Grisaille Painting is the manditory first course in oil painting. Students may begin this course upon successful completion of the Cast Drawing course. Grisaille painting is an important prerequesite for the complexities of painting in colour.

Students gain control of oil paint by using a limited palette. Principles of form and light introduced in Cast Drawing are the starting point for this course. Two techniques for beginning paintings are introduced. Light/dark and warm/cool relationships are examined in detail. Emphasis is placed on attaining drawing proficiency with paint, and rendering the form to achieve a strong illusionistic effect. Various oil painting mediums are explored in this class, and students learn proper procedures for completing paintings with multiple layers. The above examples were completed by Atelier Instructors Eric Mannella and Allana Benham.

Click here to see demonstrations of these paintings in progress on our Atelier blog.

Hours: One day per week, 10:30am to 5:30pm, with an hour break for lunch.

Students complete this course in 4 weeks.

Students continue their training in oil by learning to paint with a limited baroque palette in the first session. In the second session, students proceed to a full palette of chromatic colour. Relationships of hue, value, and chroma are examined using a variety of pigments. Composition, surface texture, and varied light effects are investigated, leading to a more sophisticated depiction of pictorial space.

Students complete this course in two sessions of 4 weeks each.