Painting the Dynamic Still Life:
Colour, Composition & Energy
Join renowned artist Andrew Judd in a short course that transforms still life painting into a vibrant exploration of colour, gesture, and energy. Inspired by spring’s liveliness, this course invites you to move beyond simple replication and create compositions that truly come alive.
Led by renowned artist and educator Andrew Judd, this short course explores the dynamic potential of still life painting, moving beyond representation towards creating works that vibrate with life, energy, and colour. In the spirit of spring, students will work from a variety of arrangements, including florals, using both photographic references and direct observation to develop their compositions.
Andrew will guide students in painting with gesture and expressiveness, covering key techniques in composition, colour mixing, media and tool handling, and how to use a reference as a starting point. Students will explore how gesture, movement, and layering can bring richness and dynamism to their still life pieces, allowing them to create paintings that feel both intentional and alive.
Open to all painting media, this course is perfect for artists looking to deepen their understanding of still life while exploring colour, form, and artistic interpretation.
- Learn how to compose a compelling still life, balancing movement, structure, and visual interest.
- Explore colour theory and mixing, developing a strong understanding of how to create harmony and contrast in painting.
- Use references as inspiration, learning how to move beyond replication to create expressive, dynamic paintings.
- Develop confidence in brushwork and mark-making, using gesture and texture to add energy to a composition.
- Experiment with painterly media, exploring how tools and materials can enhance artistic expression.
- Create still life paintings, integrating new techniques to bring depth and vitality to their work.
- Oil Painting:
- YOU DON'T HAVE TO BUY THE MOST EXPENSIVE .... JUST BUY THE BEST YOU CAN COMFORTABLY AFFORD!
- Titanium white ...large tube ..(you will use much more of this than any other colour)
- Ivory black
- Yellow ochre
- Lemon yellow
- Cadmium yellow
- Cadmium red
- Alizarin crimson
- Cobalt blue
- Ultramarine blue
- BRUSHES
- round brushes....... sizes...... 2, 6,
- flat brushes............ sizes...... 4, 6, 8, 10
- filbert brushes.............. sizes....... 3, 5, 7, 9
- Strippable palette ( this is the kind that has multiple sheets you can tear off and throw away)
- Palette knife 2 or 3 inches
- Canvas boards no larger than 16 x 20 inches .....or canvass paper designed for oil paint. (the paper is sold in pads)
- If you prefer to work on stretched canvas that is okay too.
- Rags or paper towels.
- Please buy odorless thinners.
- Acrylic Painting:
- If you prefer using acrylics you will need the following colours...
- Titanium white ...large tube ..(you will use much more of this than any other colour)
- Ivory black
- Yellow ochre
- Lemon yellow
- Cadmium yellow medium
- Cadmium red light
- Alizarin crimson
- Cobalt blue hue
- Ultramarine
- BRUSHES
- round brushes....... sizes...... 2, 6,
- flat brushes............ sizes...... 4, 6, 8, 10
- filbert brushes.............. sizes....... 3, 5, 7, 9
- Strippable palette ( this is the kind that has multiple sheets you can tear off and throw away)
- Palette knife 2 or 3 inches
- Canvas boards no larger than 16 x 20 inches .....or canvass paper designed for oil paint. (the paper is sold in pads)
- If you prefer to work on stretched canvas that is okay too.
- Rags or paper towels.
- A fun material I recommend exploring is YUPO ( a very slick material that is great for removing passages you aren’t satisfied with )
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Details
Fee: $275 & HST
Wednesdays May 14 - 28 | 10:15am - 12:45pm (3 weeks)
CSI Annex
720 Bathurst St
Toronto, ON
M5S 2R4
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