Paint Faster! Paint Faster!

Classes are due to start in January, so I've been beavering away with planning. The first courses are aimed at beginners and it's been quite a challenge deciding what to leave in and what to take out - given that the classes are a mere one hour in length.

I have a stream of consciousness snaking it's way through my mind as to what I want to achieve for my attendees, but it took a trial lesson with my better half Mandy (who had never painted with oils before) to highlight gaps in my thinking.

Babbling Like a Loon

I had a clear idea of the learning outcomes I was striving for, but the reality of only having a single one hour session to achieve them (or as the inimitable Francis Bacon would have put it, "the brutality of fact") was a particular harsh restriction. We got about two thirds of of the way through, but Mandy did sterling work and for a first effort was splendid - in spite of my yakkety-sax barrage of top tips about colour and composition.

As you can see, the beginner's class doesn't get overly concerned with detail, it just aims to teach the fundamentals of colour and tone. We don't use any fancy colours, just literally primary red, primary yellow, primary blue and white.

Mandys First Oil Painting
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By Mark B

Mark has been drawing and painting since the late 1800s and has exhibited work in galleries and venues around the UK.