Learn how to capture in oils, bold spring blooms, to create a beautiful expressive still life, rich in colour and texture.

Each session lasts three hours and you can pause and rewind each recording. You will see Gary as he works alongside you.

Nothing quite compares with the luscious possibility of working with oil paint, but it can be a daunting medium. Follow in the seasoned footsteps of tutor Gary Long and work from a subject that has transfixed artists for centuries: a beautiful still life of flowers. This course equips you with a practical, step by step approach to painting flowers in oils. Gary shares with you the usually hidden process of creating a painting from scratch leading you to a final finished piece.

You’ll start with a compositional drawing in charcoal, giving you a feeling for the tonal values. From your charcoal study, move to working with gouache, incorporating colour and a flush of confidence into your painting. This approach drives away the apprehension of beginning an oil painting and draws out your intuitive knowledge. You can either work from the same still life as Gary or create your own at home.

You will build your colour palette, learning to unearth the right tones and to create a dialogue between them. This gives you a solid support system for working in oils, bringing depth to your painting. Work on canvas; using brushes and experiment with palette knives, reveal the possibilities of expressive mark making. The two sessions will establish the practical approach you need to feel confident working with oils, creating still lifes that luxuriate in the richness of paint, movement and texture.

What will I learn?

• Learn to sharpen your observation when it comes to working from still life.
• Understand tonal values and how to convey these in different media.
• Build confidence to experiment with gouache as a way into oil painting and a reference point throughout the process of making work.
• Build confidence in colour mixing and develop your understanding of how colours interact in a piece.
• Learn to create texture in oil paintings using different tools and media.

Who would this course suit?

This course is a wonderful starting point to build your confidence working with oil paints and to develop a more expressive and gestural still life style. With its structured and practical approach, it is ideal for anyone looking for a better understanding of composition, colour and the physical properties of oil paint and is suitable for complete beginners as well as those with a little more experience.

How does an online session work?

Once you have booked you will be able to watch on demand immediately. 

You can pause, rewind and watch again as often as you like until the session expires 90 days after purchase

You will also be invited to join our Facebook Alumni group so you can share your discoveries with our community of fellow students from around the world.

You will need access to the internet and ideally a Smart TV, PC or laptop or a tablet with audio. Phones are not suitable unless cast to a smart TV.