Oil painting II — Exploring Techniques With Rob Niezen Course Times: Tuesday 6:00 - 9:00 pm Material Fee of $ 20 for wood panel for first class Course Description From the 15th century to the 19th century oil painting followed the process of glazing many layers of translucent paint. New pigments and the availability of paint in tubes revolutionized painting, and the impressionists started working outside, applying colour straight from the tube on canvas. Experimentation continued to deep in the 20th century. In this course we study the methods of the different periods in the history of oil painting. We explore a variety of techniques by painting different subject matter in a number of styles. You will learn about the renaissance techniques of glazing, the colourful approaches of the impressionists and post-impressionists, and conduct experiments of 20th century abstraction. You can choose to follow the course curriculum to explore your own imagery at any point. Prerequisite: basic knowledge and experience in painting with oils.
Course Outline Class 1 – Renaissance painting techniques — examples of renaissance and baroque masters and their techniques, coloured grounds, under painting, glazing techniques, building colour, and exploring light. Paint a still life (objects provided): sketch a composition composition and start transferring to a wood panel (12 x 16” - supplied) Class 2 – Renaissance painting techniques — discussion on mediums; still life painting — drawing on canvas, start under painting.
Class 3 – Renaissance painting techniques — discussion on colours/pigments used by renaissance painters: continue still life painting
Class 4 – Renaissance painting techniques — discussion creating light in the painting through various approaches, such as chiaroscuro and sfumato: continue still life painting
Class 5 - Impressionist painting techniques — examples of impressionist painters, discuss their use of colour and their search of light; start impressionist landscape painting from your own photo. Canvas 16 x 20” or larger.
Class 6 – Impressionist painting techniques — examples of the impressionist painters Monet and Degas later in their career; continue landscape painting.
Class 7 – Expressionist painting and pictorial colour — discuss the post-impressionist painters Cézanne, Van Gogh and Matisse, and their approach to colour; painting of an interior from your own photo. Canvas 16 x 20” or larger.
Class 8 – Expressionist painting and pictorial colour — continue painting
Class 9 – Abstraction — examples of abstract masters, ways to achieve abstraction, inspirations, and application of contemporary painting techniques — make studies for abstract painting from subject of your own choosing, and start your abstract painting. Canvas 16 x 20” or larger.
Class 10 – Abstraction — examples of abstract masters – continue to paint your abstract.
Materials
Supports and grounds options: Three or more canvases 16 x 20” or larger.
Palette options: You can use a formal wooden artists’ palette, or a palette book with disposable pages, wax paper, a piece of wood, board, glass, metal, disposable tin pizza pans. It should be at least 12” x 14”.
Brushes: A variety of flats, brights, rounds; and a good range of sizes. Be sure to have some fine brushes (size 0- 000) for detailed work. You can use acrylic/oil painting brushes or watercolour brushes. Hogs hair bristle brushes are good for impasto and impressionistic painting techniques.
Palette knives, rags (paper towel)
Paint: It is necessary to have all the colours of your palette in the 1st class.
Titanium White Cadmium Red medium Yellow Ochre
Iron Oxide, Mars Black or Alizarin Crimson Burnt Umber Ivory Black
Cadmium Yellow medium* Pthalo Blue Burnt Sienna
Lemon Yellow* Ultramarine Blue
Optional colours: Emerald Green, Viridian Green, Prussian Blue, Cobalt Blue* Cobalt Violet*
*a less expensive pigment for these colours may be substituted. It will be indicated by the term “hue” after the colour name on the tube, or is sometimes called “Azo”.
Georgian, Winton, Van Gogh, and other student grade paints are acceptable.
Painting Medium:
Bring 2 glass jars with tightly fitting lids to class, have 1 - 2 glass jars at home to recycle mineral spirits. The jar that has “dirty” mineral spirits can be let to settle and carefully poured into a clean jar in a few days. Odorless mineral spirits or Liquin.
Drawing materials: Pencil crayons- browns and black.
Where to buy your materials: Victory Art Supplies: 342 Rubidge St. 705-536-3051; Michael’s in Peterborough; Curry’s in Whitby, or order from Curry’s online www.currys.com; Stevenson’s in Scarborough (or order by phone: 416-755-7795).