Art Courses I Participate In

The sheer scope of Matisse’s paintings fascinate me, so it was a delight to enrol in an online School of Painting course to really apply my brain to learn more. Taught by Alice Mumford, whose passion is interior and still life work, we learned about Matisse’s use of pattern and colour to create depth without shadow.

There was an interior set-up in the studio in St Ives which was our focus for the two days. This is my initial charcoal outline of the scene:

Then we were encouraged to paint a small study in oils – what Alice Mumford delightfully and reassuringly calls ‘thinking pieces’:

The second day saw a more concentrated effort to paint the scene again, bringing together all that we had learned in the time previously:

I really loved exploring and using oils in this way. As I normally paint with a palette knife, the luxurious swish of a brush felt quite decadent!

I haven’t placed these pieces for sale but am always open to enquiries should any take your fancy – just click here to ask me.

Thank you to my patrons for making my art learning and practice possible,

your support means the world to me x

(fancy becoming a patron? click here for more information)

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I recently took a two-day online course with the School of Painting on Bonnard and The Electric Light, taught by Alice Mumford. My knowledge of Bonnard was scant and it was so interesting to learn about his paintings and techniques. The role of the electric light in his paintings obviously affected his palette and how each painting was depicted.

After an interesting extensive palette-mixing session, we embarked on sketching a copy of one of Bonnard’s paintings in oils:

The task for the second day was to undertake a still life that was set up in the St Ives studio. I rarely paint a still life now, so it was quite a treat for the senses, and great to explore oils in this way. I loved the way the tea towel came out! Here’s my painting:

I’ve actually cropped and submitted this painting as my contribution to this year’s Twitter Art Exhibit postcard exhibition and sale. You can find out more on my Exhibitions page.

Thank you to my patrons for making my art learning and practice possible,

your support means the world to me x

(fancy becoming a patron? click here for more information)