Oil Painting Techniques; Rembrandt

What techniques or secrets did Rembrandt used to create his masterpieces? In this course students will learn the oil painting techniques and materials used by Rembrandt. The course curriculum includes a painting demonstration from beginning to end with individual chapters that include four key sequences used by Rembrandt to complete his paintings. The class also includes lectures dedicated to the preparation of a traditional oil ground, historical pigments, as well as modern materials substitutes. The demonstration offers detail instruction on how to create an under-sketch, working up sequence, and finally a glazing and finishing stage. Students will be guided through every step, and color mixture as the painting evolves from a sketch into a finished work of art.

The course demonstration focuses on Rembrandt's late style, in particular his painting titled "Self portrait at 63". During Rembrandt's late years, he began to work with an innovative impasto technique that has baffled art historians for centuries. His use of unique materials to achieve lifelike surfaces has been researched by scientists, and in this course I will be reconstructing those techniques with historical materials to achieve similar results.

Course features:

• Improve your understanding of color and how to mix flesh tones.

• Learn the various steps of oil painting including the use of historical materials.

• Discover how to use color and light/shade convincingly to achieve three dimensional forms.

• Learn the masterful techniques that Rembrandt used to achieve lifelike textures and forms.