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Beginners Oil Painting

Five Week Course

This course is suitable for both beginners and improvers.

A well-structured and systematic course for those who have never painted before, as well as for those who want to reinforce their basic skills in oils or to move onto oils having previously used acrylics or water-based media. Students learn to see colour, shape and tone and relate all these elements together in various compositions. This course aims to foster self-confidence and enjoyment of painting in a stimulating environment. There will be an opportunity to work from a life model as well as working from still life.

This is an ideal course for beginners as there is plenty of guidance from the tutor.

Topics Covered

• Lay out a basic palette
• Working with a limited tonal palette
• Handling paint
• Laying down a tonal ground
• Drawing out and under-painting
• Glazing and paint mediums
• Understanding colour and mixing
• Understanding composition
• How to take a painting to completion

By the end of this course you will: understand how to use oil paints. Be able to undertake a painting alone. Understand how to mix colours, and have a good understanding of colour theory. Have an understanding of tone, composition, handling paint, and more. Have a number of paintings to take home!

Week One: Tone

In this initial session students will practice handling oil paint. We will go through the basics of mediums, brushes and the layering process. Working from a still life using a limited tonal palette, students will learn how to draw out the form and develop a basic tonal underpainting

Week Two: Colour Mixing

We will start to understand how to handle colour and basic colour theory. Students can bring in a selection of colourful objects and produce two still life studies, one realistic and one more abstract.

Week Three: Texture and Abstraction

We will be working from a textural still life in this week, creating timed studies and using view-finders to section areas of interest. We will also be looking at contemporary artists for inspiration.

Week Four: Artistic References

Working from an artist of choice, students will use their style as inspiration to produce their own painting in oils.

Week Five: You’ve Made It!

Either – A very brief introduction to landscape painting or a supported self study followed by final touches to previous artwork. We can decide as a group in week four. Evaluation of course, learner achievement and progression, most importantly… Celebration!

Basic materials are provided but you will need to bring the following;

• 2x glass jars with lids (e.g. jam jars)
• Rags for wiping
• Oil painting can be messy so please bring an apron or wear old clothes.

We do use disposable paper palettes but if you would like to invest in something more permanent we would recommend a basic clear glass chopping board.

Tutor

Sophie Berger is a practicing fine artist with work in UK and international galleries, she is a regular teacher for the short courses at Plymouth College of Art and Kigbeare Studios. Sophie’s work is greatly affected by colour and atmosphere, both of which change due to weather and seasons, so observation of the environment and surroundings influence her work both directly as well as subconsciously. Living in a remote village on Dartmoor, Sophie spends her time on the moors or coastline, sketching in charcoal and coloured ink then using these to influence her oil paintings back in her studio.

Cafe Bar Discount

Workshop attendees get 10% food at hot drinks at our Café Bar.

Venue: Exeter Phoenix