Portrait Painting with Oil: Explore Light and Shade
A course by Jane French , Painter
Experiment with light, color, composition, and mark-making to illustrate the features and expressions of a subject in a way that captures their story
Experiment with light, color, composition, and mark-making to illustrate the features and expressions of a subject in a way that captures their story
“I am drawn to people’s faces—their expressions, the moods they convey, or the feelings they evoke.”
To capture them, award-winning artist Jane French specializes in oil portraits. As well as working on commissions, she teaches at various institutions and exhibits her work in galleries. She was also selected to appear in Sky Arts' Portrait Artist of the Year.
In this online course, Jane shares her method for painting oil portraits from scratch. Learn how to create vibrant artwork, using expert color and value mixing techniques to illustrate expressions. Paint the likeness of your subject by experimenting with light and shade.
What will you learn in this online course?
17 lessons & 18 downloads
- 99% positive reviews (518)
- 17,910 students
- 17 lessons (3h 25m)
- 18 additional resources (3 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, Turkish
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Paint a vibrant oil portrait, experimenting with light and shade.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone with an interest in using oil paint to capture expressive artwork.
Requirements and materials
Basic drawing and painting skills are recommended, as well as some knowledge of cropping and resizing photos.
In terms of materials, you will need oil paints, brushes, a canvas, and a few other materials specified by the teacher in the course.
Reviews
A course by Jane French
Jane French is a painter from the South of England. She grew up in a family of creatives with two siblings who are also artists. As a child, she was always interested in drawing and painting and was encouraged by teachers at school to pursue her passion. She went on to specialize in painting at Newcastle University and, after graduating, worked at a design company before completing a postgraduate degree in information design. Years later, she returned to her artistic roots, painting commissioned portraits for Mark Gatiss and BBC Radio’s Ben Jackson among others.
Jane has run workshops and taught at schools and universities, including the Attenborough Arts Center. She has won numerous awards, had her work featured in exhibitions, and was selected to appear in Sky Arts' Portrait Artist of the Year. Jane also contributed to a book published by Bloomsbury Publishing to honor the heroes of the NHS.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Preparing and Practising
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Materials and the Equipment
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Mixing and Applying Oil Paint
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Tonal Values: Painting a Simple Object In Monochrome
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Colour Mixing: Painting a Simple Object in Full Colour 1
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Colour Mixing: Painting a Simple Object in Full Colour 2
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U3
Painting the Project
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The Reference Image
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Preparing the Painting Surface and Drawing
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Pre-mixing Skin Tones and Painting the Dark Areas 1
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Pre-mixing Skin Tones and Painting the Dark Areas 2
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Blocking in Mid-Tones and Light Values 1
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Blocking in Mid-Tones and Light Values 2
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Adding Highlights and Final Details 1
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Adding Highlights and Final Details 2
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U4
Working as a Portrait Artist!
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Working on a Series and Developing Your Practice
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Promoting Yourself and Your Work
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FP
Final project
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Portrait Painting with Oil: Explore Light and Shade
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.
All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.
The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.
You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.
amandahsu
Excellent course. I have learned so much, thank you, it exceed my expectation. Highly recommend.
gavia27
Muy buena. Sencilla y clara.
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eddygmora
PlusVery inspirational. I love the loose brushwork. I tend to paint very smooth. definitely I give it a 10 rate.
marie1976
PlusReally good course with rich content. Jane French is a very talented painter and teacher, her course helped me getting started with portrait painting. I definitely recommend it!
dialrozu
Plusamazing!!!