Unidentified British Artist (formerly attributed to William Etty R.A.), Kneeling female nude viewed from the back

Short course

Oil painting from the life model

Weekend-long practical course

18 November 2017 10.30am - 5.30pm19 November 2017 10.30am - 5.30pm

Learning Studio, Burlington House, Royal Academy

£480. Includes all materials, lunch and wine reception at the end of the second day.

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Terms and conditions

Learn the practical methods, tools and techniques of using oil paint, while working directly from a life model, in this exciting weekend-long workshop led by award-winning artist Andy Pankhurst.

The mixing of linseed oil with coloured pigments 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 incorrectly and famously attributes the invention of oil painting to the Flemish artist Jan Van Eyck from the early 15th century. However, it is true that he was an innovator of his time, painting with the richness and depth of colour that characterises the medium of oil, rather than the traditional use of tempera prevalent during this period.

Oil paint from then onward was mostly built up in thin transparent layers known as glazes. This method further developed through the 16th, 17th, 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. An added combination of thick impasto and opaque paint with expressive brush work is 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 J.M.W. Turner's work in the first half of the 19th century. Simultaneously, artist’s works could alternatively be flat, smooth and with no visible evidence of brush marks.

Direct painting alla prima (without any glazes), where colours are mixed on and from the palette, established roots among artists of the 16th century. It began to flourish with the invention of the manufactured metallic tube in the middle of the 19th century, whereupon the painter could easily transport the colours outside of the confines of the studio. Impressionism was soon born. Through all of the -ism’s of the 20th century, the medium of oil paint, with its physical presence and properties, is still as fresh and relevant today as when initially discovered.

Working under the guidance of painter and expert tutor Andy Pankhurst, participants will paint directly from life models in this exciting two-day course, exploring both the classical and more contemporary methods, tools and techniques for working with oil paints.

This course is set in the purpose-built Learning Studio at the Royal Academy in Burlington House.

£480. Includes all materials, lunch and wine reception at the end of the second day.

Sold out

Friends of the RA book first

Join now

Terms and conditions

About the course

This weekend-long intensive course will explore the methods, tools and techniques used within oil painting. Artist Andy Pankhurst will guide participants on how to build up their paintings, demonstrating the intricacies of temperature, colour and pigments. Participants will work from the same female model over the course of the two days, developing one painting using a sustained pose. Participants will use the quick-drying additive of siccative to speed up the drying process of oil paint. All materials will be provided for the course, but participants are advised to bring something to transport their canvases home in as there are no storage facilities at the RA.

This course is set in the purpose-built Learning Studio at the Royal Academy in Burlington House.

Who can take this course?

This course is suitable for all levels, preferably with some prior experience of drawing, painting or creative practice in general.

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 from perception and direct observation

• You would like a new perspective in your approach to life painting

• You would like to develop your knowledge and skills of working with oil paint

• You would like the opportunity to develop your skills and ideas in a small group setting and in the Royal Academy's practical Learning Studio

• You have no prior experience of life painting but an interest in the history, theory and practice of art more widely

Minimum age 18

The number of participants is strictly limited to enable detailed feedback from the course tutor.

What's included?

£480
Saturday 18 - Sunday 19 November 2017
10.30am – 5.30pm on both days

Includes:

• An introduction to the Academy with particular reference to relevant works in the Collection

• All specialist practical materials

• Lunch and refreshments served on both days

• A drinks reception at the end of the second day

• A certificate of participation upon course completion

About the tutor - Andy Pankhurst

Upon graduation from the Slade School of Fine Art in 1992, Andy Pankhurst had won First Prize for the Windsor and Newton Young Artist’s Award, and was represented by leading gallery Anthony Mould Contemporary Ltd. He was awarded the Richard Ford Scholarship through the Royal Academy in 1992 for travel in Spain to study the Old Masters within the Prado – subsequently becoming a committee member of the Richard Ford Award himself in 2003, nominated by Christopher Le Brun PRA, and alongside former keeper of the Royal Academy Schools Maurice Cockrill RA (1936-2013). In further travels undertaken through the Boise Travel Scholarship in 1993, he lived in the Veneto area of Italy for the year to study primarily Giotto and the Venetian School. As a figurative painter, Andy Pankhurst is known as an artist and teacher working from the life model. Other teaching includes working for the National Portrait Gallery, London. Andy has work represented in various public, corporate and private collections and museums in the UK and USA. Andy currently exhibits with Browse and Darby in London, with his most recent show of paintings and drawings in November 2014. He is the co-author with Lucinda Hawksley of What Makes Great Art, published 2012 by Apple Press.