Toledo Artist' Club

PAUL BRAND

Introduction to Oil Painting

WORKSHOP

Use the form at the bottom of this page to register

TWO-DAY
OIL PAINTING

WORKSHOP

Introduction to Oil Painting

by Paul Brand

SEPTEMBER 16–17, 2023

9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. | Toledo Artists' Club

5403 Elmer Drive
Toledo, Ohio | 419.531.4079

Toledo Artists' Club members $225.00
Others $300.00

Workshop Brief

"For 600 years, oil painting has been the preeminent painting media. Painting in oils has documented our cultural heritage and has endured and evolved through the advent of photography, the modernism of the 20th century, and the digital age. Why does oil painting remain relevant? Because no other media carries the same raw power of communication. No other media gives artists the same intensity of color and breadth of mark-making possibilities. There is nothing more natural and enduring than oil painting." From A Guide to Studio Safety by Gamblin Paint Company.

Color mixing, harmony, brushwork, and composition will be covered with demonstrations and studio work. We will paint directly, the way the impressionists did. Oil paint has rich color and a creamy consistency. It dries slowly, allowing changes to be made over a few days. Using a basic palette of warm and cool primary colors will allow us to mix almost any color while keeping costs down. The workshop is suitable for beginners as well as experienced painters.

We will make paintings based on pencil sketches of scenes in the Toledo Botanical Garden (weather permitting) and then use the sketches as the basis for paintings. The goal will be to capture the light and color of the day. Paul will show you how to simplify your sketches and create a focus for your painting. In the studio, we will transfer sketches to oil paper and then paint. Hallmarks of the workshop are imaginative use of color, simple designs, and creating your own world.

The materials on the recommended list for the workshop are all nontoxic and odorless. I will show you simple environmentally friendly ways to clean your brushes and dispose of waste after painting.

Day 1

Introducing our color palette
Prepare a reference chart of primary and secondary colors
Practice making tertiary color mixtures
Use of complementary color pairs
Achieving color harmony

Lunch break

Make a pencil sketch outdoors at the Toledo Botanical Garden or work from a photo
Transfer the sketch to oil paper
Paint!

Day 2

Paul will demonstrate these steps beforehand.

Composition – Designing your painting.
Create a focus:
Avoid the center of the paper
Area of greatest contrast – dark vs light
Area of intense color
Interesting shapes – oblique, interlocking, irregular

Start a painting, planning where the focus will be.
Make a pencil sketch
Locate the focus
Look for (or create) interesting shapes
Transfer the sketch to oil paper
Paint with the most intense colors and greatest value contrast at the focus

The following YouTube videos are worth viewing, but are not part of the workshop:

This underrated oil painting technique might transform your colors by Florent Farges

10 essential drawing tips every artist should know by Florent Farges

This YouTube video is an excellent explanation of how to use complementary colors to
enhance your painting.

Meet Paul

Paul paints for the pleasure of putting color on paper, and creates paintings based on strong abstract designs, even for realistic subjects. He favors bright colors and bold designs. Paul works in various media, including watercolor, pastels, oils, and charcoal, using the unique qualities of each medium to suit his passion for color and boldness.

Growing up in New York City, he was influenced by an uncle and cousin who were artists and spent many hours in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His formal education was in Biomedical Science; he came to Toledo in 1975 to join the faculty of the Medical College of Ohio, retiring in 2012. He continued creating art as an avocation after he retired and now works full-time as an artist. Currently, he paints for himself and teaches painting at the Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Artists' Club, and other venues in Northwest Ohio. Paul is represented in the Collector’s Corner at the Toledo Museum of Art,20 North Gallery, and the Gutman Gallery in Ann Arbor.