Intensive 1 or 2 Day Workshops with your Painting Group
(for Oils and Acrylics)
Currently Only Available in New Zealand
 
WHAT I Teach...
WHY things look like they do.
HOW to apply that knowledge to your painting.

Lessons are based on the MasterClass DVD series.
As the series continues to grow, so do the range of workshops available.

Currently there are 4 workshops available:
Ruakaka Beach, Atmospheric Perspective, Mt Manaia, and Mastering Colour.
See below for more information on these classes.
 
HOW I Teach...
It's an intense day, but I try to keep it fun as well as instructive. Basically I stand up the front there with a painting or two I previously completed for the lesson and answer all your questions about being a professional artist and anything else you'd like to know. Then we dive right into the lesson.

There's a lot to cover so it's all go, but we only progress as fast as the slowest painter - I don't leave anyone behind. In the landscape lessons everyone is given a photograph for reference and I demonstrate and plainly explain every step of the process from start to finish. After explaining a step, then demonstrating it, I spend time with each person individually, making sure they've understood clearly and are moving ahead well with their painting.

It's made clear from the beginning that there are no stupid questions - at all. What a waste it would be to have me their all day and you not ask all your questions!

 The goal is to complete a painting within one day and if we don't quite finish there are the MasterClass DVD's available to quide you through the rest of the way. The DVD's can be included in the course cost or available for purchase afterwards at a reduced price.
  What's stopping YOU from painting Better?  

Painting MORE OF THE SAME isn't going to help you. You need to break through your current understanding into a new level. Great painting requires a knowledge of WHY a thing looks like it does - not just having "how to paint a tree" knowledge.

If you're happy painting like a paint by numbers artist the following lessons aren't for you - these lessons get TECHNICAL. If you're a beginner with a passion to learn or a professional artist with a need for more understanding and stimulation, I guarantee you these lessons will give you the skills to paint better - sooner.

Student Comments...

"Hi Richard, ...everyone who did the workshop cannot speak highly enough of your tuition, maintained they had learned heaps from you and have asked me to pass on their appreciation. They all really enjoyed your style of teaching and were most impressed with your talent. So much so that we are sure  we will be seeking your services again some time in 2009.

I personally enjoy your style of tuition and painting and look forward to following your website for more opportunities to improve my painting techniques. I am also looking forward to viewing some of our wonderful scenery from down here seen through your eyes. I am wondering how you will modify your palette to compensate for different atmospheric conditions here - everything seems crisper and sharper than on the coast. See - you have already got us thinking and looking differently at what we paint now. Hope you enjoyed your stay down here and look forward to meeting again in the future.

Regards,
Barbara
 Taupo, New Zealand"
 
WHERE I Teach...
Well, mostly anywhere. Just give me call to see about arranging a MasterClass Workshop with your painting group. If you don't belong to a group yet, find one in your area, or start your own with some like minded friends!
 
HOW MUCH does it cost?
That's really negotiable but for a day class (eg. 10am-4pm) I charge about $50 per person. Class size is ideally 5-20 people. Larger groups can be split into multiple days.


   
  WHY I Teach...
  I enjoy it! Painting is a pretty solitary job, so it's great for me to get out of the studio and meet some new people. It's always a buzz for me to see someone 'click' - when understanding dawns and their face lights up because they finally 'get it'. Plus, the more I teach, the more I learn - having to nut out exactly what it is that I know about painting to be able to explain it concisely to a class solidifies my own learning and helps me get better, both at painting and at teaching. Also, let's face it, there are worse ways to earn a buck.
   
  How to Organise a Workshop...
  Interested in organising a workshop in your area?
Just contact me here and well start working out the details.
Available Workshops...
 
Join me at spectacularTeal Bay in Northland, New Zealand for over 3 hours of painting instruction compressed into an intense 30 minute lesson. Learn how to put REAL depth into your paintings!
Screenshots - click to enlarge
Running Time: 30 minutes
Level: Beginner to Advanced
Includes: Lesson Notes (7 page pdf document)
with lesson transcript, resource photo, photo
of the finished painting, colour wheel and cutout
value scale tool.
Take this lesson now to discover:
What is Atmospheric Perspective?
How Atmospheric Perspective actually WORKS!
Why it is crucial to great landscape painting.
When to use the simple Seeing Technique.
How to get your drawing right - Easily.
How to get your values and colours right.
Where to begin your painting.
How to paint Sun Glow!
How to lay on paint that adds Depth and Life.
How to apply finishing touches that Sparkle.
and PLENTY more - all in 30 minutes!!!
click to download free lesson
 
 
 
Join me on Ruakaka Beach in Northland, New Zealand for over 3 hours of painting instruction compressed into an intense 30 minute lesson!
Screenshots - click to enlarge
Running Time: 30 minutes
Level: Beginner to Advanced
Includes: Lesson Notes (8 page pdf document)
with lesson transcript, resource photos, photo
of the finished painting, colour wheel and cutout
value scale tool.
File size: 184mb
Download time: Dialup 4hrs, Broadband 10-20min
Let me show you easily...
How to arrange a strong composition.
When to use your artistic licence.
3 advanced seeing techniques.
Reflected light theory & application.
Why clouds are never just white.
How to mix value & colour families.
How to apply creative brushwork.
How to paint a seagull with only 4 brushstrokes!
1 unique palette knife technique.
How to use a large brush for easy detail.
How to paint convincing details in sand.
and HEAPS more - all in 30 minutes!!!
 
 
 
 
Join me in the studio and learn how to use photographs, knowledge and your artistic licence to create a great painting quickly and easily.

Screenshots - click to enlarge


Running Time: 60 minutes
Level: Beginner to Advanced
Includes: Lesson Notes (12 page pdf document)
with lesson transcript, resource photos, photo
of the finished painting, colour wheel and cutout
value scale tool.
File size: 180mb
Download time: Dialup 4hrs, Broadband 10-20min





Some of the things you will learn...
Design
  - The pros and cons of studio painting
- Knowing the limitations of photography
- The importance of tonal preparatory sketches
- Limiting values for strong compositions
- Designing with plains of depth
Colour mixing
  - using a reduced palette effectively
- mixing most of your colours first
- mixing colour families
- modifying colours - warm and cool
- 3 ways to check values
Drawing
  - finding the real horizon
- how reflections work
Painting
 

- creating vibrancy with warm and cool colours
- versatility of large brushes
- paving the way for highlights
- painting soft mist/clouds
- how a mountain can reflect the sky
- warm light, cool shadows
- using the palette knife for major highlights
- making an area glow with light
- how light infuses the edges of a foreground object
- subduing a background in preparation for a foreground object
- painting realistic reflections
- creating texture with the palette knife
- painting grass easily
- painting reflected light
and HEAPS more - all in 60 minutes.
 
 
 
 
 

BRAND NEW WORKSHOP!

I've been painting my whole life and professionally for over seven years now but this last 6 months I've been taking a fresh look at colour. I thought I knew a thing or two about colour until I started designing this workshop about it, then I realised just how insignificant my knowledge was. My studies have opened a whole new world for me which I want to let you in on. I'm not only thinking about colour in completely different ways now, I'm seeing the world around me differently! Finally I'm starting to take control of my relationship with colour and am beginning to get the feeling that I am mastering colour, rather than the other way around. If you'd like to begin taking control of your colour then this is a great class for you.

Some of the things you will learn...
Our place in colour history.
See and analyse colour and value accurately.
The power of a limited value range.
Compressing values for richer colour.
The importance of value plains.
How to lighten and darken colour while
maintaining saturation (colour instensity).
Creating living vibrancy with warm and cool.
Practical applications in landscape painting.
   

Student Comments from the previous workshop:

 "Hi Richard. First of all I would like to say Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of your class. It was extremely valuable to me and I have learned a huge amount. Being self taught (or better not taught at all) It was great for me to pick up some real basics but that was just a bonus.

Your class  gave me the manual to a tool I already had. Doing things automatically is a fantastic gift to have but totally useless once you are stuck. Now I know the rules and will be able to correct my mistakes and yes, it is also fantastic to know when you break the rules.  

Since your class my world has gained an enormous new palette and my sky will never be just white and blue. Thank you for opening up my coloured horizon. Thank you also for your generosity by giving us your 'artists ultimate tool' and giving one of your paintings away.  

I can't think of anything to improve your class apart from making sure that I will be a part of it next time. I love you're painting style and will watch your development with great interest. "

 
 
 

More workshops coming soon!