Thomas O’Brien
Wednesday–Friday, 10 AM–2 PM (½ hour lunch break)
August 26–28
(3 Days, 12 total hours of instruction)
La Jolla Studio
$190/210 + $20 materials fee paid to instructor
This three-day workshop is designed for artists who want a clearer, more reliable way to build landscape paintings in gouache. Students will learn how to simplify complex scenes, organize strong value masses, control color temperature, and strengthen their paintings through a practical correction process. Demonstrations will be followed by guided studio time and individual feedback. Suitable for adventurous beginners and returning students.
Day 1: Motif Workshop, Design Philosophy, Simplification
Day 2: Color Strategy, Diagnosis + Strengthening
Day 3: Editorial Control and Clarity
Max students: 16
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.