Course Overview

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, especially when you’re learning from the great masters of art. This comprehensive beginner’s course, taught by award-winning art instructor David Brody, covers everything from the basics of oil painting to advanced techniques inspired by masterpieces. Dive into understanding materials, color theory, composition, and specific projects that will train your eye and hand to create stunning works of art.

Video Lesson List

1. Introduction & Starting to See

Begin with an introduction to the grand tradition of painting. Learn about basic materials and why copying masterpieces is an excellent learning tool.

Duration: 33 min

2. Health and Safety in the Studio

Understand the potential hazards of oil-based paints and learn essential safety precautions, including proper ventilation and waste disposal.

Duration: 33 min

3. Basic Painting Materials

Discover essential supplies like paper, pencils, additives, and brushes. Learn about the mahl stick and how to set up your palette efficiently.

Duration: 25 min

4. Studio Setup and Brush Care

Ensure your workspace meets your needs. Learn about lighting options and proper brush care, including making your own brush cleaners.

Duration: 24 min

5. First Exercises: Line and Mark

Study John Singer Sargent’s techniques to understand how line and mark affect your drawing. Practice various brush placements and strokes.

Duration: 26 min

6. First Exercises: Value, Edges, and Texture

Experiment with value changes through opacity, hatching, and stippling. Learn about creating hard and soft edges and applying/removing paint for texture.

Duration: 31 min

7. Creating Basic Forms: Lines, Shapes, and Solids

Apply value mixing skills to paint a chiaroscuro block and sphere. Practice blending edges and using different brushes for a range of effects.

Duration: 20 min

8. Value: A Simple Still Life

Paint a still life in brunaille, using value and shadows to add depth and realism. Practice intuitive color use and refine your work with precise proportions.

Duration: 20 min

9. Value: Block and Sphere in Grisaille

Explore a full grisaille palette and create a chart to understand the range of tones. Learn how context affects color perception.

Duration: 33 min

10. Ensuring Accurate Proportions

Learn tools and techniques for precise proportions, from the gridded velo to calipers, and how they’ve been used historically.

Duration: 21 min

11. Composition: Shape, Ground, and Format

Delve into composition elements like weight, balance, space, hierarchy, and focal points to guide the viewer’s eye effectively.

Duration: 40 min

12. Composition: Leonardo and the Armature

Understand the role of armatures in composition and how they’ve been used by masters like Leonardo da Vinci to create powerful visual dynamics.

Duration: 39 min

13. Composition: Balance, Focus, and Space

Master composition by controlling the viewer’s path through your artwork. Learn about color, balance, space, and focal considerations.

Duration: 33 min

14. Degas, Hammershøi, and Other Projects

Practice color mixing and composition with exercises inspired by Degas and Hammershøi, using limited palettes for mood and effect.

Duration: 39 min

15. Materials: Oil Paint Brands and Quality

Learn about the variability in oil paints, how to read labels, and the impact of chemical composition on paint performance.

Duration: 32 min

16. Materials: Oil Paint Characteristics

Understand opacity, tinting strength, permanence, and consistency, and learn how to ensure paint safety and proper care in your studio.

Duration: 28 min

17. Color: Theory and Exercises

Differentiate between additive and subtractive mixing and understand why formal color theory doesn’t always align with real-world paint mixing.

Duration: 32 min

18. Color: Painting with Limited Palettes

Explore historical limited palettes and practice matching colors with a focus on mood and complementary systems.

Duration: 39 min

19. Materials: All about Medium

Learn about various mediums like linseed oil, oil of rosemary, and damar varnish, and understand the compromises each medium entails.

Duration: 45 min

20. Materials: All about Brushes

Discover the two main categories of brushes, their price variability, and the best care practices. Learn why hog hair brushes are favored and the truth about “sable” brushes.

Duration: 42 min

21. Materials: Flexible Supports

Build your own flexible support with step-by-step instructions, from selecting materials to priming with lead white ground.

Duration: 44 min

22. Materials: Rigid Supports

Understand why rigid supports like wood or glass preserve paintings longer and learn how to prepare surfaces for optimal painting results.

Duration: 28 min

23. Materials: Carpentry for the Studio

Learn to build custom studio furniture like chassis, painting tables, and brush tables, with detailed instructions provided in the guidebook.

Duration: 28 min

24. Project: A Modigliani Portrait

Paint a Modigliani-style portrait, experimenting with unusual proportions and an orange-blue complementary palette.

Duration: 25 min

25. Project: A Degas Ballerina

Work with red-green complementary colors and various mark-making techniques to emulate Degas’ style in a ballerina study.

Duration: 13 min

26. Project: A Corot Landscape

Paint a Corot landscape study to explore greater depth and new brush strokes, using a double complementary palette for rich color modulation.

Duration: 18 min

27. Project: Derain’s Portrait of Matisse

Create a self-portrait study inspired by Derain, focusing on color modulation and brush marks to ensure the head is the focal point.

Duration: 15 min

28. Project: A Porter Self-Portrait

Paint a Fairfield Porter self-portrait study, working with opacity, density, and interlocking shapes for a grid-like composition.

Duration: 17 min

29. Painting’s Evolution: Indirect Painting

Understand the differences between indirect and direct painting techniques and learn which tools and methods suit each approach best.

Duration: 39 min

30. Nighthawks, The Scream, and Other Projects

Study and replicate the techniques used in Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks and Munch’s The Scream, learning from their meticulous preparation and execution.

Duration: 39 min