Beginning Painting: Opaque Media

Painting is a way to make an image that can seem powerfully real. For centuries painting in opaque media has been an effective process for making the images that artists and their supporters have wanted to see.

This class will introduce fundamental practices and concepts in working with opaque painting media in which white is used to lighten colors, allowing for flexibility in image making. Working in either oil or acrylic are options for this class. We will compare and discuss these and other painting media on the first day of class.

Our work in class will be based on direct observation and will emphasize patient repetition of step-by-step process. We will learn about the materials we will be using and explore basic paint application and color mixing. We will learn practices and discuss concepts useful for building an effective ongoing painting practice and considering relationships between painting and drawing practices. During the class we will be painting from observation of still life setups.

This is a process-oriented class requiring or building patience. Simple procedures and fundamental concepts of painting will be introduced, and time will be allowed on an individual basis for building familiarity with these procedures. In this class we will work slowly and discuss practical concepts for beginning and continuing painting, to build a strong foundation in painting for each participant to be able to paint in a wide variety of styles and consider a wide range of subject matter as they progress in this wonderful field.

Prerequisite (recommended): To get the most out of the class students it will be helpful to have taken a Beginning Drawing class through the Center for Lifelong Learning, or have similar drawing class experience.

No supplies are required for the first day of class. Painting supply lists for oil and acrylic painting will be provided and discussed for subsequent classes during our first class meeting.