Landscape | Painting Spaces with Mathew Lynn

Let award winning artist Mathew Lynn be your guide on a journey exploring spaces in its widest definition; including interiors, landscape, seascape, even memories and imaginary. Whether through observation, experimentation, or towards abstraction, this class will be an opportunity for you to completely examine your perception of spaces as the primary way you inhabit the world.

Students may wish to carefully examine and fine-tune their existing approaches, other students may like the opportunity to experiment with their practice through exploration. If you are inclined, you can even think about how objects and elements important to you inhabit special spaces.

Mathew likes to work one-on-one fairly quickly within the session, setting specific individual exercises and goals where necessary, tuning into and encouraging your personal vision and the way you see the world. Each session will start with a general discussion by him, and a chance for all students to share their approaches, and what they’re trying to achieve.

This is a course for consolidation or exploration, you can use any medium or approach, and this can change from week to week. Mathew will recommend supplementary studies and processes which you can then incorporate into your main work/works.

Bring in your preferred reference materials, which could be photographs, other paintings you’ve been working on, plein air sketches, drawings, and even objects etc.

This course has no limitations on subject matter, or the number of works you produce.

What students will achieve

In this courses students will be learning:

• how to look at and ‘see’ your subject.
• that you are translating something perceived only by you into art.
• how to isolate and render the key forms in space with lines and planes.
• about composition: how to evaluate, how to develop, how to use reference materials such as photos, other sketches etc.
• about sketches and studies as a way to increasingly inhabit your subject, and how to translate these across media and into your painting.
• about paint: dynamics, colour, tone, energy, mark making, the respective qualities of each colour, layers, glazing.
• about tuning into your subject constantly during the process, and maintaining your initial inspiration and sense of wonder.

 Other students might like to take this opportunity to experiment, and even thoroughly rebuild their practice by learning:

• how to look at and ‘see’ your subject in less representational ways.
• that you are translating something perceived only by you into art.
• how to make a new hierarchy of ‘information’ and stimulus emphasising feeling and vision.
• how to combine elements of observation and abstraction into a new kind of harmony.
• to work through studies and experiments (sometimes quite rapidly) to quickly get closer to your vision.
• to experiment with and expand your sense of colour, mark-making and process.
• to let your painting (and the pure qualities of paint and marks) have a life of its own, and to a certain extent,

Materials List

You can paint in Oil, Acrylic, Gouache, Watercolour, Inks etc., so bring the painting materials appropriate to your medium.

 For quick studies:

• Sketchbook or paper, drawing board if necessary, bulldog clips.
• Pencils, charcoal, any drawing materials you like, appropriate water media for studies etc.

For Painting (depending on your medium):

• Palette, disposable palette, acrylic or gouache palettes, watercolour palette, ink bowls.
• Rags, for wiping and clean-up (particularly oil painters)
• Spare containers, water containers
• Anything you like using, like palette knives
• Canvases and boards, a range of sizes. You may want to work on a larger canvas, particularly for a contemporary work, we can discuss this if you need.
• For gouache and watercolour bring heavy water media paper. For ink bring appropriate paper for your approach.

Brushes (a guide)

• Oil traditional - rounds in cheap Hog Bristle #12x2, #10x2, #8x2, #6x4, #4x4, #2x2, #1x2. These basic rounds form a complete system of painting, but you might like to mix this up with rounds and flats, depending on the type of marks you like to make, so think about having some of both.
• Acrylic - your acrylic brush set up may be different, I would use the above, but you may prefer synthetic options.
• Contemporary - you can also bring anything that will make experimental marks including any other type of brush, or brushes you normally use.
• Gouache & Watercolour - standard synthetic sable in a range of sizes, for large areas and fine work, rounds and flat, mops etc.
• Inks – any range of brushes you’d like to use, including Japanese or Chinese styles.

 Colours

• Traditional – Titanium White, Ivory Black, Yellow Ochre, Indian Red (red ochre), Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue, Cad Yellow Light (or equiv), Cad Red (or equiv), Alizarin Crimson (or equiv). This is a very limited range for basic rendering of most things.
• You can also add – Cobalt Blue (or equiv), Phthalo Blue, Phthalo Green, Magenta, Cad Orange (or equiv) etc. for some strong and punchy colours, or bring any colours that you like to use.
• You will notice a big difference between Student and Professional quality paint, particularly in the brighter colours, but get what you can afford. Student quality is generally a reasonable option, and it will be apparent to you when it’s not. Art Spectrum is a good, general brand.
• The colours are fairly universal. Gouache may have some different names but refer to the oil/acrylic colour for reference. I find Gouache wonderful for studies.
• Watercolour colours can be quite specific, favouring transparent pigments, but you can use any that you have and Mathew can give you advice on this.
• Inks, feel free to use any type of ink and approach

Mediums and Solvents

Acrylics – can be a basic Acrylic Painting Medium, Gel Medium, Impasto Medium etc. I personally like to use just water, like gouache.

Oils - we will be strictly using an odourless system.

• my personal favourite is Galkyd Medium and Gamsol Solvent. 
• I would recommend a quick-drying medium (odourless), but you can also use linseed oil with the awareness that your painting might not be properly dry for the next week. 
• I recommend taking your brushes home wrapped in glad wrap to clean and wash. Clean brushes with solvent and then wash with soap AFTER EVERY SESSION. Try not to come to class with hard brushes! Quick drying mediums are very hard on brushes.
• Oil painters should wear disposable gloves, Nitrile are better, and stronger over longer periods.
• _When using oil paints u_se odourless artist quality solvent for cleanup and diluting mediums. Solvents MUST be odourless. You will need jars with lids to store spent solvents/mediums. Your tutor will give you information on reusing and disposing of spent solvents and mediums.

About studio classes

Our class sizes are small, ensuring you receive the individual tuition you need. We have a maximum of 12 students per class.

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