Painting the Impression (Online Course) Winter 2027 w/ Tom Balderas

March 2 to March 23 (Tuesdays), 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. 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/tkDE5P27-hM

Course Description

Looking to paint looser? Looking to up your color sense? Join Tom for a 4 session online painting workshop. Learn and put into practice Tom’s approach to painting observed light and color. You will be working from the still life arrangement, the figure and / or photographic reference. Tom will demonstrate ways one can develop a more sensitive eye for light and color, all the while staying loose with the brush. You will be encouraged and shown how to keep things simple, how to build a painting from the ground up and how to learn to trust one’s first impression of the subject. Tom will emphasize how to go about making bold, colorful statements in paint. In between sessions you will create works that you can share on the workshops private internet site for discussion and critique. Your choice to paint in oil, gouache, watercolor or acrylic. All levels of ability are welcomed.

Course Outline

Each session will include a slide presentation. Any and all questions with regard to painting are encouraged.

Week 1 -

Basic tools of the trade.
Thoughts, suggestions and demo for keeping things simple and loose.
The concept of approaches to painting as language.
The idea of trusting the first impression and why it matters.
Assignment based upon the class session. 

Week 2 -

Working in the simplest terms as a shortcut to describing observations in paint.
Separating light from dark as opposed to value painting.
Demo in black and white.
Assignment based upon the class session. 

Week 3 -

All about color.
Keen observation as key to painting the big difference in color relationships.
Demo in pure color notation.
Assignment based upon the class session. 

Week 4 -

A painting demonstration utilizing all the concepts and approaches discussed in the workshop.
Assignment based upon the class session.

Course Materials List

PENCIL, CHARCOAL OR CONTE

Sketch or Note Book

PAINTS

OIL, ACRYLIC, WATERCOLOR, GOUACHE. YOUR CHOICE. 

BLUES
ultramarine blue
cerulean 

GREENS
phthalo green or Viridian
earth green 

REDS
alizarin crimson
cad red light or medium 

YELLOWS
ochre
cad yellow light or medium
cad lemon 

titanium white 
black 

PALETTE
Preferably at least a 16x20 palette / Glass is great with a neutral gray paper underneath. Or your favorite.  

PALETTE KNIFE

BRUSHES
Hog Hair Bristle Brushes (I use Filberts)
Or your favorites.  

ODORLESS TURPENTINE / PAINT THINNER 
1 -  Decent size jar or can for cleaning brushes
1 - Decent size jar or can for clean turpentine mixing

PAPER TOWELS 

PAINT SCRAPER

For cleaning palette 

SUPPORTS:
COTTON OR LINEN CANVAS, GESSOED PAPER, CARDBOARD AND / OR MASONITE.  Recommend Size: 16x20, 20x24, 24x24 or larger.