Level: all

Feb 15 - March 14, 2024

Thursdays

10am - 1pm

5 weeks

Instructor: Jill Harrington Nichols

Instructor's website

Fee: $185

THIS CLASS IS  NO LONGER BEING OFFERED THIS SESSION. 

Join Jill in the Clouds – In this demo and instruction online class, students will explore the different ways to capture clouds and influence the mood and feel of skyscapes and landscapes.  The class is appropriate for all skill levels and welcomes people who paint in oil, acrylic, watercolor or gouache.

Note: this class will be taught online using Zoom.  Please download and become familiar with the app prior to the start of class.  A zoom invite and a photo  from which to work will be emailed each week. 

Suggested Supply list:   Note that most of the supplies below can be conveniently purchased from the lists that I’ve set up at Dick Blick online at: https://tinyurl.com/2p8c9t6x

Paints Recommended Brands: Oil Paint:  Budget: Daler-Rowney, Georgian, Lukas/ Good: Gamblin, Utrecht, Grumbacher/ Intense pigments: Old Holland, Williamsburg.  Acrylic Paint:  Golden or Liquitex  Watercolor: Winsor Newton and Turner

Basic Colors- All Mediums

  • Yellows: Cadmium Yellow Pale (light or lemon yellow) and Cadmium Yellow Deep, (Cadmium Medium, Hansa, New Gamboge)
  • Reds: Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Red Light, (Magenta, Quinacridone Red Cadmium Red, Naphthol)
  • Blues: Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue, (Cobalt, Manganese, Phthalo- note Phthalo colors can be difficult to control)
  • Earth Tones: Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, (or Transparent Red Oxide), Burnt Umber
  • White: (does not apply to watercolor) Large tube of Titanium, Opaque, and/or Titanium/Zinc mix (more transparent)

Optional/Alternative Colors:

  • Ivory Black, Paynes Grey
  • Secondaries: Green – Sap and Viridian / Orange – Cadmium and Transparent /  Dioxazine Purple
  • Oil Paints: Gamblin: Cadmium Chartreuse/ Old Holland: Brilliant Pink and Scheveningen Blue Light/ Williamsburg: Severs/Kings Blue https://www.dickblick.com/myaccount/blicku/jx8jt4grcew4h/

Essentials:

  • Rags, Viva, or Blue Shop paper towels
  • Gloves and/or barrier cream to protect hands.
  • Palette- larger the better: Oil or Acrylic-Masterson with a disposable pad/ Watercolor – a deep plate, white enamel tray, plastic
  • Oil: Container for solvent-metal with a closable lid works or clean jars, Palette Scraper, Gamsol mineral spirits or Chelsea Classica
  • All water-based mediums – Two containers for water

Oil/Acrylic/Casein/Gouache Essentials:

  • Quality Brushes: Round – #2 #4, Filbert – #8, #10, #12, Flat or angled– #2, #6, #10, #12, 1” and 2” flat, Small bright
  • PRIMED Canvas or panels
  • 2 Palette Knives

Watercolor/Gouache Essentials:

  • Paints:  The old-fashioned solid watercolor tray with colors. Winsor Newton and Turner are good choices for tubes.
  • Brushes:  Think of it as a good investment, as decent brushes will provide enjoyment for many years to come.
  • Sables are the best and most expensive option, Oxhair or soft nylon or a blend of natural and synthetic hairs will also work.
  • Brushes to start: #12 round, 7 round, 00,0 or 1 round, 1”, 8 filberts, ½” flat, Japanese calligraphic brush
  • Paper: Paper is a large part of the outcome of a watercolor painting. There is a cold or hot press (smoothest).
  • If you use a lot of water washes, you will want to use thick cold press paper (300 lb.) rough.
  • If you use very little water and like to draw then a hot press, smooth paper works best.
  • To begin a pad of inexpensive paper, such as a Canson Watercolor Pad will be fine.

Optional Materials:

  • Waxed paper for transport, a Roll of Masking Tape, and Small scissors.
  • 9 x 12″ (or similar size) sketchbook, Black Sharpie, Pencils HB, 2B, Sharpener, Erasers, Gum kneaded eraser
  • Toned paper, and black and white charcoal pencils for value
  • Nutcracker- or pliers to open stubborn tubes.
  • Oil: Gamblin non-toxic safflower gel medium
  • Acrylic: Retarder to slow down the drying, Gel medium
  • Watercolor: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, natural sponge

About the Instructor:

Jill Harrington Nichols grew up in coastal Connecticut. Her paintings explore both the earthbound and outer expanses of our divine cosmos. Her keen sense of color has developed over her many years as a commercial artist and painter.  She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado, Boulder, trained in oil painting at the Art Students League in NYC and earned her MFA in painting at Western Connecticut State University.

Her commissioned painting of Washington D.C. appeared as a backdrop for James Comey’s interview on “Face the Nation” while another appeared on Showtime’s “The Comey Rule” mini-series.  Her artworks Phi, and Juno, which embrace the divine feminine are installed in the Vatican Observatory Museum.

Jill has received awards from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, and Connecticut Office of the Arts. An active participant in the art communities throughout Connecticut, Jill has served as vice president for the Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society and Valley Arts Council and exhibited at the Rowayton Art Center*, Silvermine Gallery, Lyme Art Association, Carriage Barn, Greenwich Art Society, and Lyman Allen Museum.

Accustomed to teaching students at all levels, Jill has a way of instilling confidence and encouraging students to take risks with exceptional outcomes. She teaches painting at the Silvermine Arts Center, the Rowayton Arts Center and leads painting workshops locally, abroad, and online. She also has a few videos on YouTube.