Introduction to Figure Painting (4 Sessions)

One of the most common difficulties for beginning and intermediate painters is finishing a painting. Starting a painting is simple enough, but understanding how to organize that start into a coherent, finished illusion of reality is the most difficult aspect of naturalistic painting. This class will teach you a step by step procedure to methodically navigate through a full figure painting. We start with a precise line drawing, then transfer it to a toned canvas, and lastly finish part by part, moving top to bottom in a process referred to as “window shading” by the 19th century masters. Having some familiarity with life drawing is recommended as a prerequisite for this class, although you don’t need to have painted before. **Week 1:** Drawing & Transferring **Week 2:** Color Mixing & Portrait Painting **Week 3:** Rendering the Torso & Arms **Week 4:** Finishing the Lower Body **Materials:** ***paints, brushes, medium(oil, terps) included*** * 18x24 inch canvas * 18x24 inch sheet of paper * 2b graphite pencil * medium vine charcoal * kneaded eraser **About the Instructor: *Aidan Barker-Hill*** Aidan Barker-Hill is a figurative oil painter from Reno, Nevada. He earned his BFA from Laguna College of Art and Design in 2012 and his MFA from the New York Academy of Art in 2018. His work takes great influence from the academic painters of the 19th century, repurposing their techniques to make pictures about masculinity, relationships, and how the two interact.