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Mastering Brushstrokes I & II

Course Trailer and Images

I recommend watching the trailer as it give you a good overview of what to expect.

Based on my Popular 3-Part YouTube Series:

Mastering Brushstrokes I - The Early Masters

Mastering Brushstrokes II - The 19th Century

Mastering Brushstrokes III - The Modern Era

About the Class

"This is the best online course I've ever taken. Jill has provided general and detailed information in a way that is easily understood and clearly defined."

- Rebecca S.

  • Over 10 Hours of Class Lectures in Total

  • 33 Student Resources (Downloadable)

 

Beginners: With a basic understanding of your chosen paint, this course introduces you to 22 methods for applying paint to your surface. It provides you with tools to draw from and shows you how each method impacts your results. If you work with a thin painting medium, such as acrylic, you will want to follow the watercolor stroking examples. If you work with thick mediums such as oil or heavy body acrylic, you should follow the oil paint examples.

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Experienced Painters: For experienced painters, this course will attach some names to strokes you've likely already been using, and introduce you to some you likely never thought of using. It also neatly organizes brushstrokes, giving you clarity on the topic. Additionally, it will show you how each stroke influences the visual impact of a piece.

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Brushstrokes are at the core of being an artist, and an individual's brushwork is one of the things that sets them apart from other artists. Using an easy-to-understand teaching method and lots of hands-on activities, I will breaks down historic and contemporary brushwork into twenty-two unique brushstrokes, using both oil and watercolor paint in my demonstrations. .

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The course is broken into two halves, and the brushstrokes themselves are broken down by style of application, to include invisible strokes, directly painted strokes, strokes that use light amounts of paint, strokes that use thick, impasto paint, broken brushstrokes, and alternative strokes.

 

Our learning includes a brief history of each stroke, examples of how the stroke was used in masterpieces, visual demonstrations, and student practice exercises. One of the exercises is to create a simple painting using only the brushstroke currently being examined. By painting the same scene for each brushstroke, you will get a feel for how that specific mark influences results when you paint.

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The course ends with a painting activity where you will be asked to use five of the learned strokes to create a formal painting.

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NOTE: Demonstrations are given in both watercolor and oil paint. Acrylic painters simply have to apply the knowledge depending on how they use that medium, whether thick (like oil) or thin (like watercolor).

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  • Setting the Groundwork

    • Dilution

    • Brush Load

    • Viscosity

    • Surface Condition

    • Absorption

    • Preparing to Paint

  • Invisible Brushstrokes

    • Glazing

    • Glazing in Watercolor

    • Glazing in Oil

    • Glazing - Stroke Practice

    • Glazing - Object Painting

    • Blended

    • Blended - Oil

    • Blended - Stroke Practice

    • Blended - Object Painting

    • Gradients

    • Gradients - Oil

    • Gradients - Stroke Practice

    • Gradients - Object Painting

    • Pouring

    • Pouring - Oil

    • Pouring - Stroke Practice (watercolor)

    • Pouring - Stroke Practice (Oil)

    • Pouring - Object Painting

  • Directly Painted Brushstrokes

    • Direct Painting

    • Direct Painting - Oil

    • Direct Painting - Stroke Practice

    • Direct Painting - Object Painting

    • Hatching

    • Hatching - Oil

    • Hatching - Stroke Practice

    • Hatching - Object Painting

    • Bravura

    • Bravura - Oil

    • Bravura - Stroke Practice

    • Bravura - Object Painting

  • Brushstrokes Using LIGHT Amounts of Paint​

    • Bravura

    • Bravura - Oil

    • Bravura - Stroke Practice

    • Bravura - Object Painting

    • Feathering

    • Feathering - Oil

    • Feathering - Stroke Practice

    • Feathering - Object Painting

    • Scumbling

    • Scumbling - Oil

    • Scumbling - Stroke Practice

    • Scumbling - Object Painting

  • Brushstrokes Using HEAVY Amounts of Paint​

    • Impasto Brush

    • Impasto Brush - Oil

    • Impasto Brush - Stroke Practice

    • Impasto Brush - Object Painting

    • Impasto Knife

    • Impasto Knife - Oil

    • Impasto Knife - Stroke Practice

    • Impasto Knife - Object Painting​

    • Closing Review - A Visual Quiz

  • Bonus Videos​

Course Outline - Part One

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  • Introduction

  • If You Haven't Taken Part One
  • Broken Brushstrokes

    • Dashes

    • Dashes - Oil

    • Dashes - Stroke Painting

    • Dashes - Object Painting

    • Dabs

    • Dabs - Oil

    • Dabs - Stroke Painting

    • Dabs - Object Painting

    • Directional

    • Directional - Oil

    • Directional - Stroke Painting

    • Directional - Object Painting

    • Pointillism

    • Pointillism - Oil

    • Pointillism - Stroke Painting

    • Pointillism - Object Painting

    • Stippling

    • Stippling - Oil

    • Stippling - Stroke Painting

    • Stippling - Object Painting

  • Alternative Surfaces​

    • Splatter

    • Splatter - Oil

    • Splatter - Stroke Painting

    • Splatter - Object Painting

    • Dripping

    • Dripping - Oil

    • Dripping - Stroke Painting

    • Dripping - Object Painting

    • Dabbing (No Brush)

    • Dabbing (No Brush) - Oil

    • Dabbing (No Brush) - Stroke Painting

    • Dabbing (No Brush) - Object Painting

    • Smearing

    • Smearing - Oil

    • Smearing - Stroke Painting

    • Smearing - Object Painting

    • Scraping

    • Scraping - Oil

    • Scraping - Stroke Painting

    • Scraping - Object Painting

  • Five-Stroke Painting Exercise​

    • 5-Stroke Painting Introduction​

    • 5-Stroke Watercolor Demo Part 1

    • 5-Stroke Watercolor Demo Part 2

    • 5-Stroke Oil Demo Part 1

    • 5-Stroke Oil Demo Part 1

  • Combining Brushstrokes & Final Remarks​

    • Combining Brushstrokes​

    • Wrapping it Up​

  • BONUS​

    • How to Flatten a Watercolor​

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Course Outline - Part Two

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