Figure Painting in Oils (5 Day Workshop)
January 4-8, 2027
10:00am to 4:15pm daily (with 45 min for lunch)
Tutors: Sally Ryan & Ben Ryan
In this workshop, participants will develop a single figurative artwork over five days. We will be working with a life model and the workshop is suitable for students with any level of experience. Participants may also focus on just the portrait (i.e. a head and shoulders style painting) if that's what they are interested in.
We will start by creating a simplified figure drawing on paper, which will be transferred to a canvas or board. We will then take paintings through a set of stages from an initial block in through to a carefully-modelled oil painting. All aspects of our process will be discussed and demonstrated, and individual feedback will be tailored to the needs and interests of each student. Concepts covered include drawing, proportion, gesture, tone, colour-mixing, paint application, materials and more.
The five day workshop is a great way to get an overview of our figure painting process from start to finish. For more experienced students, it is a chance to spend an intensive week refining your skills.
MATERIALS
Participants will start with a preparatory drawing which will be transferred onto a canvas, so you will need some basic drawing materials on the first day. These can also be purchased at the studio. We also have a very limited range of painting materials for sale. The studio supplies easels, and we have plenty of palettes that you can borrow if you don’t want to bring your own.
DRAWING:
A2 size cartridge paper
HB+2B pencil
Kneadable eraser
PAINTING:
Brushes – we recommend bringing brushes in a range of shapes and sizes. We tend to use a lot of hog-hair filbert brushes, particularly early on. We also recommend bringing a few softer brushes for softening edges, and we do use a number of stiff synthetic brushes also. It is also useful to have a few flat brushes, as well as some small round brushes for details. A fan brush or two can also be useful for softening edges. Please make sure your brushes are in good condition.
Canvas/Board – It is difficult to provide an exact size, when the pose is yet to be determined. 16x20 inches might be a good minimum size for a stretched canvas or a board, but a little bit larger will provide a little more freedom. Working too small can be restrictive. You may also bring loose pieces of canvas, and we can pin these to backing boards.
We recommend toning your surface with a mid-tone neutral grey colour (raw umber with white for instance). It must be dry prior to the workshop. This can be done with oil paint or, assuming you’re using an acrylic-primed surface, acrylic paint. Acrylic paints are not to be used during the workshop though.
Colours:
The following oil colours we consider essential for portrait painting–
Titanium White (or Cremnitz, or a Titanium/Zinc mix)
A bright yellow (e.g.Cadmium Yellow, Cad Yellow Pale or Cad Yellow Lemon)
Yellow Ochre
Cadmium Red Light (or Vermilion)
An earth red (e.g. Transparent Red Oxide, Burnt Sienna, Venetian Red, English Red)
Alizarin Crimson or Alizarin Claret
Raw Umber
Ultramarine Blue
Ivory Black
*We mostly use Michael Harding and Old Holland paints but they are expensive because they have higher levels of pigment than student quality paints. Any artist quality paints are acceptable -Windsor & Newton, Gamblin, Rembrandt etc - do not buy oil paint sets.
Other Materials:
Paper towel
Rags
Odorless mineral spirits
Linseed Oil
A dipper for medium (or you can borrow one of ours)