More beautiful colour - simplified.
When I decided to learn to paint realistically some years ago, colour was my biggest struggle.
I couldn’t understand why my paintings looked so bad compared to the beautiful work I saw from artists who I admired.
I didn’t realise it at the time, but my problem was that I didn’t understand colour.
Understanding Colour
When you understand colour, and develop your skill with it, your work comes alive.
About The Mastering Colour Course
In this course, I show you how to:
- Mix the colours you see with complete accuracy, every time
- Model form with colour so that the objects you paint come to life
- Use colour to create a feeling of depth and light in your paintings
- Become confident with colour and create more beautiful work
The Mastering Colour course takes everything I've learned about colour and puts it into a series of easy to follow, simple exercises that will help you learn more quickly.
The course is light on theory, with all the emphasis on doing.
Each one of the series of small studies you'll be painting will teach you a new aspect of colour. Practice exercises help you develop each skill covered, and you can upload your pieces for written feedback.
Who is this for?
Almost anyone can benefit from learning more about colour. This course is aimed specifically at beginning to intermediate artists who would like to be able to paint more realistically. Ideally, you will already be able to draw reasonably well. If you're not sure the course is for you, email me at paul - at - learning-to-see.co.uk and we can discuss your current level and whether this is or you.
How long is the course?
It's an online course and you have lifetime access to the materials, so you can do it at your own pace.
Where can I find out more?
Here's some more information on what's actually in the course, including an example video from one of the assignments.
What kind of progress can I expect?
Of course that will depend very much on your level of commitment and how much practice you put in.
But here's a few examples of current students' work.
First, three images from the same student. You start this course by painting a small still life study, so that you have a comparison to show how much you've learned by the time you've completed the course.
Here is this students' first assignment:
As you can see, she likes to work loosely and with thick paint. And that's fine. What this course gives you is more natural, convincing colour without taking away your individual approach.
Here's an assignment from the same student half way through the course. Lemons again 🙂
course is the development of edge handling.
And here's one of the last assignments from this same student, a full colour block in. The point of this assignment is to judge the colours correctly and put them in the right place without any blending or medelling. It's a short hop from here to full realism, and this is a beautiful study in itself, I think.
Compare this to the first lemon. The distinctive handling is still there, but the colour is natural, beautifully observed and the subject has form and depth.
This student has worked diligently through the assignments and made amazing progress, whilst keeping the personality of her paint handling. Accurate colour doesn't necessarily mean tight painting!
Here's a couple of studies by another student, who has a very different way of approaching painting, with a more finished aesthetic that was evident from his first study:
...through to his version of the same three yellow objects assignment. Yellow is a difficult colour to paint convincingly from light to shadow - one of the things you learn on this course is how to paint convincing lights and shadows, no matter what the local colour is:
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And here's a full colour block-in from the same student:
So whether you like to paint loosely or more finished, this course will help you create work with more beautiful, natural colour, without enforcing a style on you - the style is still all yours.
What people say about my learning materials
I'm committed to helping you achieve your artistic goals. Here's a few comments from people currently on the Mastering Colour Course or who have learned with me in other ways:
Mastering Colour Course:
- Bert Van Der Laan
- Judy Warner
The structure, content, and step-by-step process of the course, informs and demonstrates to students what needs to be learnt and understood about colour in a practical hands-on way.
I have, and will continue, to highly recommend the Master Colouring Course by Paul Foxton to those I meet in the Art World. "
- Christopher Heaphy
I also produce video tutorials on different aspects of painting and run a drawing practice membership program. Here are some comments from people who have used my videos or are on the drawing program:
Video Tutorials:
"Thanks to Paul Foxton for his excellent videos explaining the Munsell system. One can never learn enough about color."
- Kathleen Speranza
"I finally got to watch Paul Foxton's flower painting video and it was so worth the wait. It's a hands-on, practical, common sense approach to learning to paint and making something very beautiful at the same time. Loved it."
- Amanda Williams
"I downloaded it, and really really enjoyed it, Paul. You are a wonderful teacher, and have worked really hard to make your videos accessible to all levels."
- Nina Gagarin
Drawing Practice Program Members:
“The appeal for me was the assistance offered to challenge myself to draw every day – something I had dreamed of for many years but not been able to put into practice on my own. Paul’s system of support and encouragement through simple exercises made it possible.
This has had a wonderful effect on my confidence and attitude towards my artwork.”
- Kay
“The subtle way we learn the habit of drawing every day takes the pressure off. I have learned more about drawing in two months than in all the years I have been pursuing it."
- Helen
A little about Me
I'm a representational artist, concentrating on realistic still life. I've been blogging about my artistic journey at my site "Learning to See" for over ten years, and have built up a regular following of over 10,000 aspiring artists.
When I started out, my work was rough. But with practice and a lot of hard work, I learned what it takes to paint realistically. My work improved.
My journey was a long and hard one, figuring things out for myself. Colour was the single most difficult thing I had to learn - and also the one that made the most difference to the quality of my work.
FAQ
- How long is the course? You have lifetime access to all the course materials, so you can take as long as you need to complete it.
- Can I pay monthly? Yes, you can pay in two monthly instalments if you like.
- What Materials will I need? Here's a full list of the materials you'll need for the course.
- I've never drawn anything in my life. Can I join? You're unlikely to get the most from the course if you can't already draw reasonably well. If you're a complete beginner, you should take the time to build some basic drawing skills first. You might want to try Creative Triggers, my drawing practice program.
- What if I don't like the course?If you find it's not for you, you can cancel any time within the first 6 weeks from your enrolment date for a full refund, no questions asked. You don't even have to give a reason.