« All Events

Beginner Oil Painting Class | Still Life (Four Weeks)

October 1 | 2:30 pm – 5:00 pm
$80 – $100

Skill level: Beginner/Intermediate
Class length: Four weeks
Medium: Oil painting through traditional still life
Instructor: Michael Morgan

$100 for not-yet-members, $80 for Roberson Members. Discounts available when purchasing tuition for this class and the Sculptural Oil Painting Class.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR CLASS.

Working from observation, students will learn how to translate three-dimensional objects into paint while developing an understanding of composition, value, color, light, and form. Each week will begin with a short presentation introducing examples from historical and contemporary painting, followed by demonstrations of essential oil painting techniques. Students will then spend the majority of class working on their own paintings with individualized instruction and feedback.

Over four weeks, students will develop a single still-life painting from initial drawing through final details while learning how to mix colors, create convincing light and shadow, control edges, and build a painting using direct painting techniques. No previous oil painting experience is required.

Week 1: How do I turn what I see into shapes and values?

  • Introduction to oil painting materials (paints, mediums, brushes, solvents), paint handling, studio safety, and basic terminology
  • Learn how painters use composition, cropping, scale, and negative space to construct a still life. ● Create two value scales
  • Select a viewpoint and sketch the composition directly onto the canvas using a thin mixture of burnt sienna and/or ultramarine blue
  • Identify the largest shapes and establish the basic division between light and shadow.
  • Begin a loose block-in using a limited palette, focusing on proportion and value rather than detail.

Week 2: How do value and light create form? And how do I identify/mix the colors I see?

  • Refine the relationships between highlights, halftones, core shadows, reflected light, and cast shadows to create a convincing three-dimensional form.
  • Finalize the monochromatic underpainting, correcting proportions and strengthening the overall value structure before introducing color.
  • Introduce the fundamentals of hue, value, saturation, and color temperature and how each affects a painted color.
  • Explore how complementary colors can neutralize, darken, and shift color without relying on black.
  • Demonstrate mixing color from observation, including identifying local color and adjusting mixtures for changes in light, shadow, and temperature.
  • Prepare a range of observed color mixtures to begin transitioning into full color in Week 3.

Week 3: How do I actually build a full-color painting?

  • Begin developing the still life in full color using direct or indirect painting techniques.
  • Translate the value structure established in the underpainting into color while maintaining a consistent sense of light and form.
  • Observe how local color changes across light, halftone, shadow, and reflected light.
  • Explore warm and cool color relationships within the still life and surrounding environment.
  • Explore hard, soft, and lost edges and how painters use edges to create depth and direct the viewer’s attention.
  • Develop the relationship between the objects, background, and tabletop so that the still life occupies a convincing space

Week 4: How do I refine and finish it?

  • Assess the painting as a whole and identify areas that need greater contrast, simplification, or refinement.
  • Use selective glazing to adjust color, deepen shadows, and unify passages where necessary.
  • Scumble lighter, semi-opaque color to refine areas of light and create greater luminosity.
  • Refine hard, soft, and lost edges to clarify form and direct attention.
  • Add selective details and highlights while preserving larger value and color relationships.
  • Learn when to leave a passage loose and when additional information strengthens the painting.
  • Conclude with an informal group critique and individualized suggestions for continuing to paint independently.

 

SUPPLIES: Students are required to purchase their own supplied for this class.

  • Paints
    • Ultramarine Blue
    • Burnt Sienna
    • Warm White (Gamblin briand)
    • Cool White (Gamblin briand)
    • Cadmium Yellow Light or equivalent Yellow Ochre
    • Cadmium Red Light or equivalent Alizarin Crimson or another cool red
    • Viridian or another green
  • Canvas or Panel Choose a size you can comfortably finish in four weeks (e.g., 11×14, 16×20).
  • Brushes A mix of flats, rounds, and filberts, small to medium size.
  • Other Materials: Palette (wood, glass, or disposable pads) – NOT on pre-fabircated BLICK shopping list Palette knife (for mixing), Rags or paper towels

Should you have any questions please contact Amy Marcho, Director of Education at amarcho@roberson.org, or at 607-772-0660, ext. 262

Details

Venue

Related Events