Composition through Dynamic Still Life
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August 26, 27, 28
10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Kelley Brugh
Intermediate to Advanced
$450
8 Student Maximum
This brand-new workshop is based on developing strong and dynamic compositions in our still life paintings! Kelley will walk you through the main elements of what makes a successful composition and you will spend three days exploring new ways to add excitement and drama to your compositional designs. As we delve into the elements of composition, we will learn the importance of light, shapes and perspective in each of our different compositions. Each day of this workshop will consist of live sketching and painting demos by Kelley, creating several painting studies and one finished still life painting of your own. While this workshop will focus on developing strong compositions in still life paintings, the principles and techniques learned in this workshop are applicable to all subject matters. Come spend three exciting days learning the keys to strengthening your understanding of one of the most important elements of painting: Composition!
DAY 1
- Introduction to composition and the key elements to successful compositions with examples
- Today’s focus is LIGHT
- Demonstration: Setting up a still life to create a dynamic light-driven composition
- Everyone sets up their still lifes, sketches and we complete three entirely different light painting studies with Kelley’s guidance
- We will pick our favorite study from the morning and develop it as a completed still life painting on a canvas
Day 2
- Review of Day 1
- Today’s focus is SHAPE
- Discussion and demonstration of how important shapes are in a composition
- Everyone sets up their still lifes, sketches and we complete three entirely different shape studies with Kelley’s guidance
- We will pick our favorite study from the morning and turn it into a completed still life painting on a canvas
Day 3
- Review of Day 1 & 2
- Today’s focus is PERSPECTIVE
- Discussion of how important perspective is in our compositions
- Set up, sketching and painting demonstration by Kelley
- Quick perspective sketches with Kelley’s guidance
- Set up your own still life to apply all of the compositional design principles into one successful painting!
- Paint and complete any unfinished paintings!
Materials List
For this workshop, Braitman Studio will provide an easel, a taboret, an apron, turpentine, liquin, paper towels and cleaning supplies for your brushes. All other materials needed are the responsibility of the student. Additional canvases can be purchased from the studio or after your first day of class.
- Palette knife
- An assortment of oil painting brushes (at least 4)
- Canvas paper (at least 4-5 sheets)
- 3 interesting still life objects (i.e. flowers, trinket, vase, anything interesting but not valuable)
- Charcoal
- Sketchbook
- Two small pre-gessoed canvases, size of your choice (9x12, 12x12, 11x14, etc.)
- One medium sized pre-gessoed canvas, size of your choice (16x20, 18x24, etc.)
- You unique palette of oil paints, including:
- Permalba white OR Utrecht white OR any MIXED white
- Two different reds
- Two different blues (one needing to be Ultramarine blue)
- Two different yellows
- Burnt sienna
- Feel free to bring other oil paints you may already have at home
- Your prefered painting medium (if not Liquin and turps), such as Res-N-Gel
- If you have ANY questions about the materials that you need to purchase for your workshop, please email Jade at jade@braitmanstudio.com!