Thursdays, 6–9 pm
Tutor: Archie Franks
Location: Essential School of Painting
Fee £240 £300
Discounted New Course limited time offer
Places are limited early booking is advised. Art materials provided except for canvas that you can purchase at a discount in studio
In this course, students with some experience of painting are invited to deepen their practice in an evening programme designed for artists who want to push their skills further in oil or acrylic. Working with still life, portraiture and landscape, you’ll explore how each subject offers new technical and creative possibilities, helping you expand your skills and confidence. Whether you’re a beginner keen to develop your skills or an experienced painter looking to further hone your practice, this course provides a supportive studio environment in which skills develop and ideas flourish.
Through practical demonstrations, guided exercises and individual feedback, you’ll learn to think through painting, to build surfaces, make decisions, and approach your work with clarity and intention. Each session focuses on a different core principle, helping you strengthen control, experiment with materials and shape a more personal visual language. Alongside this, your tutor will present examples of prominent contemporary and art historical artists working within each genre, opening discussion around their techniques, materials and the conceptual ideas that inform their work.
You will create your own paintings within the genre of the week, supported through demonstration and discussion. A wide range of painting methods will be introduced and practised, including:
- Wet-in-wet painting
- Impasto and textured application
- Thin paint and glazing approaches
- Colour mixing strategies and compositional planning
Across the eight weeks, you’ll learn how technique can shape meaning, how genre can inspire invention, and how oil or acrylic can be pushed in expressive and ambitious directions. This course offers a structured environment in which to deepen your knowledge and build your technical skills, leading to a varied body of work.
What you’ll gain:
- A solid understanding of oil or acrylic painting processes
- Techniques to build depth, texture and atmosphere in your work
- Guidance on colour harmony, composition and brushwork
- Confidence to push your creativity with new methods
- Personalised tutor feedback as your paintings evolve
Archie Franks
Archie holds a post-graduate diploma from The Royal Academy Schools, 2012, and a First-Class BA, Honours degree from City & Guilds London Art School, 2009. He is the recipient of various awards and honours including the Jerwood Painting Fellowship, 2016, the Sainsbury Scholarship in Painting, The British School at Rome 2013 >>> read more
