Introduction (Free)

4 minutes

I believe there is a creative mind inside all of us. As young kids we want to build and make things and also share these things with people around us. We want to express ourselves to other humans even before we learn to walk and talk. As kids we use crayons and pencils to make images that express our ideas and that desire never dies.

Chapter 1 : Are you an artist?

46 minutes

This chapter explores what it means to be an artist and offers some insight into finding your own style, how to be your own teacher and discusses 5 bad habits to beware of.

CHAPTER 2 : THE CHEAT SHEET FOR PAINTING.

1 hr 25 min

This chapter breaks down the visual world into 7 simple elements in order to understand the language of painting and how to use it to communicate to others visually. These 7 elements are used to understand the power of other painters work as well as used to build your own masterpiece.

Chapter overview:

- Learn the 7 elements of the visual world.

- Learn how to use these elements to understand other artists work.

- We use these elements to dissect a Rembrandt painting, a photograph, and a movie still.

- Learn to use these 7 elements to plan your next painting.

CHAPTER 3 : PRELIMINARIES

1hr 41min

This chapter covers everything that happens before a painting begins. We discuss the entire process of catching ideas and planning out a painting as well as all the tools necessary to create a piece such as brushes, canvas, paint, palette and much more.
Chapter overview:
- 3 affective ways to catch the best ideas to paint.
- The dangers of painting the wrong model, and how to find the right (Model) subject for your painting.
- How to know when to work alone or when to collaborate during the creative process.
- A new way of thinking about commissioned paintings.
- Size matters! A specific method I use to decide what size to make the canvas before starting.
- Full materials overview. The Paint I use, my specific brushes, my preferred canvas, palette, mediums etc.
- The right way to light your studio and how the wrong lighting can destroy your vision and ability to see color.
- How to decide on the best canvas and my method of stretching a custom canvas.

CHAPTER 4 : CAPTURING REFERENCE FOR PAINTING (Part 1)

30 min

Now that we have our tools and and idea for a painting, this chapter discusses the many ways to gather reference for the painting using either photographic reference or setting up reference from life. We will also dive into the many ways to light the subject or scene to give it a dynamic feel. This chapter also covers the technical aspects of capturing art reference with a camera and how best to display that reference so that you have the most information to paint from.

Chapter overview:
- The 5 aspects of lighting and how to set up the right light to create a dynamic portrait.
- One thing to never do when photographing your model. The camera settings I use to capture the best reference for a painting.
- How to work to get the best attitude and emotion for your reference.
- 3 Tips you must know when painting from photographs.
- Don’t get sued! The legalities of working with models and the contracts I use.
- How best to display your photo reference to paint from.

CHAPTER 4 : CAPTURING REFERENCE FOR PAINTING (Part 2)

52 min

Now that we have our tools and and idea for a painting, this chapter discusses the many ways to gather reference for the painting using either photographic reference or setting up reference from life. We will also dive into the many ways to light the subject or scene to give it a dynamic feel. This chapter also covers the technical aspects of capturing art reference with a camera and how best to display that reference so that you have the most information to paint from.

Chapter overview:
- The 5 aspects of lighting and how to set up the right light to create a dynamic portrait.
- One thing to never do when photographing your model. The camera settings I use to capture the best reference for a painting.
- How to work to get the best attitude and emotion for your reference.
- 3 Tips you must know when painting from photographs.
- Don’t get sued! The legalities of working with models and the contracts I use.
- How best to display your photo reference to paint from.

CHAPTER 5 : THE PRODUCTION OF A PAINTING.

2HRS 20MIN

Now that you have an idea and the tools, we discuss the many ways to actually create a painting. This chapter covers the many overall ways to block-in a painting and also how to get through the difficulties mid-process and then tips on how to finish a painting. We also take a look at how our various tools can be used to alter a style and how there are no rules to how paint can be applied.

Chapter overview:
- The right way to set up colors on your palette and the mistake almost everyone makes that ends up wasting valuable time while mixing paint.
- How to make a plan of action in order to be bold and efficient with your process.
- A few helpful ways to begin. A strong block-in methods that saves a full day of wasted work and results in a more powerful finished piece.
- How to push through the hardest part of a painting, the middle.
- 3 helpful tips on how to finish a painting. How to know when to stop.
- Ways to keep your tools in good shape during the process.
- Tips on maintaining an fresh eye throughout the process.
- A few helpful exercises to sharpen your brain and eyes.

CHAPTER 6 : TWO SECRETS TO SEEING CORRECTLY.

31MIN

Possibly the most important chapter. Although I don’t necessarily believe that there is any one magic formula to a masterpiece, there have been two milestone moments in my painting career that seriously boosted the quality of my paintings. In this chapter I will discuss these two powerful concepts that have literally changed the way I see light and create my work.

Chapter overview:
- Paint what you see. But how do we see correctly? There is one powerful way to absorb information to properly see value, color, edges and proportions.
- Learning to see and paint what is in between the shapes. That’s where the magic is!

CHAPTER 7 : VARNISHING AND PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR WORK.

1HR

CHAPTER OVERVIEW: NOW THAT THE PAINTING IS FINISHED, WE WILL LOOK AT HOW BEST TO VARNISH, AND ALSO WE WILL DIVE INTO THE PROPER WAY TO PHOTOGRAPH YOUR PAINTING IN THE HIGHEST RESOLUTION POSSIBLE TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATIONS, PRINTS, ARCHIVES AND TO SHOW THE WORLD.

- AFTER YOU FINISH A PAINTING, IT TENDS TO DRY FLAT AND DESATURATED. THIS EPISODE EXPLORES THE PROPER WAY TO VARNISH YOUR PIECE SO THAT IT RETAINS ITS ORIGINAL RICH FINISH.

- TWO METHODS OF VARNISHING FOR BOTH LIGHT AND DARK PAINTINGS.

- 99% OF PEOPLE WILL NEVER SEE YOUR ORIGINAL PAINTING IN PERSON. THEY WILL SEE A PHOTOGRAPHED IMAGE OF YOUR PAINTING, SO YOUR PHOTO HAD BETTER BE GOOD!

- AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR ARTWORK AT THE HIGHEST QUALITY.

CHAPTER 8 : GALLERIES/BUSINESS/MARKETING/SOCIAL MEDIA

1hr 4min

THIS CHAPTER COVERS THE BUSINESS OF ART. WE WILL COVER EVERYTHING REGARDING, BRANDING, MARKETING, WORKING WITH GALLERIES OR SELLING ALONE, TIPS ON REACHING A WIDER AUDIENCE AND USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO SPREAD YOUR WORK.

CHAPTER OVERVIEW:
- BRANDING. HOW TO TELL YOUR OWN STORY THAT AMPLIFIES YOUR ART.
- WORKING WITH GALLERIES.
- SELLING ON YOUR OWN.
- HOW TO MAKE A BIGGER IMPACT TO THE VIEWERS WITH YOUR WORK.
- 5 EASY WAYS TO MARKET YOUR WORK WORLDWIDE.
- HOW TO PRICE YOUR WORK.
- 1 THINK YOU MUST NOT DO WHEN SELLING YOUR WORK.

LESSON 1 : “LARGER THAN LIFE”

1hr 30min

THIS LESSON COVERS AND EXPLORES BOLD TECHNIQUES AND APPROACHES TO LARGE SCALE PORTRAITURE.

LESSON OVERVIEW:
- WORKING WITH THE MODEL FROM LIFE.
- TIPS ON WORKING FAST TO CAPTURE THE MOMENT FROM LIFE.
- DEALING WITH TIME AND THE DIFFICULTIES OF A LARGE PAINTING.
- ALL NEW WAYS TO APPLY PAINT WITH NEW TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

Lesson 2: “Techniques in Charcoal”

1hr 30min
THIS LESSON COVERS AND EXPLORES BOLD TECHNIQUES AND APPROACHES TO CHARCOAL PORTRAITURE.

LESSON OVERVIEW:
- History of charcoal and how it has changed over time.
- Tips on how to create the right reference to work from.
- The proper charcoal tools you will need.
- Methods for beginning a charcoal to maintain control of the surface.
- Exploring new texture effects.
- How to finish a charcoal so that it lives up to your initial concept.

Lesson3. Painting a Still Life. 'Illusions in Gold'.

This lesson covers and explores how to set up and paint your own version of a still life.

Lesson overview:

- History of still life paintings and how it has changed over time.
- Tips on how to find your own voice for the subject matter and story.
- Useful ways to set up and light your scene.
- The proper materials you will need.
- Exploring an expressive block-in.
- Two special colors that I use to get vibrant chromatic effects.
- Exploring ways to define the form.
- A unique way to use a brush to get softer edges and get more realism in the work.
- Exploring how to develop realism in the painting.
- One special type of white paint I use to create my favorite textures.
- Exploring final effects in a painting.
- Textures and finishing strokes.

1hr 30min

Lesson4. Painting the Nocturne.

Watch preview clip here

This lesson covers and explores how to plan and paint a night scene painting.

Lesson overview:

- 1 composition study section on location.

- 1 color and light study section on location.

- 1 full nocturne painting using all reference gathered.

- PDF to follow along during the video that describes the full video outline and all materials and techniques.

- BONUS VIDEO - The full Nocturne video journey to paint along with, (Video and soundtrack only. No voiceover)

- My personal path and how nocturne paintings developed for me over time and some tricks I have learned along the way.

- A full list of special paints, brushes and tools used to create a glowing light effect with paint.

- A 30 min guide to finding the right reference on location.

- The proper materials you will need for gathering study reference from life.

- Exploring strong compositions for night scenes.

- 3 ways to create a glowing light effect with paint.

- 3 ways to use the palette knife to create background textures.

- How I photograph reference on location to use back in the studio.

- Exploring how to develop deep contrast and realistic color in the painting.

1hr 50min