I always wished I could paint like that! The instructors are honest but encouraging, the student community is kind, and I improved quickly.
MaryBeth B. Β· Trustpilot
Everything you need to become a real watercolor artist, all in one place.
We help people in their 50s, 60s and 70s finally paint the watercolors they always wanted to, by learning the way artists always have: under a working master, one phase at a time, with the 5-Phase Method.
No payment to apply. No pressure on the call. Pomm keeps the Institute small so her feedback stays personal.
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The teacher I've been looking for my whole life. After years of frustration with other methods, I finally have someone looking at my work and teaching the fundamentals first.
Tori R. Β· Institute student, Trustpilot
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I'm so glad that, thanks to Pomm, I am getting more and more attention to my artwork. My husband kept saying, "It looks 3D!" And this version has just sold.
Karen C. Β· Institute student, sold her Nubble Lighthouse
The watercolor program students over 60 trust
Why hundreds of adult beginners chose to learn from Pomm instead of another tutorial.
5.0Every Trustpilot review is five stars
250artists in the Institute right now
90,000+people have learned from Pomm
40+years as a professional artist. Originals sell for $30,000 to $80,000.
Built for painters who are done starting over
For decades, the art world sold beginners a lie: that you either have talent or you don't. The 5-Phase Method changes that. It's not another tutorial to follow, but a method to master.
Method
There's no guessing. Every painting, whatever the subject, is built in the same five phases, in the same order, light to dark.
- Logical
- Water goes on light to dark and every layer dries before the next. Learn why, and mud stops happening.
- Repeatable
- You stop asking "how did she do that?" and start asking "which phase am I in?"
Feedback
Knowing the method is worthless until someone looks at your painting and tells you what to do next.
- Eyes on your work
- Post a painting with its reference photo and Pomm replies within 24 hours, often with a personal video.
- Individual, not generic
- Your fold, your leaf, your shadow. Never a canned technique video.
Structure
Life gets in the way. The Institute is built so you always know the next step, even after a month away.
- The Master Painter Checksheet
- Every step written out, each one approved before you move on. There is no "behind."
- A live class every week
- Pomm paints live and answers questions. Every class is recorded.
Mastery
The goal isn't a nice painting. It's outgrowing the person who thought they weren't talented.
- Identity over outcome
- You stop "trying watercolor" and start being a painter, with a master certificate to show for it.
- Permanent change
- Once you control the water, you can take it into any subject and any style.
Real students. Real paintings.
Retired teachers, nurses, grandmothers, busy professionals. They came to finally paint, and found a method, a teacher, and a community.
An Institute student's first attempts, and her woodpecker under cherry blossom.
Another student's starting point, and her lemons from the curriculum, shadows and all.
Sold
This version has also just sold. My husband kept saying, "It looks 3D!"Karen, Nubble Lighthouse, York, Maine
Sold 4 at her first fair
Since I've never done a fair like this, I had no idea how to display things! It worked, I sold 4 paintings.Valarie
Approved by Pomm
Master class painting done and approved! Plus, I already have somebody who wants to hang this on her wall.MaryBeth, Bistro by the Sea
First painting, framed
Well I feel like a proud new Mama! My first Institute painting framed.Regena
Lace & folds masterclass
After years of dancing, the prima ballerina took her final bow.Leila, who made the lesson her own story
Framed
Just finished and framed my painting of the velvet chair.Dawn, same lesson, her own version
A family memory
We watched our younger son gather his big sister into his arms to warm her. Aww my heart!Martha, "A Tender Sibling Moment"
From Pomm's library
Just finished Two Birds from Pomm's library.Robin
Hanging at home
I'm pretty happy getting to see my waterbird paintings framed and on the wall!Barbara, Roseate Spoonbills
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Trustpilot
Five stars from verified students
A few of the real stories from the Institute community.
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Worth the investment. The method helped me break through a plateau, and Megan's patience made the technology easy.
Laurie W. Β· Trustpilot
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One of the best decisions I've ever made was to sign up for Pomm's course. Clear demonstrations, step-by-step review of my work, and custom videos for my situation.
T. Stapleton Β· Trustpilot
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Joining Pomm's Watercolor Institute has made me a better artist. The tutorials, the live lessons, the community, the welcoming environment.
Eva H. Β· Sweden, Trustpilot
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Watercolor teaching at its best! As a beginner I love the five-phase process and the personal critiques. Everyone is so friendly.
Jan H. Β· Trustpilot
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Pomm's personal feedback has shown me visible progress over about twenty paintings. She is a talented teacher.
Betsi H. Β· Trustpilot
Institute stories
Real students on what changed when they stopped watching tutorials and started learning from Pomm.
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From YouTube to real feedbackJanet
βΆLive feedback vs. recorded videosSandy
βΆA worthwhile investmentSandie
βΆThe five-phase processJan
βΆActually painting againSandy
βΆIndividual attention and supportBetsi
βΆHer family noticed her progressBetsi
βΆNot afraid to show her art nowJanet
βΆA plan, and a recommendationDon
Years of YouTube taught you to paint fast and loose. We'll teach you to slow down, layer, and finally get results.
Pomm is a working artist, not a content creator. Her originals sell for $30,000 to $80,000, her painting of her daughter made the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, and she still paints every day from a desk in a two-bedroom condo. The Institute is the system she built so that you can learn exactly what she does, in exactly the order she does it, with her looking over your shoulder.
Meet the founder
Pomm Hepner
Professional watercolor artist and creator of the 5-Phase Method
Pomm has painted professionally for more than forty years. She started as a photorealist in oils, switched to watercolor while pregnant with her first daughter, and spent four decades turning one layering technique into a method anyone can follow. She founded the Institute to do what the old academies did: raise artists under a master, one phase at a time.
- Originals sell for $30,000 to $80,000 and regularly sell out.
- Commissioned for the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, the magazine Norman Rockwell painted 321 covers for.
- Collected by David Hasselhoff, Priscilla Presley and Nancy Cartwright, among others.
- Her 9/11 painting hangs in about 30 firehouses around the world.
- Won first place at the first public show she ever entered. Still studying, most recently at the Florence Academy of Art.
"It's not the talent. It's the method. Not one of my students has failed, because when someone hits a wall, I go back and find it with them. I will not let you fail."
The team behind the Institute
You are never left alone with a video library. There is a real person at every step, and most students talk to one within a day of applying.
Megan Igo, Student Success
Megan personally meets every new student on Zoom: the platform, the materials list, stretching your first board, even where to set up a painting corner. She has onboarded students in their 70s and 80s. If technology worries you, she is the reason it doesn't need to.
Pomm checks student questions first thing every morning, wherever in the world she is. Post a painting with its reference photo in "Talk to Pomm" and you get a reply within 24 hours.
The old way of learning watercolor is failing beginners
Join the students who are learning with the water, not against it.
For decades, beginners were toldβ¦
Talent is something you're born with.
Watch a fast hand on YouTube. Splash, hope, and call the accidents "happy." Buy more supplies when it doesn't work. Shrink your ambition to fit what you can manage alone.
That way broke you, not because you failed, but because nobody ever taught you the order.
The Institute is the shift
A new kind of art school for adults who have waited long enough: a method, a master, and feedback on every painting.
Where five phases replace guesswork.
Where a teacher's eyes replace hoping.
Where retirement becomes your studio years, not your "too late."
Most programs will keep selling you a faster trick. You have already seen where that road leads: drawers of supplies, a folder of unwatched videos, and the quiet conclusion that you're just not talented.
This is your chance to do it the way artists always have. This isn't another course. It's the beginning of your apprenticeship.
Your apprenticeship begins right now
You're not signing up for another app or a generic course. You're starting a 12-month apprenticeship with a working master that adapts to your pace, your schedule, and your life. Here's what happens when you get started:
Apply in minutes
Tell us where you are with painting and what you want to be able to do, so the conversation is about you, not a sales script.
Talk with the team
Book a call. We look at your work together, an honest art review, and tell you plainly whether the Institute can help. If it can't, we say so.
Meet Megan
She sets you up personally on Zoom: the platform, your materials, your first stretched board.
Paint, post, progress
Weekly live classes, Pomm's feedback on every painting, and the Checksheet so you always know the next step. Most students are painting something they're proud of inside a month.
Join the community
250 artists, most of them over 60, finishing paintings, framing them, gifting them, and selling them. Twenty new finished paintings were posted in the last five days alone.
Frequently asked questions
Is this just another course or just another video library?
No. This is a 12-month apprenticeship with weekly live classes and Pomm's personal feedback on every painting you post. The videos teach the method; the feedback is what fixes your painting.
I've never painted seriously. Is this for beginners?
Yes. About a quarter of current students had never painted before joining, and most of the rest had tried tutorials that didn't stick. You start with washes and a maple leaf, not a masterpiece.
I'm in my 70s. Am I too old?
Most Institute students are over 60 and many are over 70. Megan has onboarded students in their 80s. Watercolor is slow and calm by design.
Do I need talent?
No. The natural gifts are an eye and the desire to paint. Everything else is a skill, and skills are taught. Not one of Pomm's students has failed.
Is this loose, splashy, wet-on-wet watercolor?
No. Pomm teaches controlled, realistic watercolor. Every layer dries before the next, so you decide where every stroke goes. Master the water and you can take that control into any style.
What if I travel, or life gets in the way?
Every class is recorded and the Checksheet is self-paced. Students pause for grandchildren, trips and health, and pick back up. There is no "behind."
How much time does it take each week?
One live class of one to two hours, plus whatever painting time you have. A detailed painting takes weeks of thin layers on purpose; that slowness is the point, and students call it therapeutic.
Do I need a studio or expensive materials?
No. A dining table works. The palette is about seven Winsor & Newton colors, Arches paper, a sanded plywood board and ordinary brushes. Megan walks you through the list.
What does it cost?
The Institute is a 12-month program with a single tuition. The team goes through it with you on the call, with no obligation. Nothing is charged to apply or to book.
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250 artists learning in the Institute
If it feels right, let's talk.
Fill in a short application and book a conversation with the team. We'll look at your work, answer your questions, and tell you whether the Institute is the right place for you.
Apply nowNo payment to apply. No pressure on the call.
