Translating Reality (Online Course) Spring 2025 w/ Adam Cohn
May 7 to May 28 (Wednesdays), 11:00 AM to 2:00 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.
DEMO:
Course Description
In this course we will deal with the challenge of working from observation. When looking at reality, it’s not about ‘copying’ it, one must think in painterly terms.
You can’t start to make lists of ‘things’- pillow, cup, orange etc.. you create a whole vocabulary that guides you on painterly language: Is that a light? Or a dark? What shape is that dark? What angle is that? How chromatic is that yellow on the lemon compared to that ochre on the table?
We will be dealing with this issue of translating reality into painterly terms. We will do some sketching in pencil and charcoal drawing as preparation for the painting to get the basics down before starting the painting. Drawing has an essential element to it, a simplicity that is very helpful in translating reality into painterly terms. It is a great precursor for painting.
To get our minds thinking in painterly terms, we will use ‘spots’ (patches) of colour, one next to another, abstracting reality into these spots of colour. Learning to mix subtle colour variations on the palette and becoming very aware of translating specific colours from reality. This is very challenging as there is so much ‘detail’ in reality, while the painter looks for generalisations and NOT detail. Working with these spots is very helpful for this, as it abstracts a few details into one colour.
Course Outline
Week 1 - Setting up the still life, sketching with pencil/ charcoal
Week 2 - Beggining the painting
Week 3 - Continuing the painting, some will start a new painting.
Week 4 - Conclusion: how to finish the painting
Course Materials List
Preparatory drawing:
Sketchbook, pencils 4b, soft eraser , hard eraser, small ruler.
Thin natural charcoal .
Oil painting:
Recommended companies:
Williamsburg
Old Holland
Windsor newton Artist
Michael Harding
Gambling Artists
Colours:
Cadmium yellow light
Cadmium red medium
Ultramarine blue
Burnt sienna
Turquoize
Alizarin crimson
Mediums:
Odourless terp
lindseed oil
Liquin
Canvas:
Sizes: 12/15 inches, 15/20 inches
Type:
Canvas board
Stretched , gessoed home made canvas
Canvas glued/gessoed to board
Palette knife
Wooden palette
Recommended Brushes:
Filbert: 3 from each size:
4,8,10,12
May 7 to May 28 (Wednesdays), 11:00 AM to 2:00 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.
DEMO:
Course Description
In this course we will deal with the challenge of working from observation. When looking at reality, it’s not about ‘copying’ it, one must think in painterly terms.
You can’t start to make lists of ‘things’- pillow, cup, orange etc.. you create a whole vocabulary that guides you on painterly language: Is that a light? Or a dark? What shape is that dark? What angle is that? How chromatic is that yellow on the lemon compared to that ochre on the table?
We will be dealing with this issue of translating reality into painterly terms. We will do some sketching in pencil and charcoal drawing as preparation for the painting to get the basics down before starting the painting. Drawing has an essential element to it, a simplicity that is very helpful in translating reality into painterly terms. It is a great precursor for painting.
To get our minds thinking in painterly terms, we will use ‘spots’ (patches) of colour, one next to another, abstracting reality into these spots of colour. Learning to mix subtle colour variations on the palette and becoming very aware of translating specific colours from reality. This is very challenging as there is so much ‘detail’ in reality, while the painter looks for generalisations and NOT detail. Working with these spots is very helpful for this, as it abstracts a few details into one colour.
Course Outline
Week 1 - Setting up the still life, sketching with pencil/ charcoal
Week 2 - Beggining the painting
Week 3 - Continuing the painting, some will start a new painting.
Week 4 - Conclusion: how to finish the painting
Course Materials List
Preparatory drawing:
Sketchbook, pencils 4b, soft eraser , hard eraser, small ruler.
Thin natural charcoal .
Oil painting:
Recommended companies:
Williamsburg
Old Holland
Windsor newton Artist
Michael Harding
Gambling Artists
Colours:
Cadmium yellow light
Cadmium red medium
Ultramarine blue
Burnt sienna
Turquoize
Alizarin crimson
Mediums:
Odourless terp
lindseed oil
Liquin
Canvas:
Sizes: 12/15 inches, 15/20 inches
Type:
Canvas board
Stretched , gessoed home made canvas
Canvas glued/gessoed to board
Palette knife
Wooden palette
Recommended Brushes:
Filbert: 3 from each size:
4,8,10,12
May 7 to May 28 (Wednesdays), 11:00 AM to 2:00 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.
DEMO:
Course Description
In this course we will deal with the challenge of working from observation. When looking at reality, it’s not about ‘copying’ it, one must think in painterly terms.
You can’t start to make lists of ‘things’- pillow, cup, orange etc.. you create a whole vocabulary that guides you on painterly language: Is that a light? Or a dark? What shape is that dark? What angle is that? How chromatic is that yellow on the lemon compared to that ochre on the table?
We will be dealing with this issue of translating reality into painterly terms. We will do some sketching in pencil and charcoal drawing as preparation for the painting to get the basics down before starting the painting. Drawing has an essential element to it, a simplicity that is very helpful in translating reality into painterly terms. It is a great precursor for painting.
To get our minds thinking in painterly terms, we will use ‘spots’ (patches) of colour, one next to another, abstracting reality into these spots of colour. Learning to mix subtle colour variations on the palette and becoming very aware of translating specific colours from reality. This is very challenging as there is so much ‘detail’ in reality, while the painter looks for generalisations and NOT detail. Working with these spots is very helpful for this, as it abstracts a few details into one colour.
Course Outline
Week 1 - Setting up the still life, sketching with pencil/ charcoal
Week 2 - Beggining the painting
Week 3 - Continuing the painting, some will start a new painting.
Week 4 - Conclusion: how to finish the painting
Course Materials List
Preparatory drawing:
Sketchbook, pencils 4b, soft eraser , hard eraser, small ruler.
Thin natural charcoal .
Oil painting:
Recommended companies:
Williamsburg
Old Holland
Windsor newton Artist
Michael Harding
Gambling Artists
Colours:
Cadmium yellow light
Cadmium red medium
Ultramarine blue
Burnt sienna
Turquoize
Alizarin crimson
Mediums:
Odourless terp
lindseed oil
Liquin
Canvas:
Sizes: 12/15 inches, 15/20 inches
Type:
Canvas board
Stretched , gessoed home made canvas
Canvas glued/gessoed to board
Palette knife
Wooden palette
Recommended Brushes:
Filbert: 3 from each size:
4,8,10,12