From Plein Air Sketch to Studio Painting (Online Workshop) Winter 2025 w/ Natalie Bird
January 27 to February 10 (Mondays), 10:00 AM to 1:00 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: https://youtu.be/9ciKhyoai3c
Workshop Description
This three-week workshop will take you through a simple process of developing an expressive and lively studio painting based on a plein air sketch, a photo and some handwritten notes created whilst outdoors.
Whilst out walking, or wherever we may be, all too often we can catch sight of something really beautiful and wonder how great this would look as a painting. However, we don’t have our kit, and indeed for many of us it is not always practical to carry a heavy painting kit outdoors. How do we therefore bring a piece of this beauty back to the studio?
This workshop is aimed at helping students do exactly this. By means of an informative and expressive sketch, a photo and some handwritten thoughts, we will endeavour to create a successful studio painting based on what we have experienced.
We will look at all aspects related to this fun process; our aim is to produce a painting which honestly captures the essence of a scene.
We will look at a range of subjects, such as what to bring outdoors for sketching, mark making, tone, sketching tools, composition, sketchbook notes, perspective, temperature and colour.
Workshop Outline
Week 1 - Drawing
Brief introduction to my studio and practice – I am primarily a studio painter and this workshop will focus on sketching in charcoal and painting in oils, but please feel free to use whichever medium will help you.
Sketching – how to create a lively sketch in the field using expressive lines, marks and tones. You want to gather as much information as possible to inform a future studio painting and I will cover ways of doing this. Not only do we use our eyes, but our senses too to absorb the landscape around us. How do we record this?
I will go through the very minimal kit needed, why I choose to use this process, as well as cover the key elements of a sketch - composition, tone and colour.
Homework: Produce one or two sketches in the field – this could be your garden, a local park, a field, a street corner, even a kitchen corner – anything that takes your fancy, but preferably the landscape outdoors, weather permitting. Time needed for this homework: 15-60 minutes – however long you can spare and wish to spend.
Week 2 - Printing
Using our homework sketches from Week 1, we will have a short critique looking at each others’ sketches (for those who wish to share – all encouraged, no matter how exact or rough our sketches are), to see how much information we have managed to get down and how we can possibly improve.
For example, how have we approached composition in our sketch? What was our starting point. What attracted us to the scene. What is tone? How we can get that down in a sketch to inform our painting later on. We will discuss colour and colour temperature as well, and to record this, even though colour may not always be used in our sketch. I tend to sketch mainly in black and white, but we will discuss the different ways to record colour.
Following this, I will show how I set up to start a studio painting using my sketch and notes, and will start a short demo in oils. I will explain how I go about the process as I paint, and welcome questions along the way.
Homework: Produce a painting from your own sketches and notes. I will be painting in oils, but you do not necessarily need to if you prefer another painting medium. Time needed: 1-3 hours - or however long you would like to spend on a painting.
Week 3 - Drawing, Printing and Painting.
Spend some time looking at our homework paintings from Week 2.
Discussion around these and how we have found the process of sketching has aided our painting.
Time for questions, a further demo, if required (from a different sketch).
A quick summary to finish.
Workshop Materials
For sketches outside:
A4 sketchbook (spiral bound if possible, but not essential)
Some clips to prevent pages in your sketchbook from flapping
A stick of willow charcoal or a 6b pencil
A viewfinder
(A small foldable chair if you prefer to sit as you sketch outside – plus a cap with a rim if it’s sunny)
Small bag to carry this outside
For the studio:
I recommend the following colours. These are on my palette, but please use whatever colours you feel most comfortable with. I will be demonstrating in oils but again please feel free to use whichever medium you prefer.
Colours: Two blues (ultramarine/cerulean), two yellows (cadmium yellow and lemon yellow), two reds (Cadmium Red and Aliziron Crimson), Yellow Ochre and Titanium White.
Medium – Sansodor or Gamsol.
Brushes – your own personal choice, preferably hog if using oils.
Panels – I use MDF panels which I prime with a non-absorbent primer such as Michael Harding’s own, but please again feel free to use whichever surface you are comfortable with.
Rags/kitchen towel.
Easel/pochade box.
January 27 to February 10 (Mondays), 10:00 AM to 1:00 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: https://youtu.be/9ciKhyoai3c
Workshop Description
This three-week workshop will take you through a simple process of developing an expressive and lively studio painting based on a plein air sketch, a photo and some handwritten notes created whilst outdoors.
Whilst out walking, or wherever we may be, all too often we can catch sight of something really beautiful and wonder how great this would look as a painting. However, we don’t have our kit, and indeed for many of us it is not always practical to carry a heavy painting kit outdoors. How do we therefore bring a piece of this beauty back to the studio?
This workshop is aimed at helping students do exactly this. By means of an informative and expressive sketch, a photo and some handwritten thoughts, we will endeavour to create a successful studio painting based on what we have experienced.
We will look at all aspects related to this fun process; our aim is to produce a painting which honestly captures the essence of a scene.
We will look at a range of subjects, such as what to bring outdoors for sketching, mark making, tone, sketching tools, composition, sketchbook notes, perspective, temperature and colour.
Workshop Outline
Week 1 - Drawing
Brief introduction to my studio and practice – I am primarily a studio painter and this workshop will focus on sketching in charcoal and painting in oils, but please feel free to use whichever medium will help you.
Sketching – how to create a lively sketch in the field using expressive lines, marks and tones. You want to gather as much information as possible to inform a future studio painting and I will cover ways of doing this. Not only do we use our eyes, but our senses too to absorb the landscape around us. How do we record this?
I will go through the very minimal kit needed, why I choose to use this process, as well as cover the key elements of a sketch - composition, tone and colour.
Homework: Produce one or two sketches in the field – this could be your garden, a local park, a field, a street corner, even a kitchen corner – anything that takes your fancy, but preferably the landscape outdoors, weather permitting. Time needed for this homework: 15-60 minutes – however long you can spare and wish to spend.
Week 2 - Printing
Using our homework sketches from Week 1, we will have a short critique looking at each others’ sketches (for those who wish to share – all encouraged, no matter how exact or rough our sketches are), to see how much information we have managed to get down and how we can possibly improve.
For example, how have we approached composition in our sketch? What was our starting point. What attracted us to the scene. What is tone? How we can get that down in a sketch to inform our painting later on. We will discuss colour and colour temperature as well, and to record this, even though colour may not always be used in our sketch. I tend to sketch mainly in black and white, but we will discuss the different ways to record colour.
Following this, I will show how I set up to start a studio painting using my sketch and notes, and will start a short demo in oils. I will explain how I go about the process as I paint, and welcome questions along the way.
Homework: Produce a painting from your own sketches and notes. I will be painting in oils, but you do not necessarily need to if you prefer another painting medium. Time needed: 1-3 hours - or however long you would like to spend on a painting.
Week 3 - Drawing, Printing and Painting.
Spend some time looking at our homework paintings from Week 2.
Discussion around these and how we have found the process of sketching has aided our painting.
Time for questions, a further demo, if required (from a different sketch).
A quick summary to finish.
Workshop Materials
For sketches outside:
A4 sketchbook (spiral bound if possible, but not essential)
Some clips to prevent pages in your sketchbook from flapping
A stick of willow charcoal or a 6b pencil
A viewfinder
(A small foldable chair if you prefer to sit as you sketch outside – plus a cap with a rim if it’s sunny)
Small bag to carry this outside
For the studio:
I recommend the following colours. These are on my palette, but please use whatever colours you feel most comfortable with. I will be demonstrating in oils but again please feel free to use whichever medium you prefer.
Colours: Two blues (ultramarine/cerulean), two yellows (cadmium yellow and lemon yellow), two reds (Cadmium Red and Aliziron Crimson), Yellow Ochre and Titanium White.
Medium – Sansodor or Gamsol.
Brushes – your own personal choice, preferably hog if using oils.
Panels – I use MDF panels which I prime with a non-absorbent primer such as Michael Harding’s own, but please again feel free to use whichever surface you are comfortable with.
Rags/kitchen towel.
Easel/pochade box.
January 27 to February 10 (Mondays), 10:00 AM to 1:00 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: https://youtu.be/9ciKhyoai3c
Workshop Description
This three-week workshop will take you through a simple process of developing an expressive and lively studio painting based on a plein air sketch, a photo and some handwritten notes created whilst outdoors.
Whilst out walking, or wherever we may be, all too often we can catch sight of something really beautiful and wonder how great this would look as a painting. However, we don’t have our kit, and indeed for many of us it is not always practical to carry a heavy painting kit outdoors. How do we therefore bring a piece of this beauty back to the studio?
This workshop is aimed at helping students do exactly this. By means of an informative and expressive sketch, a photo and some handwritten thoughts, we will endeavour to create a successful studio painting based on what we have experienced.
We will look at all aspects related to this fun process; our aim is to produce a painting which honestly captures the essence of a scene.
We will look at a range of subjects, such as what to bring outdoors for sketching, mark making, tone, sketching tools, composition, sketchbook notes, perspective, temperature and colour.
Workshop Outline
Week 1 - Drawing
Brief introduction to my studio and practice – I am primarily a studio painter and this workshop will focus on sketching in charcoal and painting in oils, but please feel free to use whichever medium will help you.
Sketching – how to create a lively sketch in the field using expressive lines, marks and tones. You want to gather as much information as possible to inform a future studio painting and I will cover ways of doing this. Not only do we use our eyes, but our senses too to absorb the landscape around us. How do we record this?
I will go through the very minimal kit needed, why I choose to use this process, as well as cover the key elements of a sketch - composition, tone and colour.
Homework: Produce one or two sketches in the field – this could be your garden, a local park, a field, a street corner, even a kitchen corner – anything that takes your fancy, but preferably the landscape outdoors, weather permitting. Time needed for this homework: 15-60 minutes – however long you can spare and wish to spend.
Week 2 - Printing
Using our homework sketches from Week 1, we will have a short critique looking at each others’ sketches (for those who wish to share – all encouraged, no matter how exact or rough our sketches are), to see how much information we have managed to get down and how we can possibly improve.
For example, how have we approached composition in our sketch? What was our starting point. What attracted us to the scene. What is tone? How we can get that down in a sketch to inform our painting later on. We will discuss colour and colour temperature as well, and to record this, even though colour may not always be used in our sketch. I tend to sketch mainly in black and white, but we will discuss the different ways to record colour.
Following this, I will show how I set up to start a studio painting using my sketch and notes, and will start a short demo in oils. I will explain how I go about the process as I paint, and welcome questions along the way.
Homework: Produce a painting from your own sketches and notes. I will be painting in oils, but you do not necessarily need to if you prefer another painting medium. Time needed: 1-3 hours - or however long you would like to spend on a painting.
Week 3 - Drawing, Printing and Painting.
Spend some time looking at our homework paintings from Week 2.
Discussion around these and how we have found the process of sketching has aided our painting.
Time for questions, a further demo, if required (from a different sketch).
A quick summary to finish.
Workshop Materials
For sketches outside:
A4 sketchbook (spiral bound if possible, but not essential)
Some clips to prevent pages in your sketchbook from flapping
A stick of willow charcoal or a 6b pencil
A viewfinder
(A small foldable chair if you prefer to sit as you sketch outside – plus a cap with a rim if it’s sunny)
Small bag to carry this outside
For the studio:
I recommend the following colours. These are on my palette, but please use whatever colours you feel most comfortable with. I will be demonstrating in oils but again please feel free to use whichever medium you prefer.
Colours: Two blues (ultramarine/cerulean), two yellows (cadmium yellow and lemon yellow), two reds (Cadmium Red and Aliziron Crimson), Yellow Ochre and Titanium White.
Medium – Sansodor or Gamsol.
Brushes – your own personal choice, preferably hog if using oils.
Panels – I use MDF panels which I prime with a non-absorbent primer such as Michael Harding’s own, but please again feel free to use whichever surface you are comfortable with.
Rags/kitchen towel.
Easel/pochade box.