Ron Lemen
Thursdays, 6–9 PM
March 12–26
(3 days, 9 total hours of instruction)
La Jolla Studio
$160/180
Ready to paint with fire and confidence? Our oil sketching class is all about capturing life in bold, energetic strokes, painting portraits, still lifes, and landscapes that will practically leap off the canvas. We will be doing quick studies in under an hour, sometimes in just minutes, where every brushstroke counts. You'll learn to dance with your brush, making calligraphic marks that sing with spontaneity while still being grounded in solid academic principles, like gesture, value structure, and color temperature.
This isn't about perfection—it's about informed intuition. We'll teach you classical rules of composition, how to see big shapes first, and the essential techniques for capturing light quickly. These academic tools become your secret weapons, letting you work fast while making smart decisions. When you understand the fundamentals, you can break them beautifully.
Come prepared to get loose, think fast, and surprise yourself with what you can accomplish when time pressure meets solid technique. You'll leave each session with a stack of vibrant sketches and a totally new relationship with your paintbrush.
Materials: Preferred paints in oil (buy directly from the DaVinci Paints website): Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Cadmium Yellow Orange, Cadmium Red Light, Alizarin Crimson, Red Rose Deep, Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue, Viridian Green, Ivory Black.
Surfaces: canvas pads at least 11” x 14”. (I use 12” x 16” and 16” x 20”, but the scale is up to you.)
Brushes: Include at least one 1/4” bristle flat, two 1/2” bristle flat, one round brush, preferably a sable, one 1/2” bristle filbert, one 1/2” bristle bright, and one fan brush—preferably a bristle as well. We are not using any sables except to draw with to make sure that our paint application is strong and opaque. This makes it much easier to see the exact color that has been mixed.
Paper towels: Purchase a four-pack or a box of blue shop towels from Home Depot. They are durable and do not flake into paint the way regular paper towels do.
Other: one palette knife for mixing color—RGM # 5 or 10, flexible—with a rounded end to it to prevent damaging your palette; palette paper (Reynolds Freezer Paper found at any grocer or online); an 18” x 24” canvas board to act as a palette support (can be purchased cheaply at Michael's); linseed oil and an oil cup. (No paint thinner is needed; in fact, most of the time you paint you do not need thinner at all, unless you have an effect you are pushing into your work.)
Max students: 15
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.