Course Previews

  • Figure Painting Phase II Preview

    Having gotten familiar with navigating the human form from the major angles, and using controlled palettes, you are now ready to open the range a bit. In this phase you will again be working from photos of the male and female figures taken from the major angles. However, now you will be using the Burnt… Continue reading →

  • Figure Painting Phase III Preview

    This course will expand upon your figure painting foundational skills, and introduce you to the loose style and expressive edge work of gesture figure painting.  These lessons will help you understand color and color mixing in a more instinctual way, as well as help hone your understanding of edge work and your ability to push… Continue reading →

  • Figure Painting Phase IV

    In this course will feature Jeff painting from various masters and demonstrating how they approached rendering the figure in oil.  These lessons will help you focus on your observational painting, applying your knowledge of anatomy, and sharpen your sense of design by differing to the masters.  It will cover a wide range of stylistic interpretations,… Continue reading →

  • Still Life Phase I Preview

    Basic composition, staging, and limited palettes will be the emphasis of this phase.  The phase begins with one object rendered in each of the 3 palettes: Burnt Umber Pick-Out, Burnt Umber White, and Phthalo Blue Black and White. You will then work up to two (and ultimately three) objects. Instructor Jeff Watts will go over… Continue reading →

  • Still Life Phase II Preview

    You are now ready to study some of the key patinas you will need to paint in your artistic career.  In this phase Jeff Watts has selected five of the patinas he has had the most calling to do in his career, as well as ones that were the most challenging.  Watch in the following… Continue reading →

  • Still Life III Preview

    In this course, Jeff will show you how to approach still life painting with shorter, more gestural techniques.  This course focuses on the “direct” approach, and understanding how to paint wet into wet.  Watch as Jeff teaches you how to add life and vibrance to your still life pieces by keeping a quicker pace and… Continue reading →

  • Landscape Phase I Preview

    The goal of this phase is to introduce you to the fundamentals of landscape composition.  Jeff will go over 13 different compositional “stems” used throughout history by some of the great landscape painters.  He will then use black and white gouache to do several small thumbnail paintings of each compositional stem, while explaining each one… Continue reading →

  • Landscape Phase II Preview

    Now that you have begun to understand the basics of landscape composition, let’s break apart various concepts within landscape and learn to tackle them. In this phase Jeff Watts will be introducing you to a fabulous limited palette–similar to the Zorn palette–but more ideally suited to the landscape painter. It features four colors: cadmium yellow,… Continue reading →

  • Landscape Phase III Preview

    In this class Jeff Will walk you through breaking down Landscape paintings from some of his favorite painters.  Emphasis will be on picking up the chosen artist’s brushmanship, color harmonies, compositional choices, and shape design. Jeff will work from 4 artists; noted seascape painter Frederick Judd Waugh, Northern Californian impressionist painter Percy Gray, California Impressionist… Continue reading →

  • Bridgman Anatomy Phase I: Torso Front and Back

    Join Jeff as we delve into Bridgman Anatomy! This first phase will encompass the torso, front and back. We will be using a variety of techniques in this phase to accomplish the task of cleaning up and understanding Bridgman’s Drawings, interpreting his design into photos and then embellishing our own drawings by doing master studies… Continue reading →

  • Inking Phase I Preview

    Inking Phase I is available as an Individual Masterclass Subscription, or available in Full Access or Instructor Mentoring   Join Jeff Watts and Doug Stambaugh in this long anticipated phase as we start to understand the basics of inking to help cultivate superior dexterity, foresight and design. This phase of inking will start with introductions… Continue reading →

  • Inking Phase II Preview

    Inking Phase II is available as an Individual Masterclass Subscription, or available in Full Access or Instructor Mentoring   In this second phase of Inking, Doug will be walking you through inking with a brush. In this course he will cover: Landscape Start to Finish, a forest scene with water, reflections, trees, shrubbery and a… Continue reading →

  • Inking Phase III Preview

    Inking Phase III is available as an Individual Masterclass Subscription, or available in Full Access or Instructor Mentoring   In this last phase of inking Jeff will take your through various master studies and photo reference interpretations in ink. Utilizing brush and quill, he will be focusing mainly on heads and figures. In the middle… Continue reading →

  • Sketchbooking Preview

    In this course, you will learn how our instructors use a variety of approaches and techniques to explore ideas in their sketchbooks.  Follow Erik Gist, Lucas Graciano, and Robert Watts as they utilize a vast array of different media to explore preliminary thumbnails, dive into personal studies, work out character, monster, and environment designs, and… Continue reading →

  • Mastering Quicksketch Preview

    This Phase was one known as Figure Phase III – Quicksketch, but due to the level at which Jeff presents the subject, it was elected to be renamed: Mastering Quicksketch. Here we will be exploring one of my favorite subjects, the figure quick sketch.  It is an amazing skill to execute these to their highest… Continue reading →

  • Observational Color Preview

    One of the greatest gifts of sight is our ability to distinguish colors. The human eye can distinguish around 10,000,000 colors. This may be why the Impressionist movement had and continues to have a large following. The transition from black and white training can feel daunting. There are so many choices, so many variations of… Continue reading →

  • Studio Still Life Preview

    This video showcases a longer-format still life painting. We will cover the tools necessary to embark on a more complicated scene. A cohesive theme can be formed with a basic arsenal of elements such as flowers, metals and glass. Other topics are discussed ranging from the supply of a still life "larder" to color comps. This video is a fifteen part exploration of a garden theme with roses, bird nests, and antique metal objects.

  • Painting Mood & Atmosphere in Gouache Preview

    Join Robert Watts, Jeff’s father, as he walks you through a variety of illustrative scenarios and visual problem-solving solutions, using one of his favorite mediums, Gouache.  Robert will lend insight from his 40 plus years as a commercial illustrator and fine artist, and use his eclectic and masterful skill sets to demonstrate how to put… Continue reading →

  • Studio Landscape: Structures

    In this course, Robert Watts will show you how to execute a studio landscape painting with a focus on structures..  Watch as Robert explains the differences between plein air painting and studio landscapes, and learn the importance of color studies and how to properly utilize reference in the studio.  Follow along as Robert demonstrates these… Continue reading →

  • Creating Environments

    In this course we will discover what makes environments and images feel the way they do. This is essential for the storyboard and environmental design, Illustrators and fine artists. The first thing that we see when we look at an image is not always the detailed focus, but the environment that it is in.  In… Continue reading →

  • Drapery Preview

    The goal of this class is to familiarize you with each of the seven key folds, as well as their function and usage in the process of drawing and painting. Through diligent practice of these principals you will eventually gain a mastery of drapery that will open you up to explore your creative and artistic potential.

  • Composition and Staging Preview

    The goal of this class is to simplify the elements and procedures that produce excellent compositions…from motifs, overlap, linking and the monster power of shadows to the concept of contrasts and that mysterious thing called mood.