Drawing and painting masterclasses in Paris

Learning how to paint a portrait
quickly and methodically

The alla prima technique consists in painting “touch by touch” rather than “layer by layer”, unlike glaze painting. This necessitates to quickly determine the appropriate color shade and putting it on the canvas at the right stage of the painting process.

The teacher briefly reminds students the basics of construction and volumes. Then comes the study of the flesh colors palette. Students finally practice the technique “alla prima” by copying classical and modern works.

Long-pose painting of a nude live model

After drawing the lines by mobilizing their visual acuity, the participants explore the medium of oil painting by first painting a grisaille (a monochrome painting).

The course teaches you how to master the color temperatures (hot / cold) and to prepare a harmonious range of colors with both a limited and complete palette.

Discovering the ancient techniques
of Chinese and Japanese painting

During this course, participants explore the techniques of sumi-e starting with the so-called “Four Gentlemen”: orchid, bamboo, plum blossom and chrysanthemum.

They are then introduced to the basics of Shanshui landscapes (the classic landscapes of mountains and foggy rivers).

Finally, participants work on the representation of animals, human characters and architecture.

Working on three iconic models of landscapes

Participants are introduced to the models of classical and allegorical landscape (Le Lorrain), realistic and impressionist (Corot), expressionist (Van Gogh).

After studying the main areas (or “masses”) of a landscape, from the largest (general composition, land and sky) to the smallest (individual lines and details), students learn how to draw the main “materials” of a landscape: sky and clouds, vegetation, rock, water, etc.

Perspective drawing in Paris

The teacher guides the participants through a variety of carefully chosen locations depending on the weather and the students’ objectives: gardens, bridges, museums, covered galleries, streets, etc.

The workshop emphasizes the power of perspective, of light and shadows.

Students are asked to choose their fields of vision and to compose and decompose space and convergence lines. The difficulty is to know how to see the invisible, to understand the form and the objects in relation to each other, to capture the volume of a tree or the curves of a bridge and to sketch a human subject as the beginning of a story.

Learning how to perceive the main axes of the drawn figure

During the workshop, the teacher explains how to simplify the volumes thanks to geometry in order to better proportion the drawing.

He also teaches the keys to visualize horizontal and vertical landmarks and to lay down a kind of mental grid.

Finally, participants learn to perceive the large masses of values so as to check their constructions are correct.

The goal of the course is to build “without affect”, and not with what you feel.

Discovering the color and its language

This course provides the basis for a common understanding of color which is regularly blurred by the vagueness of terminologies and preconceived ideas.

Participants test the three fundamental characteristics of a color: hue, value and saturation.

Then they discover how to set up and orchestrate the harmony of colors in a composition in order to achieve the desired effect.

The course also explores the palette of colors traditionnaly used to paint flesh.

Studying different techniques of watercolor in Paris

The teacher guides the participants to a picturesque place in Paris that offers a wide variety of possible subjects.

The course offers to study the techniques of watercolor outdoors (in two layers and in one layer), from detail to composition.

Participants learn to capture human characters in their environment through simplification and reconstruction methods. They study how to create accurate compositions by working on contrasts, balancing values and whites.

Drawing the bust through
the study of its morphology

Participants will study the morphology (external forms), the osteology (skeleton) and the myology (muscles) of the bust.

They begin by studying the skeleton of the cranial box and jaw, then they are invited to draw the body in large simplified forms. Finally, they learn how to draw “skinned” figures by placing the visible muscles, their insertions and their volumes.

Drawing a travel diary on the spot

The objective of the course is to create a travel diary that brings together places, scenes, people, details, textures and anecdotes that transmit a transient emotion.

It is an opportunity for each participant to discover different tools (pencil, pen, watercolor, colored pencils) and techniques (clear line, hatching, wash) in order to develop, page after page, his or her own style.

Learning how to paint small sketches

Participants practice drawing sketches of a live model with the technique of grisaille and a limited colors palette.

Learning how to draw figures very quickly

The teacher reminds the rules of morphology and basic proportions of the body.

The group is led to practice the composition of a solitary figure in action or a group according to their lines of force. These exercises are coupled with a reminder of perspective notions.

The work of the drapery is also discussed.

Discovering the methods of composition of an abstract painting

“What to rely on when painting abstract? ” This course offers some answers through practical exercises combining painting, interiority, and gestures.

The participants are encouraged to explore the interiority (Kandinsky’s example) that is to say focusing their attention on bodily perceptions.

The teacher presents the relationship of shapes and colors as “chords”, comparable to music (the example of Rothko).

This course also makes it possible to practice the relaxed or controlled gesture (Bacon, Pollock) and the simplification of an image (Nicolas de Staël).

… and understanding the steps of oil painting

After working on the structure of the drawing, participants are guided in the study of shadows and lights, the organization of the palette, the colors of the flesh and the materials (impastings, use of the mediums, glazes, velatures, etc).

In a few days, the professor proposes a complete method of oil painting in a naturalistic approach.