Learn Oil Painting Without the Mess and Cost: No Fuss Oil Painting Class at Jack-in-the-Pulpit Studio

At Jack-in-the-Pulpit Studio, starting in late April, you can learn how to oil paint without all the fuss of material costs and mess.

No Fuss Beginning Oil Painting (6 Sessions)

Have you ever wanted to try oil painting? Have you hesitated because of the mess and cost of materials?  Learn the basics of oil painting in a relaxed and supportive environment without purchasing materials. Materials are provided and you can keep your wet messy canvases at the studio until they are dry. Class includes instructional demonstrations, discussion and plenty of time to paint. Class will cover choosing subjects, creating a composition, and mixing color while working your way through the different stages of creating a painting from start to finish. At the end of this class you will feel comfortable approaching a blank canvas and creating your own unique painting. And you will know if you want to invest more in oil painting.

Wednesdays, April 22 - May 27, 2015
6:30pm - 9:00pm
Cost: $175
Register for and see other classes here

Oil Painting: Eggplant

Eggplant

Oil paint in canvas

46" x 40"

Oil Painting: Carrot Tops

Carrot Tops

Oil Paint on Canvas

28" x 36"

Art Thought: Representation or Life?

As I paint the mold on an eggplant, I am thinking about that point in a painting when you choose between trying to accurately represent what is in front of you or putting your own energy into your subject.  Often, when I focus on being accurate I find my paintings become dull and lacking life. There is a fine balance between capturing tone and hue while pushing values and intensity to better represent form or volume.  I think it is similar to the dilemma of trying to locate a subatomic particle and measure its mass - you cannot do both at the same time.  It is hard to see what is in front of you accurately in the 3-dimensional world and recreating it in a 2-dimensional setting.  And how do you paint mold, anyway?

Oil Painting: Sprouting Red Onion

Title: Sprouting Red Onion

Medium: Oil paint on canvas

Size: 20" x 10"

by: Mark Granlund

Jack-in-the-Pulpit Studio One Year Anniversary

Today marks the one year anniversary of the opening of Jack-in-the-Pulpit Studio.  It has been a fun year!

 Many classes in watercolor, botanical art and drawing have been offered.  There also were a few workshops and an oil painting class. I would like to thank everyone who has taken a class here at "the Pulpit."  I have enjoyed meeting each of you and I thank you for not only sharing your art talents, but also your lives.  Classes continue with the current round of classes beginning tomorrow night.  Check them out here.


I also have enjoyed having a well lit and spacious studio for my own painting.  It is the best studio space I have ever had -- and I am painting more because of it.  You can check out my most recent oil paintings at my personal website: markgranlund.com.

I am looking forward to this next year.  I have mostly promoted the classes through word-of-mouth and hope the Pulpit will slowly grow as a place where people can learn a solid understanding of how to create art and also have an opportunity to take the ol' creativity-car out for a spin.

My hope is that there will be some big changes this second year with the studio teaching space moving to the house next door to mine.  I am in the process of buying the property and am excited to have a separate space just for classes -- plus it will be really cute when I'm done.

I am also hoping to announce a project I am working on with World Without Genocide.  But I will wait until we hear about a grant we applied for.

Thank you all for your support!

Art Thought: To Sketch or Not to Sketch?

Someone asked me yesterday if I sketch out my paintings first?

My answer was "no" because we were talking about oil paintings.  I do not sketch out my oil paintings ahead of time but sketch as I go, drawing one or two shapes, blocking them in, drawing the next couple of shapes, blocking them in, etc. until the entire composition is complete.  Of course, with oil paint, you can change things as you go.

For my botanicals I do several studies first and sketch the final detailed composition on the watercolor paper. For general watercolors, I do a combination of the two styles, sketching out  large parts of the composition with my watercolor brush and a neutral color before beginning to block in areas.