Picket Fence Art Studio

March 8th and 9th from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm with a 1.5 hour lunch break

We have lots of concerns about how to finish a painting, but a successful finish depends in large part on the decisions we make at the start. This workshop will help you build a practice of “smart starts.”

We will not only cover the technical side of underpainting, but also the theory — how it can lay a solid foundation of composition, value, and even color direction.

By properly working out these issues at the start, you can avoid costly mistakes and the need to rework the painting later on. A well thought out underpainting can take you 50% of the way to the finish line.  

The workshop begins with the first act of composition: applying a limited focus. By considering shape size and the arrangement of light and dark masses, you’ll be able to find the strongest possible composition.

On Day 1, you’ll start two paintings, each with a different underpainting approach. 

Monochromatic, 1-color underpainting - Serves as a primer on value relationships and simplification. Learn how the single color chosen for the underpainting supports the painting’s color direction.

Color underpainting - This more advanced form of underpainting applies different colors to the major shapes. How those color masses relate is the foundation of the color strategy.

On Day 2, you’ll work toward a finish on your two underpaintings, and see how additional layers of color are applied to the underpainting. 

Level: Intermediate. This is not a workshop for first-time painters (those who have never painted or mixed color at all); however, it is ideally suited for those who want to learn more about building stronger foundations in their landscape paintings.

Medium: Oil and Oil Pastels

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ABOUT  MITCH ALBALA

Mitchell Albala is an award-winning landscape painter, workshop instructor, and author. His semi-abstract and atmospheric landscapes have been exhibited nationally and are represented in corporate and private collections.

He is the author of two best-selling books on landscape painting: Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice (Watson-Guptill, 2009), with over 60,000 copies in print; and The Landscape Painter's Workbook: Essential Studies in Shape, Composition, and Color (Rockport Publishers, 2022), which is currently the #1 selling book on landscape in the nation. Mitchell leads plein air workshops in Italy and teaches workshops throughout the Pacific Northwest.