Alla Prima Landscape (Online Course) Winter 2026 w/ Al Gury

April 1 to April 29 (Wednesdays), 6:00 PM to 8:30 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. Our business hours are 10:00 AM through 5:00 PM. All course information and email correspondence will be sent during business hours. If students purchase a course, workshop, demo or recording outside business hours or during the weekend the course information or recording will be sent the following business day.

Course Description

Improve your landscape painting in this visually rich and practical course through weekly presentations on Zoom of painting methods, art history, artists, materials and styles of Alla Prima landscape painting. This hands-on and interactive course will include weekly video demonstrations by the instructor, weekly painting projects to be critiqued by the instructor on Padlet as well as during the class session, discussions of color, brushwork, composition, use of photos, master copies, perspective and practical discussions of problem solving and how to improve your landscape painting.

*Open to all media and levels of experience. Projects can be done from life, master copies or photos.

Course Outline

Week 1 -

Introduction, Materials, History of landscape painting, use of Canvas, Resources,
choosing a subject, grounds, using photography, master copies, painting outdoors
versus using reference material, etc.

First Project: Master Copy Sketch (8X10-9X12 inches)
Toned ground, traditions, practices and history.

Week 2 -

Discussion, the Limited Palette and tonality, examples of limited palettes and artists
who used them, setting up a landscape painting, the drawing to the finish, brushwork.

Second Project: A landscape using a limited palette

Week 3 -

Discussion, review, the full color classic palette, visual examples, value and color,
Composition.

Third Project: A landscape using the full classic palette (TBD).

Week 4 -

Discussion, Alla Prima painting and Impressionism, Color and technique in varieties
Impressionism, visual examples.

Fourth Project: Using either an Impressionist master as a prompt or doing a landscape using
Impressionist goals, do a landscape study that explores these ideas.

Week 5 -

Discussion, Alla Prima Landscape Painting and Expressionism, visual examples, mood and content.

Fifth Project: Choose an approach that addresses expressive approaches. These can
include Fauvism, semi abstraction, psychological mood, etc.

*Projects can be done from Life, master copies of photos.

Course Materials List

We will discuss all materials in the first class meeting.

Basic classic palette for oil, acrylic or watercolor and pastel.

Yellow Ochre

Raw Umber

Burnt Sienna

Ivory Black

Cadmium Yellow Light

Cadmium Red Medium

Permanent Rose

Ultramarine Blue

Chromium Oxide Green

Dioxazine Purple

Titanium White

Additional optional colors:

Burnt Umber

Mars Violet

Green Earth

Cadmium Orange

Phthalo Blue

Cadmium Green

Cerulean Blue

Zinc white

Lead white

Surfaces:

Gessoed painting surfaces, 8X10-20X16, watercolor and pastel pads of choice.

Basic color surfaces are white, gray, tan. These can be opaque or transparent imprimaturas.

Containers for oil and thinners or water (Preferably metal or heavy plastic. Not glass because they break)

Palette for mixing colors (Disposable, wood, metal, etc.)

Linseed oil for oil paints

Brushes for oil, watercolor or acrylic. (3-4 well shaped and flexible bristle brushes)

Paper towels

View finder for compositional choices

Sketchbook for thumbnail sketches.

Pastel or watercolor paper if needed