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Botanical Painting at Allen Gardens

  • Introduction-Intermediate
  • Painting

This course is for returning students who wish to work independently while they practice their painting skills related to botanical and landscape subjects. It is targeted for individuals who are beyond formative painting, but still appreciate modest assistance in technical application and value intermittent input from faculty. Students must have basic knowledge and experience with paint materials and be comfortable working in a self-directed manner.

Due to winter weather, Allen Gardens Conservatory will serve as a site location to record botanical subjects from life for the first five weeks. Amongst its magnificent display of plants that range from arid to tropical, students will record their experience and impressions of the conservatory and its Edwardian architecture.

For the remainder of the course, students will work in studio, developing paintings from the inventory of photographs and drawings produced at the Conservatory.

Oil and acrylic painters welcome.

 

Winter Term 2020: 10 Weeks: Base Tuition: $422 + Material Fee: $15 = Total: $437

Notes: Prerequisite: Introduction to Drawing, Introduction to Painting Botanical Painting - Winter 2020- is a 10 week course
* This course is not currently open for registration

What you will learn

  • How to work from preparatory studies to finished paintings
  • Imagery development

Materials to Bring

Please keep your receipts to all purchases in case you need to return any materials.

Drawing materials for site work at Allan Gardens Conservatory

  • 4B graphite pencil
  • 4B charcoal pencil
  • 2 sticks of vine or willow charcoal ( this charcoal is softer and easier to erase )
  • 1 General’s Charcoal pencil white
  • 1 Kneaded eraser and 1 plastic white eraser
  • 4B Derwent watersoluble pencil
  • Water soluble crayon set
  • An assortment of soft hair brushes that are suitable for water-based materials. You can find synthetic hair brushes that are economical in stores like Dollaramma and Michaels.
  • Large bulldog clips (at least two);
  • Students should have a mixed media sketchbook or pad preferably 90lbs. Canson and Strathmore are two brands that come in 9 x 12” or 11 x 14” pads and are sold at both Aboveground, Curry’s and DeSerres art stores. Mixed media pads are media friendly and can hold up to wet and dry materials alike.

 

Painting materials for studio work at Toronto School of Art

Paint materials are optional. Both acrylic painters and oil painters are welcome. The following colours are recommended for their versatility in providing the broadest and most effective range of colour mixing, without waste or duplication.

  • Cadmium red
  • Alizarin crimson
  • Ultramarine blue
  • Cerulean blue
  • Cadmium yellow med.
  • Lemon yellow
  • Burnt sienna
  • Raw umber
  • Permanent rose or Magenta
  • A large tube of Titanium white

For oil painters;

  • Solvents – Please have a 16 oz bottle of odourless solvent – Attention; no citrus based solvents please.
  • Mediums – An alkyd medium and oil binder will be provided in class from the instructor

For acrylic painters;

  • A Stay-wet palette is recommended for acrylic painters to keep paints wet and workable. Golden’s open acrylic medium will be provided in class as well as Golden’s GAC 100.

 

Miscellaneous

For all painters, please have masking tape and paper towels for clean-up.

Brushes: The following shapes and sizes are the minimum you will need for a full set. Hog hair and natural hair brushes are recommended for their longevity and ability to keep their shape. Most art stores have inexpensive sets that give you a range of shapes and sizes. For oil painters, avoid synthetic hair. They will not keep their shape over time.

  • Oil & acrylic brushes – Flat #12 #10 #6 #2
  • Oil & acrylic brushes – Round #10 #8 #2

Please have a set of small palette knives for mixing and application.

Please have two small canvases no larger than 11 x 15” for studio painting. Fredrix canvas pad is also an economical support for both acrylics and oil painters. It can bepurchased at DeSerres and Aboveground art stores.