Art Workshops at St Aidans

Traditional Oil Portrait Painting Techniques Art Workshops for pupils of St Aidans Church of England High School – this was fun!

So here’s the thing, in this country we no longer teach: drawing, life drawing, portrait or painting techniques in mainstream education, not at GCSE, A-Level or even University. I think it is very sad because while there are not so many “rules” when it comes to art (contemporary art seems to be more about what you can get away with in my opinion). I do believe there are some fundamental properties that are needed to create a successful painting.  The first of these is a solid foundation. I’ll use the analogy of building a house, if the house doesn’t have foundations or substantial foundations for the house that is proposed to be built it won’t be possible/it won’t stand for long. The same goes for a painting, the better the foundation (the ground, the underpainting, the preparation) the more successful the painting and the more likely it is going to last hundreds of years like the Old Masters’ paintings.

Therefore, I have made it my mission to champion the traditional techniques and teach them to as many young people/artists as are interested. Teaching, what the techniques are and how to use them – how to begin a painting in a traditional fashion.

Traditional Oil Portrait Painting Techniques Art Workshops

This has lead me to provide Traditional Oil Portrait Painting Techniques Art Workshops in schools, hospitals and privately in my home studio. My latest sessions I ran on 6th and 7th March at St Aidans C of E High School, Harrogate.  I try to teach pupils a summary of everything I learnt during my final year at university. I taught myself to oil paint from the books written by the Old Masters.  It’s not easy. There is  A LOT to take on board but every time those taking part rise to the occasion.