Salisbury based classically trained artist & art tutor

Starting at The Beginning

By working with people over a longer period, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. two Saturdays in a month, in a three month term, this enables the student to absorb things at a more "digestible" rate and gives them a chance to go away and work with what they've learnt. It is better to start from scratch, however talented or experienced the student is, because that way it is possible to convey the method fully. This entails at least one (monochrome) still life and one cast drawing. From these beginnings, the student will progress through charcoal head to grisaille cast painting and finally oil portrait. Life classes start with pencil drawing, progressing through charcoal to oils. It is important to develop accuracy and co-ordination of hand and eye. Rendering of three dimensional forms and mastery of half-tones is vital to achieving a likeness, and to this end it is strongly recommended to undertake charcoal and pencil drawing exercises.

Oil Painting

In portraits, the aim of this training is not only to achieve a likeness, but also a satisfying characterization of the sitter. It is desirable to produce a painting that is expressive and has colour, composition and tone balanced. To this end, the teaching method has various stages that need to be worked on. It is necessary to gain some understanding of colour theory and its application and also of composition. It is important to grasp how to be able to use strong colour and tonal contrast whilst maintaining overall balance within the picture. The goal is to move towards finding your characteristic mark-making and finding and developing expressive strengths.

Courses

The venue is my studio in Whitsbury, one of the villages outside Salisbury. Sessions are 10.15 am to 12.45 pm with a light lunch and glass of wine followed by 1.30 pm to 4.00 pm. A cup of tea and brief discussion of the work round off the day. The courses are non-residential, but daily transport from Salisbury can be arranged. At the moment my loo arrangements are a little bit basic, making do with a camping loo in an outbuilding, although there is a decent pub in the village, so there is somewhere to retreat to! Unfortunately, I do not have disabled access at my studio. The price covers the six Saturdays of the term. The cost of drawing materials are included in the price. The costs of oil paints, canvases or portrait or life models are not included. Model costs are shared, with portrait models as well, since we normally work two to a sitter. The basic cost for the term would be £250.

art class