From pigment to paint
Weekend-long practical course
6 July 2019 10.30am - 5.30pm7 July 2019 10.30am - 5.30pm
The Clore Learning Centre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
£480. Includes all materials, light refreshments and a wine reception at the end of day one.
Terms and conditions
This exciting weekend practical painting course will teach you the traditional techniques used to turn pigment into paint, and then use them in your own work.
This exciting weekend course explains in detail the traditional process of turning pigments into paint and the benefits of then working with your own oil paints.
From the earliest cave paintings to today’s contemporary artists, natural and synthetic materials have been used to make paint. Binders enable pigments to adhere to a surface and have ranged from: blood, animal fats and glues, to beeswax, egg, oils and acrylics and the effective combination of complex ingredients is as much an art as a science.
The mixing of linseed oil with coloured pigments to make oil paints was first documented in the Middle Ages, most notably by Theophilus, the author of De Diversis Artibus, a treatise on Christian arts and crafts. The Renaissance artist and art historian Giorgio Vasari highlighted the significance of oil painting as a revolutionary new medium. He flagged innovations of artists such as Jan Van Eyck in the early 15th century who was undoubtedly a great innovator of his time, painting with the richness and depth of colour afforded by oil, in comparison to the traditional tempera binders prevalent during this period.
Since then, oil paint has generally been built up in thin transparent layers known as glazes. This method further developed from the 16th to the 19th centuries. An added combination of thick impasto and opaque paint with expressive brushwork was exemplified by the Royal Academy’s first president Sir Joshua Reynolds and fellow Royal Academician Thomas Gainsborough during the 18th century and can be seen in John Constable and JMW Turner’s work in the first half of the 19th century. Simultaneously, artist’s works could alternatively be smooth with no visible evidence of brush marks. The range of techniques which oil painting allows artists today is perhaps best understand through an in-depth exploration of how pigments move to paints, the focus of this weekend course.
About the course
Working under the guidance of painter and expert tutor Andy Pankhurst, during this two-day course participants make and work with both pigments and paint. This course explores classical and more contemporary methods, tools and techniques for making and working with oil paints.
Participants learn how to create their own pigment and paint and then use this to paint from professional life models to create their own artworks.
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.
This course is for you if:
• You would like to learn about the paint making process
• You have no prior experience of life painting but have an interest in the history, theory and practice of art more generally
• You have some prior knowledge of drawing and/or painting and would like to extend your skills in working from direct observation
• You would like a new perspective in your approach to life painting
• You would like to develop your skills and ideas within a small group in the Royal Academy’s new Clore Learning Centre
Minimum age 18
The number of participants is strictly limited to enable detailed feedback from the course tutor.
£480
Saturday 6 – Sunday 7 July 2019
10.30am-5.30pm each day
• All specialist practical art materials
• Course learning materials and hand-outs
• Refreshments provided on both days
• A drinks reception at the end of the first day
• A certificate of participation upon course completion
About the tutor
Andy Pankhurst
Andy Pankhurst is a figurative painter who works and teaches from the life model. His work is represented in various public, corporate and private collections and museums in the UK and USA. He is represented by Browse and Darby in London, who exhibited new paintings and drawings by Pankhurst in 2014. Pankhurst is co-author, with Lucinda Hawksley, of the book What Makes Great Art, published in 2012 by Apple Press.
Pankhurst studied at the Slade School of Art. He has worked with the Royal Academy for 25 years, initially receiving the RA’s Richard Ford Scholarship in 1992 and later serving as a committee member of the award, nominated by Christopher Le Brun PRA, alongside former Keeper of the Royal Academy, Maurice Cockrill RA.
Our courses and classes programme
Our programme of short courses and classes offers the opportunity to explore a range of subjects, led by expert tutors and practising artists.
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