Oil painting: focus on light and shade
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This course has now started
- Course Code: VH348
- Dates: 19/04/24 - 17/05/24
- Time: 14:00 - 17:00
- Taught: Fri, Daytime
- Duration: 5 sessions (over 5 weeks)
- Location: Keeley Street
- Tutor: Alex Hanna
Course Code: VH348
Choose a start date
Duration: 5 sessions (over 5 weeks)
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
Inspired by the light and shadow within classic film noir (by directors such as Hitchcock and Carol Reed), students will explore the expressive power of tonal imagery to develop their own dramatic and moody paintings.
What will we cover?
- painting tonal studies from film stills derived from Hitchcock, Carol Reed and others.
- the face and light within film noir.
- the lonely figure in space within film noir.
- using wet and dry oil painting techniques to explore an ‘emerging image’ process.
- developing a colour-tone painting palette, starting with black and white.
- finding echoes and cross-currents between film noir and artists through time (Edward Hopper, Caravaggio, Gerhard Richter, Cindy Sherman).
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- use tonal colour in painting with sensitivity and pleasure.
- use dry and wet oil painting methods to ‘unearth’ an image.
- paint a luminous and moody oil painting with a dramatic tonal structure.
- find inspiration from related photographic and artistic sources for further painting.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
Basic drawing and oil painting experience necessary, otherwise suits all levels.
- A willingness to explore a colour-tone approach to oil painting in some depth.
- A curiosity about combining the mood of film noir, with luminous oil painting.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
- Slide shows, books, practical demos, website research, group & individual advice,
- Final session, students will make a long painting based on their favoured approach so they may wish to research suggested websites artists & concepts as the course develops.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
Basic materials for the course are provided. Please bring along 2 glass jars with lids.
Please note that surfaces must be primed and bone dry for oil painting. The tutor will prepare primed cartridge in advance of the first session only. After that you may either: purchase ready-primed paper from London Graphic Centre, using your student discount, or prime and dry city lit cartridge paper during the course.
For the last session you may wish to bring a canvas to paint on, but this is not essential.
Need art supplies? Our partner London Graphic Centre has everything you need from pencil to printing services, at 15% off.
To get an LGC discount card, students will need to show proof/ confirmation of enrolment of them being a student at City Lit. You can apply for our card in-store or by simply emailing info@londongraphics.co.uk with a scan or photo of relevant confirmation. The student discount does not apply to products that are already discounted or on offer. More information can be found here- https://www.londongraphics.co.uk/student-discounts/.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Further Painting courses at all levels, such as Painting 2, Life Painting, Contemporary Painting Studio or it may be part of your preparation for advanced courses, such as CLFA or the CL Year of the Figure and Portrait.
Alex Hanna is an artist (painter) based in East London. His practice examines perception and the materiality of paint. He works from arrangements of objects and uses analogue and digital means as source material, whilst employing visual data to inform his creative outcomes. Many of his paintings are carried out from direct observation and within a shallow space. In 2015 he was visiting artist at the University of Leeds and has delivered workshops and a pod cast on ‘Paint Alchemy’. He has exhibited at a number of galleries including: The Discerning Eye, The Royal Academy, Marmite Prize, Salon Art Prize, Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the B.P. Portrait Award. He has works in several British and International collections including: The Paul Mellon Centre for British Art Massachusetts, University of Arizona, Prizeman Seabrook Collection and has exhibited in Poland, Japan and China. He is a member of Contemporary British Painting and is represented by Alan Kluckow Fine Art.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.