Join artist, Gary Long, on location and in the studio as he shares his oil painting journey, from preparatory drawings, discussing colour mixing, layering, brush techniques to the creation of depth and dimension in his drawings and paintings of Pendeen Watch.

Gary Long, will be visiting Pendeen Watch, a lighthouse to the north of Pendeen in West Cornwall that was built in 1900, to guide vessels around the inhospitable shoreline from Pendeen to Gurnard’s Head. The lighthouse and dramatic coastal views have been an inspirational location for Gary over the years, looking out towards the Americas and the new world. The play of light casting shadows across the cliff tops is reminiscent of the use of strong shadows in Edward Hopper’s paintings, an artist that continues to inspire Gary.

Gary will be gathering plenty of original source material out in the landscape in Pendeen for the first part of the course. Watch him make linear pencil drawings, create charcoal tonal studies and create a colour study in gouache in the first video. Then have a go at the drawing and painting exercises yourself, following the instructions in the learning platform.

In the two videos to follow, Gary will be showing you his process of working up ideas from his preliminary sketches and gouache study into a textural painting of Pendeen Watch in oils. All the lessons combined will give you beneficial tools to start building your own creative toolkit and help you to banish the fear of how to start a painting based on a sense of place.

What’s included:

Pre-recorded practical lessons, filmed on location at Pendeen. The idea is that you can work through these preparatory exercises over a few days or a week (depending on your time commitments).

Reference images of the unique Cornish landscape that our tutors will be visiting. You can revisit these time and time again, to practice the techniques learned in the session.

In-depth video footage (approx 3.5 hours)  Watch and absorb or paint along as Gary discusses colour mixing, layering, brush techniques and creating depth and dimension in an oil painting.

How does an online session work?

We record the sessions so you can watch on demand, as often as you like, for up to 90 days after purchase. This way you can pause a scene, rewind and finish your painting.

You will be invited to join our Facebook Alumni group so you can share your discoveries with fellow students from around the world. You can also share your work live with others on social media using the #schoolofpainting and tagging us @stives painting

You can watch on a PC, laptop or tablet and if you have chromecast or miracast you could even cast to your SmartTV from your phone.