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Course description

Paint like an Old Master! Canvas preparation, grisaille under-painting, glazes, pigments and mediums, varnishing and finishing paintings. No experience necessary.

Two six-hour lessons on consecutive Sundays.

This course is designed for both non-painters who are curious about what artists do in their studios and serious painters wanting to learn how to work with glazes over a monochrome under painting. Find out about different types of pigments, oils, varnishes and painting mediums and their uses, and tackle a painting of your own in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.

There will probably be digressions into art history, paint technology, colour mixing, pictorial composition and much else, depending on what questions you ask the tutor. Coffee, good conversation and bad jokes are encouraged.

In the first lesson Elizabeth will show you how to stretch a canvas, then demonstrate under-painting in grisaille (monochrome) before you begin your own painting. In the second lesson you will learn how to build up layers of beautiful, glowing, transparent colour using oil glazes in the manner of European master painters before the nineteenth century Impressionist revolution.

There will be a lunch-break of about half an hour at a time to be negotiated; bring your lunch and any other refreshments you require. Tea and coffee are available at the centre for 50c a cup.

you will need:

notebook and pen canvas board - approx. 25cm x 30cm 2 round taklon watercolour brushes – sizes 2 and 4 oil painting brushes - flat - sizes 12, 8, 4, 2 palette - any flat, white surface (e.g. lamipanel, perspex, or a glass chopping board) about 30cm x 40cm. NOT plastic; NOT brown or any other colour mixing (palette) knife screw-top jars, small tins etc plenty of rags For the second week you will also require 4 tubes oil paint - white, alizarin crimson, ultramarine, indian yellow pure turpentine (from your art supply shop) - at least 500 ml (NOT odourless solvent) You may wish to purchase painting medium and/or one or two other colours which will be discussed in the first lesson. This is optional.

WEAR OLD CLOTHES - YOU ARE GOING TO GET DIRTY