Saturdays, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM, November 29, 2025 - February 7, 2026, in the Fine Arts Studio
This course is designed for students who already have some experience with oil painting and want to deepen their skills in the realist tradition. We’ll explore how artists across history—from the Old Masters of the Renaissance to 19th-century realists—used oil paint to capture the world with precision, atmosphere, and emotion. By studying their methods, you’ll gain insight into how realism evolved and how you can apply those timeless approaches to your own work.
What You’ll Learn:
Art History in Context: Discover how realist painters like Caravaggio, Vermeer, and Courbet shaped the language of realism. We’ll discuss how their innovations in light, perspective, and subject matter continue to influence contemporary painting.
Color Theory for Realism: Build a stronger understanding of how color relationships create depth and mood. We’ll cover warm vs. cool contrasts, limited palettes, and how colors interact with one another. A strong emphasis will be placed on developing and refining a personal color palette.
Oil Painting Techniques: Refine your brushwork and layering skills through methods such as underpainting, glazing, scumbling, and alla prima. You’ll learn how to control edges, textures, and values to create convincing form and atmosphere.
Course Structure:
- Weekly demonstrations and guided exercises
- Individual and class critiques to help you refine your personal style
- Projects that balance technical practice with creative expression
By the end of this ten week course, you’ll not only have a stronger command of oil painting techniques but also a deeper appreciation for the history and theory that make realism such a powerful tradition.
About the Instructor:
Ernest McMullen is a landscape painter who finds his subject matter on the coast, surrounding waters and interior of Mount Desert Island, Maine. His abiding interest is in evoking the mysterious blend of form light and spirit found on the island with an approach that is firmly based in realist oil painting traditions. He was a founding faculty member at College of the Atlantic where he taught visual arts for 42 years.
