Would you like to explore colour more deeply? Join Alice Mumford to see how the shifting relationship between light, space and our point of view transforms the colours we see. Come on the journey to translate that understanding into paint.

Begin your exploration of colour and light from the comfort of your home or studio. Using just a few simple objects and the natural light of a sunlit window, you’ll create a series of light scenarios that deepen your understanding of how colour changes with light and the viewer’s perspective.

Throughout the self-paced course, Alice will reference her own paintings and those of artists such as Ken Howard, Winifred Nicholson, Van Gogh, and Bonnard—painters whose work beautifully reveals the many ways light transforms colour.

In her demonstrations, Alice paints from everyday subjects like apples and jugs, arranged near a window, and explains her process and observations as she works. You can recreate Alice’s arrangements or design your own, experimenting with how the direction and quality of light affects colour and depth.

Although Alice teaches in oils, you are welcome to work in acrylics, watercolour, or another medium—just remember that while the colours may differ, the principles of light and your position relative to it remain the same.

How long is the course? The course includes over 4 hours of video footage which is broken down into smaller films. We have structured the course so that the first part is about Colour and Light, and the second part covers Colour and Depth.

Overall, the course contains;

• 11 painting demonstrations where Alice paints and talks as she goes along, describing her process of translating what she is seeing into oil paintings on board
• 7 videos of Alice talking about the use of colour, light and depth in her own and other artists’ paintings
• 4 introductory and setting up videos

We recommend watching each of Alice’s painting demonstrations in full first, listening to Alice’s insights, before setting up your own arrangements to explore these ideas in practice. We have provided reference images for all of Alice’s still life set ups in case you would rather use these to paint from.

By the end of this course, you’ll have had the chance to explore how colour shifts with light and to build confidence in observing what you see. With Alice’s guidance, you can approach your own still lifes and landscapes with fresh curiosity, experimenting with colour, light, and placement to create paintings with atmosphere and subtle nuance, while gradually developing sensitivity, technique, and an appreciation for the visual language of painting.

How Long Will it Take to Complete

How long the course takes to complete will depend on your own schedule and pace. We’ve designed it so you can move through the lessons whenever it suits you. As a general guide, we recommend allowing at least a couple of weeks to work through the demos and exercises, as there’s a substantial amount to explore. You’ll have on-demand access to all content for 365 days after purchase, so you can revisit it as often as you like.

How does an online course work?

Upon purchase, the course will be available to view in your account.

We recommend watching each demonstration in full first, listening to Alice’s insights, before setting up your own arrangements to explore these ideas in practice. We also provide a reference image for each still life set up so you could paint from these to practice from too, if you prefer.

While painting, Alice explains the challenges she encounters and her strategies for addressing them, offering helpful insights to observe and learn from.

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 demand, as often as you like, for up to 365 days after the purchase date. 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.