April 24, 2025 from 10am-2pm - Sunset Study - Acrylic/Oil
This half-day class will cover the essentials of what goes into a successful impressionist painting of an Arizona sunset.
Using a photo of an existing painting from Instructor as a reference, you will learn how to build it yourself by designing the piece, mapping values, mixing and applying colors, utilizing different brush techniques, handling edges, layering, depicting depth and atmosphere and finally putting it all together into a coherent design that says what you want to say without getting lost in details.
The class will start with a lecture on the basics - seeing, simplifying, how to use photographs as reference, followed by a live demo. Afterward students wil apply this to their own version of the sunset painting just demonstrated. There will be plenty of individual hands-on instruction on the student paintings.
There won't be any grading or comparitive/qualitative judging, only a critique - and only if asked for. This isn't a painting competition, or an assignment to copy the demo or the reference - it's an exercise in impressionist painting, which emphasizes suggestion over literal description, where detail and accuracy are less important than design, and overall impression.
Instructor's Note:
"This style of painting is much looser and more relaxed than realism, which seeks to define every detail with photographic accuracy. Painting/brushwork accidents which might ruin a realistic painting are often what makes an impressionist piece sing. I share the opinion of many others who feel that impressionism is a more "artful" statement than realism, not "better" or superior in any way, but an altogether different way of painting. Like many of you, I started painting by doing straight realism. Having spent over a decade as a photorealistic painter for advertising, I personally find impressionism a far more rewarding and interesting to way to create. The things I've learned along this path are what I hope to share with you."
- Charles Thomas
Supply List:
Charles Thomas - Supply List
Lean more about your Instructor here:
Charles Thomas - Bio
Sample Images:
