In this workshop, you’ll learn the fundamentals of what makes a strong painting. These principles apply to any medium, so all mediums are welcome. Our main focus will be learning to see like an artist: finding interesting shapes, beautiful color combinations, and how to use our “artistic license” to make changes to the scene to improve it. We’ll also deep dive into five contrasts that can make your paintings stronger.
We’ll begin each day with a short lecture, a demo, and then enjoy a beautiful day of painting while I go around and help each student as needed. We’ll create small plein air studies, and lots of them. There’s no pressure to paint a masterpiece. These studies are designed to help you grow quickly and give you plenty of material to develop into larger paintings back in your studio. During my plein air demos, I’ll show you how I work from large shapes to small details and how I solve problems as they come up. I’ll talk through my thought process out loud as I paint, so you can see exactly how I make decisions along the way. At the end of each day we will gather around and have a short, group critique session with the paintings we created that day.
Rachel Dowd’s Oil Painting Supply List:
– Several small (6×8, 8×8, 8×10,10×10, 9×12) Senso or Centurion linen panels, whatever is the size you are most comfortable painting with and can travel easily with
Professional quality oil paints – This is my current palette and I use several brands. Whatever you have on hand is fine as long as it is high quality:
– Cadmium Yellow Lemon
– Indian Yellow
– Cadmium Red
– Alizarin Crimson permanent
– Ultramarine Blue
– Cerulean Blue Hue
– Kings Blue
– Transparent Red Oxide
– Green Gold
– Titanium White
Gamblin Galkyd Gel medium or Solvent Free Gel
Gamsol in a brush washing container
Brushes:
– Long filbert or long flat bristle brushes – I really like Rosemary and Co Chunking line and Silver Brush Grand Prix Bristle
– Bristle fan brush – Rosemary and Co Chunking
– Synthetic long flats, I like Rosemary and Co Ivory line, and Silver Brush Bristlon Flats
Painting Setup: Pochade Box and Tripod
– I use Strada Easel Mid and BoxNPaint Small pochade boxes
Palette knife
Viva paper towels
Sketchbook
Pencil
