Seeing in Shapes (Online Course) Winter 2026 w/ Edmond Praybe

January 30 to February 27 (Fridays), 10:00 AM to 1:00 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/H_rhZVKAKM8

Course Description

Throughout this 5-week course we will investigate approaches to structuring a painting as a series of interlocking shape relationships. Participants will make one ‘source painting’, focusing on creating a solid composition, followed by a series of studies from this painting, exploring different possibilities of shape construction. We will examine different ways to think about shapes in a painting, from variations in their size, value and color, to developing subtle transitions within major compositional shapes. Students will consider how shapes can function to describe form and space, link a composition together, and draw attention to points of interest. Subject matter/genre/imagery will be the choice of each individual participant. During the course, students will produce a series of painting studies based on variations of their source painting. On average, two studies per week will be assigned.

We will meet virtually once a week via Zoom for topic overviews, instructor demonstrations, slide presentations and group discussions. During our meetings we will discuss technical and conceptual ideas and review historical and contemporary examples for each week’s topic. Students are encouraged to paint along and ask questions during demonstrations and lectures. Individual critiques will be conducted over Padlet and will be supplemented by class discussions each week.

Some basic familiarity with oil paint will be useful.

Course Outline

Week 1: Creating your main source painting, focus on composition

Week 2: Value shape studies

Week 3: Big color shape studies

Week 4: Small color shape studies

Week 5: Orchestrating large and small color shapes, color and value, subtle transitions within key shapes

Course Materials List

My Current Palette (Oil):

(if there is another palette you are most comfortable with, by all means use it. Likewise substitutes here and there are acceptable as well) Artist grade paint. I use mostly RGH, but any brand you prefer will be fine.

Titanium White

Cadmium Yellow Lemon (or Light)

Indian Yellow

Raw Sienna

Cadmium Orange or Pyrrole Orange

Cadmium Red Medium or Pyrrole Red

Quinacridone Red

Alizarin Crimson

Quinacridone Magenta

Ultramarine Blue

Cobalt Blue

Phthalo Green

Preferred painting medium (I use Gamblin solvent free liquid medium and CAS textured impasto medium)

Palette (hand held or table)

Suggested brushes

Flat bristle: #2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 at least one of each. One or two smaller soft rounds

Palette knife

Container with a lid for solvent or cleaning oil

Odorless mineral spirits or a brush cleaning oil (linseed, safflower, etc.)

Rags or paper towels

Painting Surfaces: 10-12 surfaces primed for painting in oil- paper, canvases, panels, etc. 9”x 12” or larger

Sketchbook or drawing paper

Pencils and/or charcoal, eraser, pencil sharpener

Additional materials:

Medium grit sandpaper

Gloves

Yard stick/straight edge

Apron/smock

White of off-white artist tape