Thursdays, January 15th – February 12th

Choose from: Afternoon Block 2–5pm

Evening Block 5:30–8:30pm

For intrepid beginners and intermediate artists interested in developing skills with oil painting from life. The content of the workshop will be calibrated to your group's learning goals!

Please note that students who are brand-new to painting in any media are encouraged to take the class Color Theory and the Basics of Oil Paint before enrolling in Still Life, Figure, or Portrait Painting classes!

Learn a variety of techniques and approaches in oil painting from the still life, taught by an academy-trained artist and teacher in a welcoming and inclusive setting.

5-Class Series, $175

(Need financial accommodation? Contact me to ask about class scholarships!)

The studio space for this workshop is unfortunately not ADA Accessible; there is one flight of stairs up into the workshop space. (Want to take a class but need an accessible venue? Please contact me directly and we'll explore possibilities!)

Questions about these classes? Email me at aedecarlis@gmail.com!

Required Materials

The following materials will be provided to students at no additional cost:

• Glass Palettes

• Palette Knives

• Easels

• Solvent

• Gesso

• Paper Towels

Students will be required to provide the following:

• Oil Paints

• Brushes (2–3)

• Supports (canvases/board/paper)

• Small Jar (solvent)

• Sketchbook

• Gesso Brush

• Palette Scraper + Blade

• Supply Tote/Tackle Box/etc

OIL PAINTS & BRUSHES — Options, Recommendations and Disclaimers

In order to have the best possible experience in the class, Ang recommends students work with pigments from one of the following lists:

1. Full List: $188 on Blick This list includes an earth-palette of Ang's favorite pigments (9 tubes) plus two of their favorite brushes. Recommended for students who expect to pursue oil painting seriously, especially those interested in Figure Painting.
   

2. Budget List: $106 on Blick This list includes a primary-color palette (4 tubes) plus two of Ang's favorite brushes. Recommended for students who are likely to pursue oil painting further, and who want to streamline their palette and push their skills in color-mixing — while saving a bit of money, of course.
   

3. Portrait Set: $89 on Blick This list includes a starter-set of ten pigments (10 mini-tubes) plus two of Ang's favorite brushes. Recommended for students who want the versatility and experience of a diverse palette, but who aren't sure whether they're ready to invest in a full oil-painting kit. This is the least cost-effective list for what you get, but offers flexibility.

THAT ALL BEING SAID — students are also invited to use paints and brushes of other brands, from other sources, including paints they already own, so long as they are able to provide at minimum a primary-color palette (pigments resembling Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow, plus White).

Ang will work with individual students to help them develop functional palettes from their available materials. Students should be aware that Ang might not be able to answer specific questions about brands or pigments with which they are unfamiliar. Please don't hesitate to reach out directly with questions! Email Ang at aedecarlis@gmail.com

SUPPORTS

The term used to describe anything being painted on, supports can be anything from stretched linen canvas, to aluminum sheeting, to gessoed cardboard or paper. For this class, students are encouraged to work on relatively cheap supports of their choosing. Thrifting old acrylic paintings to work over-top of is one great option for this class.

CLASS SCHEDULE

• Day 1, January 15

  Materials needed for Day 1 only: Support(s), gesso brush, sketchbook, and paints if not using one of the recommended palettes listed above. (All other classes, bring ALL MATERIALS listed!) – Welcome, setting up, prepping supports, demos, and creating preliminary sketches
  

• Day 2, January 22 – Demos, underpainting, color mixing, and beginning to paint
  

• Days 3, 4 & 5, January 29–February 12

  – Painting, student-paced. Students may make one or more paintings over the course of this class. In-progress group critiques.

About the Instructor

Angela DeCarlis has been teaching observational drawing and painting for more than 10 years. They believe in the power of community-oriented participatory arts, and work to make art education available and accessible to everyone.

In addition to teaching private workshops, Ang has instructed studio art classes at the University of Florida, the University of North Florida, and Lesley University. Additionally, they have delivered guest lectures or other educational programs at UC Berkeley, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Paul K. Longmore Institute at SF State University, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Harn Museum of Art. They studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and earned their MFA in Painting from the University of Florida in 2022.