We’ve loved seeing how creative our students have been during lockdown! For our third challenge, our students were asked to paint a portrait using Zorn’s palette. Thank you to everyone for your wonderful portraits. As always we had lots of great submissions. This week Toby is our winner. As you’ll see from the below […]
Category Archives: Art Courses
17
Feb
Feb
Students often ask how they can practice their portrait skills when away at home and if they should work from photographs. I firmly believe, that although photography has its place, the best use of your time, if a model is unavailable to you, is to paint eggs from life. We may want to go […]
22
Dec
Dec
What is etching? The word etch itself is a Germanic word for eat, where the acid would literally eat the metal. Etching is an intaglio method of printmaking, intaglio methods include hard and soft ground etching, engraving, drypoint, mezzotint and aquatint. All these methods share a common ink transferring process. The design is etched into […]
17
Jul
Jul
This beautiful piece of writing was sent to me by our lovely model Debora. She came to London from Florence, Italy to model at the studios in January this year and stayed until the end of June. The studio’s life and atmosphere is as much enhanced by the wonderfully creative and diverse models who pose […]
17
Jul
Jul
For centuries the mirror, or its equivalent piece of polished metal, has been used by artists to help them see the shapes and values of the image they are painting on a flat plane in reverse. Indeed Leonardo da Vinci in his treatise on painting entitles ones section “Come lo specchio é maestro de’pittori” The […]
04
Feb
Feb
Monochrome – Painting in Black and White – Van Eyck to Gerhard Richter This Friday I set off with India and Maggie to see the exhibition at the National Gallery. It is a must! The title might not excite most, but any painter will know how alluring this subject can be. Ironic that the Colour exhibition […]
18
Jan
Jan
Our scholar Benj Randell gave a wonderful and insightful talk on Fantasy Art. To summarise my talk: Fantasy art has evolved throughout history to take so many different paths that it would be a travesty to try and sum it up in one particular style of painting. Fantasy art influenced by literature including religious and […]
15
Oct
Oct
The Encounter Drawings from Leonardo to Rembrandt “Do you not see that among the beauties of mankind it is a very beautiful face that arrests passers-by and not their adornments.” Leonardo da Vinci Today I went to see a wonderful exhibition of drawings at the National Portrait Gallery. Its premise was so simple and yet […]
25
Apr
Apr
Tim Daost has been studying with us for some years. He has received both the De Laszlo Scholarship and was awarded Artist in Residence at Leighton House Museum. We have been fortunate that he has given a series of lectures at the studios on perspective and most recently on the American Illustrators. Here is a […]
19
Apr
Apr
This term I wanted to understand how to complete a longer more complicated still life. I planned to use a bountiful supply of spring flowers. Due to their short life, they would of course have to be replaced weekly. Here is a collection of images documenting these few weeks. […]
