates. A family sourcing supplies independently through Blick or similar can typically cut supply cost by 30 to 50 percent, but it takes planning.

The curriculum assumes reading maturity early. The K-3 books are accessible, but from Upper Elementary forward, the instructional text is written at middle-school reading level and assumes the student can read lessons independently. Families with late readers or students with reading difficulties will need to read the lessons aloud or shift to DVD editions to bypass the text.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Artistic Pursuits if: you want a serious, sequential K-12 art curriculum usable across every worldview; you value the integration of technique, art history, and art theory in every lesson; you want full-color master-work reproductions as examples; you appreciate a real artist's sensibility in the curriculum design; you want the option of video demonstration but don't need it in every lesson; you are planning art as a real subject across your child's whole schooling.

• Skip Artistic Pursuits if: you want a video-first, streaming-only platform without books; you need a very budget-constrained art option (single-book programs like Chalk Pastel come in cheaper); you want a faith-integrated art program with explicit Christian theological framing; you want a curriculum that replaces art-school foundations for a child pursuing serious visual-art careers (a formal portfolio coach matters more at that point); your child is a pure self-directed art explorer who resists structured lessons.

Cost honest assessment

As of April 2026, individual Artistic Pursuits books retail in the $47 to $65 range depending on level and edition, with Christian Book Distributors and direct sales through artisticpursuits.com at approximately the same price points. The newer ARTistic Pursuits with Art Instruction DVDs editions, which bundle video demonstration with the book, run higher, approximately $85 to $120 per level depending on format (DVD, Blu-Ray, or streaming). Companion supply kits are priced in the $35 to $85 range depending on level and medium requirements.

Compared to ArtAchieve (roughly $53 for an Entire Level one-year license, video-first) and to Atelier Art (multi-level kits at higher cost), Artistic Pursuits sits in the standard middle of the art-curriculum market. A family running Artistic Pursuits K through 12 spends roughly $500 to $900 across thirteen years on books alone; adding DVD or streaming video doubles that. Supplies run an additional $150 to $400 per level if purchased through companion kits.

ESA eligibility notes

Artistic Pursuits is distributed through artisticpursuits.com, Christian Book Distributors, Rainbow Resource, and Amazon, all of which are approved vendors on most state ESA marketplaces. Because the curriculum itself carries no explicit religious content, it is typically eligible under fine-arts categories even in states that restrict religious-content curricula. Arizona's ClassWallet, Florida's Step Up For Students, Iowa's Student First Scholarship, and Utah's Utah Fits All have all historically reimbursed Artistic Pursuits purchases. DVD editions may be handled under a separate category from print in some state systems; families planning to purchase DVD or streaming editions should verify both lines.

Alternatives

• ArtAchieve, a family would choose ArtAchieve over Artistic Pursuits for video-first, streaming-native instruction with international folk-art content and flexible per-lesson pricing.
• Chalk Pastel (Hodgepodge), a family would choose Chalk Pastel over Artistic Pursuits for a budget-friendly single-medium video program focused on confidence-building rather than formal art foundation.
• Meet the Masters, a family would choose Meet the Masters over Artistic Pursuits for a thematic artist-by-artist approach that pairs art history with studio projects in a more co-op-friendly structure.

How we verified this

Our editorial team reviewed the Artistic Pursuits website including the Our Team page and company history, the current catalog of books at artisticpursuits.com, the Christian Book Distributors listings of the full product line, and Amazon listings for the K-3 and high-school editions. We cross-referenced against Cathy Duffy's published Top Picks review, the Modulo veteran homeschool expert review of ARTistic Pursuits, and current retail pricing across Christian Book Distributors and Rainbow Resource. Prices and edition information verified April 2026.