In this relaxed and informative online introductory course, students will be encouraged in the fundamental steps necessary to develop an essential set of drawing and painting skills, with an emphasis on exploration, processes, as well as materials.

 

We will look at the visual building blocks of line, tone, composition, space, perspective, and colour. There will be progressive developments in these skills and an introduction to the idea of learning to really see by way of practical, observational exercises, so you gain confidence in your artmaking.

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Course requirements: 
Reliable desktop computer/smartphone/laptop

Internet connection /wireless

Webcam /microphone

Zoom account can use a free version

Materials:

Pencils: 2B, B, HB

Compressed charcoal: medium

Kneadable eraser (for charcoal), soft eraser (for pencils)

Paint: a selection of acrylics in colours: warm red (cadmium scarlet), warm yellow (cadmium yellow), warm blue (ultramarine), cool red (crimson), cool yellow (lemon yellow), cool blue (pthalo, cobalt or cerulean), black, white

Appropriate painting mediums: gel, gloss or matt mediums for acrylics, optional

Brushes: hog hair - flat small (5mm), medium (10mm), large (20-30mm)

Palette knife or spatula

Low tack masking tape

1x A4 & 1x A3 (approx) canvas or canvas board

Old shirt or apron 

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Schedule:

Session 1 is an introduction to the course, drawing materials and techniques. The first session will focus on using line to describe edges and learning to draw what we see.

Session 2 will focus on tone and mark-making. The tutor will give a slide presentation and discuss different materials and approaches to tone. Students will work on a project, using charcoal, focusing on mark-making and tone.

Session 3 will focus on composition. The tutor will discuss some of the tools of composition and provide images for the students to make a collage work focusing on composition and tone.

Session 4 will focus on perspective. The tutor will show a slide presentation and discuss methods of creating pictorial space using linear perspective, tonal contrast and texture. Using images provided by the tutor, the students will make a tonal drawing with a focus on perspective.

Session 5 is an introduction to colour and acrylic paint. The tutor will introduce basic colour theory. The students will work on a colour exercise, and a painting using a complementary colour palette.

Session 6 builds on the previous colour session and the students will have an opportunity to make a painting using a more complex colour palette.