Colour painting: strategy and spontaneity
Five-week practical evening course
23 September 2019 6.30 - 9.30pm30 September 2019 6.30 - 9.30pm7 October 2019 6.30 - 9.30pm14 October 2019 6.30 - 9.30pm21 October 2019 6.30 - 9.30pm
The Clore Learning Centre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
£540. Includes all materials, light refreshments and a wine reception at the end of day one.
Terms and conditions
In this exciting five-week course, explore expressive approaches to a range of painting materials and techniques, progressing from figuration to the abstract.
Spontaneity is often celebrated as a mark of expressiveness and authenticity in painting, yet what does it mean to work spontaneously? Is it as simple as working in the moment? Or is it a practiced technique used masterfully by artists to evoke the immediate?
To facilitate a sense of spontaneity requires a considered strategy that ensures one’s materials are being used in the most effective way. Paint can become muddy and unresponsive, watercolour dull and lifeless and drawing lose sight of its structure. If the practice of painting is about the combination of physical properties and the cerebral working, it is also about knowing when to go with the flow and when to pause and reflect.
As well as providing the opportunity to draw and paint, participants in this course will be introduced to works included in the RA's Archive collection and to key historical developments in the fields of painting and drawing by artists from around the world which emphasise the importance of provoking the spontaneous and evoking it in the artwork.
About the course
During this five-week evening course, through experiments, activities and discussions, participants will gain an insight into the possibilities for a reconsideration of what it means to be spontaneous. Underpinning this issue will be the controlling of the formal elements of art-making: colour, line, tone, contrast and the subsequent consequences of addressing these such as opacity, scale, structure and texture.
Participants will be encouraged to explore the various possibilities that colour presents.
There will be opportunity for informal discussion and one-to-one feedback with the tutor throughout the sessions.
Participants are advised to bring something to carry their work home in, as there are no storage facilities available.
This course is suitable for all levels, but ideally participants will have some prior experience of drawing, painting or another creative practice.
This course is for you if:
• You have some prior knowledge of drawing and/or painting and would like to extend your skills in the practice of working with both mediums
• You would like a new perspective in your approach to drawing and/or painting
• You have no prior experience of colour theory, but have an interest in the history, theory and practice of art-making more generally
Minimum age 18
Please let us know if you have any accessibility needs.
The number of participants is strictly limited to enable detailed feedback from the course tutor.
£540
Monday 23 September - Monday 21 October
6:30pm - 9:30pm
• All specialist practical art materials
• Course learning materials and handouts
• Light refreshments provided during each session
• A drinks reception at the end of the final session
• A certificate of participation upon course completion
About the tutor
Emyr Williams
Emyr Williams is an abstract painter who has exhibited in the UK, Europe and North America. His work has won awards and is held in many public, corporate and private collections worldwide. He has led classes and lectured in schools, colleges and universities in the UK, Europe, the USA and Asia, including many courses and classes at the Royal Academy. Emyr also writes about art. He was a regular contributor to Abstract Critical and has written for the RA Magazine. He currently writes for Abcrit, contributes a regular feature for the specialist art website instantloveland.com and has a new book titled Abstract Painting and Abstraction, published in 2017 by The Crowood Press.
Our courses and classes programme
Our varied programme of short courses and classes provides an opportunity to explore subjects ranging from life drawing to the history of exhibitions and arts management, led by expert tutors and practising artists. These courses introduce traditional art-making processes, as well as perspectives on art history, theory and business.
Give this course as a gift
All of our courses can be purchased as a gift for a friend or family member – giving the gift of education and a remarkable experience. To arrange a personalised Gift Voucher, please contact Anna Pojer, Academic Programmes Manager, by calling 020 7300 5684 or email anna.pojer@royalacademy.org.uk