A Path to Expressive Landscapes (Online Course) Spring 2024 w/ Noah Desmond
May 6 to May 27 (Mondays), 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM, Eastern Time
**All sessions are live and will be recorded, students do not have to be present. All recordings will be available to students for 3 months after the final session, after 3 months the recording will be deleted.
Please check your email spam/junk folder for your Zoom invite.
Course Description
In this course we will explore the expressive landscape in oil or acylic.
The first session will focus on the, “nuts and bolts,” of painting. We will do several 3 value pencil studies from live or photographed landscapes. Following week move to paint and practice the “poster study!”A postcard sized, simplified abstract color sketch. The final two weeks we will graduate to a 36x48 canvas were we will use our previous explorations to paint your unique version of the landscape. We will free up brushwork, paint application, palette knife work, and texture. It would be nice if everyone can have samples of previous work and have a summation of what they want to improve on and some of their influences.
Course Outline
Week 1-
We will have an introduction period looking at everyone’s previous work and discussing what we want from the course. Then we will begin3-value thumbnail sketches. Drawing cursory shspes, and shading each of the shapes with 1. Middle value 2. Black or dark gray value 3. Very light or white of the page value.
Week 2-
Start poster studies with our 12”x16” arches oil paper taped to a board. This is a postcard sized, simplified, abstract color sketch that represents the major tonal elements and tonal relationships of the landscape composition.
Week 3-
We will start on our 36x48 canvas in oil or acrylic or both. We will block in a tentative design with our #9 graphite pencil. We will experiment with free brushstrokes, and paint application keeping the composition in flux and open. Non odorless tup and galkyd oil medium will help us stay loose. Water for acrylic.
Week 4-
I will encourage everyone to continue working their painting from previous week. We can discuss where you want to take the work. What’s working, and what’s not working. We will be experiencing until the very end-keeping the painting free and open.
Course Materials List
Arches oil paper
12”x16”36x48 canvas.
All different size brushes-bigger the better. Stay cheap.
Palette knife
6” trowel
#9 graphite pencil. 2. They always break.
Odorless mineral spirits
Galkyd oil painting medium
Tape
A board to tape paper on
Paint -oil or acrylic or both. I recommend besides the primaries you always add colors that really speak to you.