Friday evenings - 5-7pm - Starting 01/08/2025
Over eight structured weeks, this course offers a supportive environment to develop your oil painting skills while working directly from a still life arrangement.
You’ll be guided through the process of observation and interpretation, beginning with a foundational sketch that explores composition, proportion, tone, and form.
Through focused painting exercises, we’ll examine how shifts in colour value—lightness and darkness—can create the illusion of depth and three-dimensionality.
Students will also learn practical approaches to rendering different surface qualities, from reflective metals to soft fabrics.
Suitable for beginners through to intermediate students, this course aims to build confidence and extend your individual painting style.
Course fee: $250
Hosted by Gallery NWC - 188 Katoomba Street, Katoomba, NSW, 2780
PLEASE NOTE - We will be in contact with you before the start date to inform you of a required materials list - it is the attendee's responsibility to purchase these materials & bring them to class.
CLASS TIMETABLE:
Week 1 - Introduction & Foundations
Following introductions and housekeeping, we’ll outline course content and materials. We’ll explore the genre of still life, followed by a tutor demonstration and Q&A session.
Time permitting, students may begin a preliminary sketch.
Week 2 - Tonal Studies in Monochrome
Through guided monochromatic painting exercises, students will explore relative tonal values and create a tonal oil sketch of the still life to understand how light and form.
Please bring your board or canvas next week if ready to begin your painting.
Week 3 - Sketching & Oil Painting Fundamentals
Individual guidance will be given on monochromatic sketches. We’ll cover oil painting basics, including paint textures, mediums, brush care and use.
Students will begin composing their still life sketch and mapping out broad shapes.
Week 4 - Underpainting & Value Demonstration
Once you are happy with your sketch of the still life, you can begin the underpainting layer by blocking in broad shapes while identifying the darkest, and lightest, tones.
A demonstration on finding the appropriate colour value will be performed. Students will receive Individual guidance to continue their still life painting.
Week 5 - Colour & Detail
With the underpainting established, we’ll begin refining colour and tonal relationships.
A tutor demonstration will focus on colour mixing and rendering surface qualities within the still life.
Week 6 - Refining Relationships
We’ll move from broad to more subtle value shifts and surface details.
Individual guidance will support each student’s progress as they build form and dimension in their painting.
Week 7 - Unifying Elements
Students will continue refining tonal and colour relationships, developing cohesion and depth within their still life paintings.
Week 8 - Finishing Touches & Reflection
In the final session, we’ll focus on the finishing details to bring each painting to completion. We’ll also reflect on the course experience and discuss how students can continue developing their practice independently.
Congratulations on completing your still life painting!