Painting Believable Light (Online Course) Winter 2026 w/ Jared Rawle

March 7 to March 28 (Saturdays), 10:00 AM to 12:30 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.

DEMO: https://youtu.be/BGaxQhM-S_k

Course Description

In this course we will explore how to achieve a convincing sense of light in our paintings. We will focus on composition, value, color, light and shadow, implied detail and variety to create strong paintings. Each lesson will include a demonstration, corresponding assignment, and critique so we can all learn together. 

Course Outline

Week 1:

Intro -Discuss composition and value design -Demo -Assignment 1:Black and white value studies of favorite paintings and/or possible painting ideas

Week 2:

Critique -Discuss light and shadow, and how to convey different moods/feelings with lighting -Demo -Assignment 2: Paint a few versions of the same scene, with different light conditions

Week 3:

Critique -Discuss color relationships and harmony, and how color can convey different moods/feelings -Demo -Assignment 3: Paint a few versions of the same scene and lighting, but purposely skew the color

Week 4:

Critique -Discuss implied detail and variety in painting, including edges, surface quality, texture, and form vs silhouette -Demo -Assignment #4: Create a painting using principles taught in class

Course Materials List

Oil paint: Feel free to use any brand and particular colors you like, as long as you have a good selection of the primary colors plus black and white. I've been using mostly Utrecht brand oil paint these days. They aren't as great as other brands, but they are cheaper, I can buy them locally, and I think not being too precious with my paint helps me progress faster than having the finest paint does. I also use Gamblin, Winsor Newton, M Graham, Rembrandt. 

For this course you can use other mediums if you prefer (ex. gouache, pastel, etc), the principles are fairly universal. I will be using oils though.

Jared's palette: Titanium White, Winsor Lemon/Cadmuim Yellow Hue, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Orange, Naphthol Red, Alizarin Crimson, Sap Green Hue, Manganese Blue Hue (Gamblin), Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Ivory Black

Medium: I don't usually use any medium these days, other than gamsol to clean off brushes and occasionally thin my paint

Brushes: Any brand from Rosemary to cheap dollar store brands- I use them all. Assortment of a few flat synthetic brushes, ranging from 1/4 in to 2 in wide. Assortment of a few filbert synthetic brushes. 

Palette Knife/s: Please purchase a palette knife if you don't have one. I like the Cheson brand (Jack Richeson professional Italian knives). The one I use most is the '822'. Even if you don't paint with a palette knife, I highly recommend using them to mix your piles of paint. 

Surface: I usually paint on acrylic/gesso primed mdf board. You can paint on whatever surface you like most. Please have an assortment of sizes: 8x10 in, 9x12 in, 11x14 in, 16x20, etc. We will be doing smaller studies (8x10 in or smaller), you can either have several small panels or tape off a larger panel/canvas into sections.

Misc: -Masking/Artist tape (for masking off larger panels- optional) -Gamsol -paper towels -pencil/pens -Easel or pochade box of some sort (optional, but very nice when painting, especially outside)