BEGINNERS ART COURSES

LEARN TO PAINT IN ACRYLICS OR OILS

The approach to acrylic and oil painting can be seen as similar, given that both are opaque painting mediums which are built up in layers with a thick rich paint consistency. You will learn how to paint in the medium of your choice (or both if you prefer!).

Acrylics or oils?

The basic difference for the beginner is that acrylics dry much more quickly than oils (within 5 minutes) which means you can build up layer upon layer (or correct mistakes) without waiting for a long drying time. Acrylics are water based too which means washing your brushes with soap and water rather than turps. There are various mediums available to use with acrylics should you wish to alter their properties as you go. Full advice will be given.

Oils take from 2 - 10 days to dry although in warm weather it is considerably less. To clean up, traditional oil paints should also be washed with turps. There are new water-soluble oils on the market which we thoroughly recommend. They are just like traditional oils but have no solvents and can be cleaned up with soap and water. Because oils have a longer drying time you have more time to blend and make subtle alterations to your work.

On the course you will be shown how to set out your palette, you will be taught about your materials and colours, and how to plan a painting, how to apply paint, how to mix colours, basic composition, and a lot more...... We will also cover different subject matter so you can learn as much as possible in your week.