Adult Art Classes
Please note that painting and drawing classes are temporarily unavailable.
Should you wish to have private lessons please contact me.
“No amount of skillful invention can replace the essential element of imagination.” Edward Hopper
Adult art classes in drawing and painting are held at C.S.Lawrence Art studio (62 Triq Il-Pellegrinagg Bormla). You may choose to attend online via Zoom or in person. The courses run throughout the year. and students are required to pay for a minimum of 4 weeks in advance. Each weekly class is for 2 hours and a 4 week course costs 45 euros. Paid classes are non-refundable, however if 24 hours prior notice of non-attendance is given, then a missed class can be substituted with another class within the 4 paid weeks, if available. Students who wish to continue may do so with an advance payment for each consecutive 4 weeks.
PAINTING: WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:
In my painting classes, you will be taught how to layer acrylic colours and how to mix colours without muddying them. As in all forms of painting, muddying or greying down of colour happens when you mix more than two primary colours together. You will be shown how to put more “punch” into your painting by understanding complementary colours; how to use composition techniques to make your painting more eye-catching;how to work around mistakes and even incorporate into your picture the unexpected surprises that working with water-based mediums often produce.
Acrylics in my opinion are far easier to use than watercolours or oils but the main drawback in using them is that they dry fast so you don’t have as much time to mix and manipulate colours like you do with watercolour and oil. This can be resolved by using gel mediums to slow down the drying time. Another challenge when using acrylics is that they dry a bit darker than when first applied. Furthermore, acrylics are NOT opaque like oils. They tend more towards a transparency commonly associated with watercolours. However, the great thing about acrylics is their versatility. You can water them down to apply thin washes as well as use them thickly to produce impasto effects. You can mix colours with a variety of textured pastes and also use different tools to create marks which produce interesting effects.
DRAWING : WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Drawing is, in my opinion, an essential skill which enables an artist to tackle any subject confidently. And working in monotone gives you a solid grounding in understanding the relationship between shapes and tones. The drawing courses cover learning how to see, (yes actually it may surprise you but many of us have to learn how to see!), development of drawing skills using various media such as charcoal and graphite pencils, and understanding perspective.
Materials: Many times a budding artist has been put off pursuing their interest in painting because they cannot seem to get the desired results in their work and its often because they are using poor quality materials. Certainly good quality art materials don’t come cheap but its a worthwhile investment in the long run. I’ve put together a list of recommended materials for you to bring with you.
ACRYLIC PAINTS
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Cadmium Yellow
Cadmium Red
Alizarin Crimson
Burnt Umber
Burnt Sienna
Titanium White
Ivory Black
(NB. Acrylics come in two ranges: Student & Artist quality. Student quality are cheaper because they have less colour pigment in them and therefore colours are less
vibrant and less durable.
PALETTE A plastic palette dedicated to acrylics (so less likely to stain).
CANVAS – small sizes eg 30 x 40 cm
or
PAPER: An A3 Acrylic paper pad not less that 140lb weight (to avoid buckling if applying several washes).
BRUSHES:
(a) small ROUND synthetic acrylic brush
(b)small 1/4″ FLAT synthetic acrylic brush
(c) medium 1/2″ FLAT synthetic acrylic brush
(d) large 3/4″ FLAT synthetic acrylic brush
(recommended: Windsor & Newton Cotman synthetic brushes)
(e) 1x Hake brush (approx 2″ white bristle brush good for laying washes)
– you can improvise by using a cooking basting brush
DRAWING MATERIALS
(a) A4 or A3 cartridge paper or pastel paper
(b) Graphite lead pencils
(c) pastels
Recommended art supply stores in Malta:
GALEA Art Shop, South Street, VALLETA
Tel:2123 7455
Sistina Art, 8, Amery Street SLIEMA
Tel: 2131 4453
VEE GEE BEE Art Shop, SAN GWAN
Tel: 2138 1380
Art Academy MOSTA
MTS Arts & Crafts 173 Bajada Street, ZABBAR
Tel: 21691300