The Limited Palette: A Good Place to Start
September 18 - October 16
W
1:30 PM - 4:30 PM
All
THE LIMITED PALETTE: A GOOD PLACE TO START
How a painting is begun is crucial to how the painting process will unfold. In this 5-week course we explore two different ways of beginning to paint in oils using two different limited palettes:
1. We begin with The Primary Prismatic Palette, loosely based on the techniques of Neo-Impressionist painter Georges Seurat. On the first day we make a blue and white monochromatic underpainting. On the second day we complete the painting using a full palette mixed with primary colors.
2. Next we use The Earth Palette as the foundation for a layered painting. We begin with a transparent monochromatic underpainting on the first day. On the second day, we use earth colors for painting values from light to dark, and for suggesting hues and warm/cool relationships. On the third day, we complete the painting using a full palette with transparent glazing, translucent Velatura, opaque, and impasto paint application. We practice loading the lights to make the image pop, and we contrast that with painting the darkest darks transparently.
This course gives students essential skills, a vocabulary of painting terms and an introduction to a myriad of technical concepts. Each class begins with a painting demonstration, including how to lay out a palette that is a gradation of mixed hues and tints. We look at art historical references and other visually inspiring materials that explain the hows and whys of each lesson. The skills practiced in this class will equip students for future painting classes and for moving forward towards developing their own individual methods and vision.
