Fridays in Oils

Multiple Course Dates Available (See Above)

These are 4-week courses that will run every Friday morning within in the dates listed above.

Class Times:  10:00am - 2:00pm

With Tutor: Sarah Brock

Oil painting has a reputation for being difficult to master, complicated to use and painfully slow to dry. But with the right approach, it can be an incredibly rewarding—and surprisingly forgiving—medium.

Oil paints offer luminous, vibrant colour and plenty of time to blend, adjust and experiment as you work. There’s a reason they remain a favourite medium for professional painters around the world.

Over four Friday sessions, this practical course will introduce you to the foundations of working confidently with oils or help you take your existing practice further. Beginners will start simply, working with a limited palette and gradually introducing colour as they become familiar with how the paint behaves. More experienced and returning painters can explore composition, colour, different ways of beginning a painting and the development of their own personal style.

Whether you’re picking up oil paints for the first time or returning with a project already underway, the focus is on building the skills and confidence to make the paint work for you.

What You'll Learn:

By participating in this course, learners will experience the following:

Week 1: Getting to Know Oils
Beginners will start with Burnt Umber, exploring how oil paint moves, blends and behaves without the added complexity of colour. More experienced painters will identify an individual project or area of their practice they would like to develop.

Week 2: Introducing Colour
Begin building a limited palette and explore the relationship between colour and tone. You’ll develop your understanding of colour mixing while continuing to build confidence with brushes, paint and surfaces.

Week 3: Building a Painting
Explore different ways to begin and develop a painting, including tonal approaches and colour blocking. We’ll also consider composition and how a painting can be built up in stages.

Week 4: Bringing It Together
Apply your growing repertoire of skills to your own work. Beginners can expand their palette and consolidate the techniques explored throughout the course, while returning painters will focus on developing aspects of their personal style, such as colour, composition, subject matter and genre.

Throughout the course, you’ll receive individual guidance appropriate to your experience and the way you like to work.

What You’ll Create:

Beginners will create a series of oil painting studies, beginning with a single colour before progressing to two colours and then a broader palette. The number of finished studies will vary depending on your individual working pace.

More experienced painters will work on a painting project from beginning to end, developing their understanding of composition, tone, colour mixing and the different stages involved in building a painting.

Reference images will be available, or you are welcome to bring your own. Returning students can also bring a painting already in progress and use the course to develop it further.

Most importantly, you’ll leave with a stronger repertoire of practical oil painting skills—and greater confidence to make your own creative decisions.

Meet Your Tutor:

Sarah has been a working artist and art tutor since 2009 and has taught at The Learning Connexion, Inverlochy Art School and Artsight.

Her creative career began in graphic design in London before she left the field in 2003 to explore creativity more deeply at The Learning Connexion. She later worked as a portrait artist in Nelson, developing her skills in capturing likeness and character before moving into teaching drawing and painting.

Sarah’s practice has since expanded across painting, portraiture, collage and figurative sculpture. Her work has been recognised through a number of exhibitions and awards, including selection as a finalist in the Adam Portraiture Award and Parkin Drawing Prize, along with Merit Awards in the Molly Morpeth Canaday Art Award and the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts' Fantastic Beasts exhibition.

Sarah’s teaching combines strong technical foundations with an emphasis on helping each student uncover their own approach to painting and develop their personal creative voice.

What Do I Need to Bring?

• Sketchbook and pencil
• A flat palette or palette pad for mixing
• Canvas pad, canvas boards or another suitable painting surface
• Old rags, such as pieces of old sheets or T-shirts
• Palette knife
• A selection of brushes, including a few flat, filbert or bright brushes approximately 5–12mm wide

If you’re unsure which brushes to buy, don’t worry—Sarah can advise you, and brushes will be available to use during your first class.

Beginners: Sarah will provide paints for you to trial, but if you would like to purchase your own, a good starter palette is:

• Titanium White
• Burnt Umber
• Cadmium Red
• Cadmium Yellow
• Phthalo Blue

More experienced painters: Bring your preferred oil paints, including at least a red, blue, yellow, white and either brown or black, along with any favourite colours you regularly use.

You are also welcome to bring your own reference images or an existing painting project you would like to develop.

What Will Be Provided?

A selection of shared materials and equipment will be available during the course, including:

• A range of oil paints for beginners to trial
• Spare brushes and rags
• Paper and other surfaces for painting
• Gesso
• Liquin
• Reference images
• Larger brushes for applying gesso
• Easels and boards
• Access to printed colour reference images
  

Your tutor will also provide demonstrations, individual guidance and practical advice throughout the four weeks, helping you build skills appropriate to your level of experience.

Can Anyone Do This Class?

Yes! This workshop is suitable for all levels, and absolutely beginner-friendly. If you love being creative, you’ll fit right in.

This workshop is eligible for our ongoing Creative Immersion Offer!