Learn the basics of
Painting
This module is focused on still life painting in a naturalistic style. We will complete a naturalistic still life as well as a Baroque-inspired still life by adding dramatic lighting through use of a shadow box! We will also cover the essential materials, tools and techniques necessary for starting your journey into painting.
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Course details
1.Introduction to Painting
In this lesson, you'll learn about the wonderful medium of painting and why people love it so much! The course educator will show you the basic tools and materials you'll need throughout the course as well as how to create a small scale painting using those tools. Finally, you'll get inspired by looking at the different styles and genres of painting.
2.Walk and Talk Like an Artist
In this lesson, you will learn what visual literacy is and why it is an essential skill for any artist to have. We will then use the elements of art and principles of design to grow your visual literacy. We will finish by discussing the essential tools that you will need for painting.
3.Introduction to Still Life
In this lesson, you will start your still life artwork! We will start by looking at a brief history of still life art. We will then move on to choosing objects and arranging a composition, followed by how to create an accurate underdrawing using guidelines and gridding.
4.Tone Is Your Friend
In this lesson, you will learn how shadow and lighting are essential for still life artwork. We will then add tone to artwork to unify and dramatise your still life.
5.Creating Colour 101
In this lesson, you will learn how to add different colours to your still life and how to choose colours that go well together. In order to do this we will discuss the essentials of colour theory. You will also learn how to mix colour using a limited amount of colours.
6.Finishing Touches
In this lesson, you will learn how give your still life a believable and smooth look by blending different areas of colours. You will also learn how to paint more confidently as you build layers from thin to thick. Lastly, you will learn how to complete your still life painting through the use of various finishing techniques.
7.Still Life Re-imagined
In this lesson, you will learn how to create an elegant new composition by balancing complexity and simplicity. This will involve making a shadow box, arranging a new complex still life, taking photos and drawing your composition!
8.Risk and Reward
In this lesson, you will learn how use the creative process by selecting your final idea and developing it through basic photo editing. Lastly, I will show you how to complete your new complex still life!
1.Lovely Landscapes
This online class will introduce you to the popular genre of landscape painting. We will discuss the guidelines for good composition, including how to use the rule of thirds and the theory of angles. We'll finish off by putting our theory into practice by creating some compositional sketches.
2.Into the Plein Air!
This lesson will introduce you to practice of plein air painting — painting outdoors! We will capture this experience by using watercolour paint, which will require some discussion about the specific technique and materials you will need to finish your plein air painting.
3.Landscape Photography
Let's get outdoors again and explore different locations for shooting photographic reference! We will look at how to use dynamics of lighting, atmosphere and weather to your advantage as well as how to do post-production photo editing.
4.Large-scale Landscape Part 1
Let's go big! In this lesson, you will explore the advantages of working at large scale, and also what techniques and tools work best when painting at this size.
5.Large-scale Landscape Part 2
While it might seem easy to start a big painting, it requires perseverance and planning when it comes to finishing it. Join the course educator as you take on this challenge together.
6.Cloudy With a Chance of Paint Tubes
In this painting class, you will study the subtleties of cloudscape painting and learn how to use atmospheric techniques such as scumbling.
7.Contemporary Craziness
This lesson is all about thinking outside of the box! Contemporary art offers a wide variety of approaches to landscape painting, giving you the opportunity to experiment with a new unique style.
8.Do Your Thing!
In this painting class, the course educator will take you through the process of executing a contemporary style landscape painting.
1.The Power of Portraits
From the beginning of time, people have created images of themselves! In this lesson we will zoom in to head-and-shoulders portrait and discover why this is widely considered the most powerful type of portrait.
2.Facetime
They say you never forget a face! Remember that every face has a unique personality and variety of shapes that requires careful observation! Starting with an accurate underdrawing, you will paint and finish your own close-up portrait!
3.Beautiful Bodies
Forget about lifeless stick-men, it's time to get some movement and proportion into your drawing! In this lesson, you will cover all of the techniques necessary to create life-like full-length sketches.
4.Lights, Camera, Action
It's time to do your own full-length portrait photo shoot! In this lesson, you will experiment with different ways of creating interest and mood as you move onto full-length portraiture.
5.Full-length Finishing
Keep going! In this lesson, you will increase paint application using blending, and apply the final touches to your full-length portrait.
6.Fauvist Faces
It's time for Fauvist fever! In this lesson, you will learn how to use wild and unexpected colour in portraits.
7.Peculiar People
What are portrait artists up to nowadays? You will explore contemporary approaches to portraiture as well conceptualise your final project.
8.Face Up to It
Finish with a bang as you complete your contemporary portrait painting.
1.Bring Out the Straight Jacket
This lesson is all about simplicity, straight edges and exact lines — 'less is more'. This seems opposite to the idea of personal expression, but this lesson will show you how to make this style personal and powerful!
2.Carving it Up With Cubism
Get ready for some serious fragmentation! Cubism is about playing with space and breaking the rules of perspective. The result is off-beat but interesting.
3.Strangely Surreal
There are few things as strange as the style of Surrealism. Don't let its dream-like playfulness fool you — this is a technically precise and exact style!
4.Abstracting Emotions
Let's break away from describing forms and dive into the world of swirling emotion and abstract painting! We will discuss the logic and technique behind this seemingly illogical style.
5.Zooming Into Photorealism
In this lesson, you will explore the paradox of finding beauty within the mechanical style of Photorealism.
6.Pop Art and Lowbrow
Get ready for flat lines, bold colour and cartoonish characters! This lesson will explore how to appropriate mainstream culture in painting as we reference the style of pop art and lowbrow.
7.Final Fusion Part 1
Post-modernism is all about breaking out of the 'ism' and picking and choosing your own combination of styles - in other words fusion! Get your groove on as you conceptualise your final painting.
8.Final Fusion Part 2
End with a bang as you finish your post-modern painting.
