Thomas O’Brien
Saturday & Sunday, 10 AM–2 PM
May 16 & 17
(2 days, 8 total hours of instruction)
La Jolla Studio
$160/180
In this workshop, we will be working with gouache watercolor to explore one of the most dynamic and challenging subjects in landscape painting: the coast. Coastal scenes offer a rich mix of land, sea, and sky, and we’ll break down how to approach them with confidence.
We’ll begin by discussing materials and setup, including paper choices, brushes, and paint handling specific to gouache. From there, we’ll dive into design and composition, learning how to organize complex coastal elements such as waves, shorelines, cliffs, and distant horizons.
Throughout the class, we’ll focus on color mixing, value relationships, and mark-making techniques that bring movement, light, and atmosphere to coastal scenes. You’ll learn how to balance bold, opaque passages with softer transitions, and how to simplify details while keeping your painting expressive.
By the end of the session, students will apply these concepts step by step to create a finished coastal landscape painting, gaining practical tools and a stronger understanding of how to work with gouache in landscape art.
Max students: 15
New Faculty!
Thomas O’Brien is a landscape painter living in San Diego, California. He received formal art training during his undergraduate studies at the University of New Mexico. Upon graduation, Thomas joined the United States Marine Corps and is currently serving as an active-duty engineer officer.
His work often leverages a full-spectrum value scale while incorporating as much color as possible. He emphasizes key elements of a subject through deliberate design choices and thoughtful composition. His aim is to create evocative compositions by combining the major tenets of representational painting.
Thomas frequently paints on location to capture the local color and mood of a scene, then further refines and develops the work in the studio. He strives to create artwork that draws in the viewer and connects them to the natural world in a meaningful and unique way. His artistic direction is influenced by a range of contemporary painters, as well as the great landscape and portrait artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Materials: Paint: Full Palette: Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Cobalt Teal, Phthalo Green, Olive Green, Cadmium Lemon or Light, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red Light, Magenta, Violet.
Limited Palette: Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Teal, Cadmium Lemon or Light, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red Light, Magenta.
Brushes (Watercolor/gouache): #10 flat, #6 flat, ½” or 1” fan brush, 2” rigger or line brush, #10 round.
Mediums: Gouache / watercolor: none required. Acrylic: transparent gloss medium.
Substrate: high-quality watercolor paper or watercolor board.
Immediately after you register, look for a confirmation email and receipt. In the week preceding the class start date, you will receive another email with more details.