Inside – Outside: Painting Visual Phenomena (Online Course) Fall 2024 w/ Tim Tait
Sepember 7 to October 5 (Saturdays), 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM, Eastern Time
**All sessions are live and will be recorded, students do not have to be present. All recordings will be available to students for 3 months after the final session, after 3 months the recording will be deleted.
Please check your email spam/junk folder for your Zoom invite.
DEMO: https://youtu.be/cCjwdONhJyM
Course Description
The class will cover seeing, recognizing, and painting the visual phenomena we experience in the process of perception. Using the process of painting interior spaces influenced by exterior light, we will explore and understand the importance of abstraction, color, scale, and the physicality of the paint and brushstroke. We will also discuss how to work with acrylics such that the paint behaves more like oil.
We will work on 5 small, acrylic paintings (one per week). We will work from photographs of interior spaces (i.e. your home, or other interior spaces) that you’ve previously taken yourself.
Participants may paint during the class, or just watch and take notes, and paint during the week.
Course Outline
Week 1 -
Introduction: I will discuss the course, and show a few works by artists such as Pierre Bonnard, Vermeer, Lois Dodd, Fairfield Porter, Josef Albers, Carole Farnsworth Rabe, Alex Katz, and others followed by a 10-15 minute Q&A.
We’ll also touch on the importance of going to see and experience other art.
I will start on the 1st painting demonstration, discussing our materials and set up, painting a quick color “ground”, and working through the painting, followed by a 10 minute Q&A.
Homework: Do your first painting based on this demonstration if you haven’t already done so in class.
Week 2 -
I will discuss the idea of a sense of place and show a few of my inside—outside paintings. We’ll discuss painting from different vantage points, different times of day, from the inside, from the outside, etc., followed by a 10-15 minute Q&A.
We will start on the 2nd painting, working through the painting, discussing the process as we go.
Homework: Do your 2nd painting if you haven’t already done so in class.
Week 3 -
We will talk about color relationships and the idea and benefits of using a “limited color palette” and we will look at examples of artists who have used a limited color palette and why, followed by a 10-15 minute Q&A.
We will start on the 3rd painting, working through the painting, discussing the process as we go.
Homework: Do your 3rd painting if you haven’t already done so in class.
Week 4 -
We will discuss composition and the use of “figure/ground” (also known as “positive/negative space” and “form and counterform”) and how the intentional and thoughtful use of figure/ground can help make an engaging image, followed by a 10-15 minute Q&A.
We will start on the 4th painting, working through the painting, discussing the process as we go.
Homework: Do your 4th painting if you haven’t already done so in class.
Week 5 -
We will discuss the idea of intimate spaces, the idea of dwelling, and how to use scale in creating an interesting image and composition, followed by a 10-15 minute Q&A.
We will start on the 5th painting, working through the painting, discussing the process as we go.
We’ll have an end-of-class discussion, sharing some of our observations and additional questions.
Course Materials List
5 small pre-primed stretched canvases or canvas boards (i.e. 11 x 14”, 12” x 16”, 14” x 18” or similar)
Acrylic paints ( I use Golden Artists, but you can use whatever brand you like or have)
Acrylic gesso ( I use Golden Artists, but you can use whatever brand you like or have)
Acrylic retarder (additive that extends the drying time) – important
Acrylic modeling paste – optional
Brushes (variety of sizes)
Water (for mixing and cleanup)
Palette (can be anything from an acrylic sheet, store-bought palette, old container lid, etc.)
Your reference photos (can be printouts or photos on a laptop, tablet, smartphone screen, whatever works for you)