VALUE STUDIES

Students start by mixing up their own tubes of neutral greys which will be used for the duration of their painting study. By ‘stringing out’ neutral greys and adding white, students will practice the handling of paint while creating the illusion of form by painting spheres of different local values.

CAST PAINTING

Students begin by painting one feature or simple cast en grisaille, followed by one using full colour. Careful observation takes place to selectively model the paint.

COLOUR EXERCISES

Students begin learning more about colour (hue, value, chroma) in regard to form by painting a selection of coloured spheres and gradations.

LONG POSE FIGURE PAINTING

Students of the painting programme work with the life model over a series of long poses, lasting up to 60 hours each. This allows for a reasonable amount of time to thoroughly study and execute a painting from life.

PORTRAIT SKETCH

Along with the figure paintings, students work on portrait sketches, lasting up 15 hours each, throughout the year. The focus is placed similarly on shape organisation and an understanding of sub-dermal anatomy and facial expression.

5. Master Copy

Copying drawings and paintings of masterworks is an excellent way to study composition, paint handling, and colour mixing and harmony. Students will choose at least one master copy to work on during their time in the painting programme.

STILL LIFE PAINTING

Students will compose and paint a selection of still life setups, from simple to complex, in order to develop fundamental aspects of drawing, light, colour, texture and composition. At the still-life painting stage, students will also have the option of working ‘sight-size’ to learn this optical technique of measurement.