From pigment to paint: drawing and painting with black

Weekend art making course

Short course

● Fully booked

  • 18 March 2023, 10.30am — 5.30pm
  • 19 March 2023, 10.30am — 5.30pm

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Spain and the Hispanic World

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Domenikos Theotokopoulos, called El Greco, The Penitent St Jerome, c. 1600 (detail).

Oil on canvas. 80 x 65 cm. On loan from The Hispanic Society of America, New York, NY.

Inspired by the RA’s exhibition ‘Spain and the Hispanic World’, this exciting weekend painting course will teach the traditional techniques used to turn pigment into paint, before using these paints to explore light and dark tones whilst painting from life.

Please note: this is an on-site event only

“If I could find anything blacker than black I’d use it.” - J.M.W. Turner RA

This exciting weekend course explains in detail the traditional process of turning pigments into paint, and the benefits of then working with your own hand-crafted oil paints. Working under the guidance of painter and expert tutor Andy Pankhurst, during this two-day course participants will learn how to create a selected range of oil colours from pigments inspired by such artists as Goya and Velázquez, who famously used black as part of their palette. Participants will then use their own hand-crafted colours to paint from professional life models, creating their own artworks with particular emphasis on dramatic light and dark tones.

Course tutor Andy Pankhurst, a graduate of the Slade School, is represented by and exhibits with the London gallery, Browse & Darby. A long-standing tutor on the RA’s Courses and Classes programme, Andy is also co-author of the book What Makes Great Art, published in 2012 by Apple Press.

Minimum age 18. If you have any accessibility needs, please contact academic.programmes@royalacademy.org.uk.

● Fully booked

● Cancelled

  • 18 March 2023, 10.30am — 5.30pm
  • 19 March 2023, 10.30am — 5.30pm

The Clore Learning Centre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts

£480. Includes all materials, light refreshments and a wine reception at the end of day one.

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