Group Oil Painting Class

IN-PERSON GROUP-BASED OIL PAINTING SESSIONS

• Stephanie Weaver has been painting for over 20 years, and she's excited to share her knowledge with students of all levels. In each three-hour session, you'll learn valuable color theory and applied oil painting techniques that will help you create the piece you've always wanted to make.
• YOU CHOOSE THE SUBJECT MATTER - You choose the subject matter you'd like to paint, and Stephanie will guide you through the process to help you achieve your desired results. Stephanie has experience in People Portraits, Landscapes, Still Lifes, Seascapes, Pet Portraits - you name it she's done it and can help you too!
• INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION - You won't be just another face in the crowd. Stephanie takes pride in giving each student the individual attention they need to succeed.
• FOCUSED TIME - The time you commit to the oil painting session is your time to focus on developing your skill, engaging creatively, and just having a great time with fellow creatives!
• FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING - No matter what your schedule looks like, you can pick the right day and time that works for you!
  • Wednesday 5:30pm - 8:30pm Central
  • Saturday 11:30 am - 2:30 pm Central
• IN-PERSON - My studio is located in the historic Lowe Mill at:
  2211 Seminole Drive,
  Studio 270
  Huntsville, AL 35805
• RELAXED ATMOSPHERE - Our artist sessions are designed to provide you with the perfect environment to relax and create, soothing music, and conversation. With fellow creatives by your side, you'll be able to chat and learn from each other while you work on what you love.

NEW TO OIL PAINTING?

It is highly recommended that first-time students arrive 15 minutes early at the first 3 class meetings of each season. Stephanie will guide students in some introductory exercises so they feel prepared for their future personal art projects in Stephanie's classes.

Sample Introductory Exercises

1. Basics of perceptual drawing from a simple still life:
   • breaking-down shapes using gestural strokes
   • measuring for accuracy of proportions
   • refining contours and edges
   • applying tonal values
2. Working from photos: using a simple grid with a consistent diagonal
3. Introduction to linear perspective
4. Preliminary studies: thumbnails and following harmonic guidelines of pictorial composition
5. Basic color wheel, pigments, and other materials needed for painting

REFERENCE MATERIALS

The easiest and best way Stephanie can help you achieve your desired effect in painting is through the use of references.

• Your own photographs: Most of Stephanie's students use their own photos to inspire their projects in class. These references of places, animals, people, or things enable Stephanie to understand the student's vision for a particular project. Stephanie teaches how to see representational elements by helping to interpret the way forms are shaped, how the relative scale of objects changes in space, and how light affects tonal values and/or colors.
• Reproductions of masterful paintings: While Stephanie emphasizes the importance of respecting copyright of images by others in her classes, she does acknowledge that a great way to learn technique is by copying and studying masterful artworks of the old masters.
• Magazine pictures: Since images are plentiful in the pages of Magazines, looking at them to understand how things appear in different positions and lighting situations can help with their depiction in drawings and paintings. Clippings can be mixed and matched and applied as collage in some final projects as well. Stephanie encourages experimentation in her classes as there is no limit to the image-making possibilities.
• Studies of ideas on paper: Your own sketches and doodles can offer plenty of inspiration for larger paintings and drawings. Why not try letting your imagination go wild? Use the elements and principles of design to bring exciting compositions to fruition.
• Still-life objects: If space permits, you may bring your own simple objects to paint in a quick still-life setup (which must be taken down at the end of class) or you may use my collection of still-life objects. Please be prepared to light your setup on your own. You may take digital reference images of the still-life at the end of class.
• Digital Media: Stephanie has some small easels that will hold digital tablets and laptop computers. More and more students use electronics to display their reference images.
• Digital Reference Apps and Tools: Stephanie often uses human posing apps such as Art Pose, Art Model, and Handy, to aid in the understanding of human form when seen in different positions and lighting. These apps allow one to manipulate body positions in a virtual space. Stephanie also uses an iPad and the iPad app, Procreate, to make digital studies. It can also be used as an aide to quickly correct rendering problems in complex representational artwork. Notanizer is a great app to help simplify tonal values in a digital photograph.