THE OLD MASTER GLASS PAINTING METHOD

A Classical Atelier System for Painting Light and Transparency

This course takes you through a complete painting using the traditional methods I use in my own studio.

Working from a carefully chosen arrangement of coloured glass, you will build the painting step by step — beginning with the drawing, establishing the structure of light and shadow in monochrome, and then developing colour and luminosity through transparent glazes.

Glass can appear complicated to paint, but it is an ideal subject for learning this method. By separating drawing, tone and colour into distinct stages, the process becomes much easier to understand. You will learn how transparency, reflection and depth can be constructed gradually rather than trying to capture everything at once.

The Method

1. Drawing & Construction
Establish an accurate drawing and the structure of the composition.

2. Imprimatura
Apply a warm ground to prepare the surface and establish the atmosphere of the painting.

3. Monochrome Underpainting
Build the image in light and shadow before introducing colour.

4. Colour Glazing
Develop colour gradually through transparent layers while preserving the tonal structure beneath.

5. Optical Refinement
Build reflections, transparency, depth and the subtle effects of light passing through glass.

6. Finishing
Refine highlights, edges, tonal relationships and final details to bring the painting together.

Who is the course for?

The course is suitable for all painters, both beginners and advanced, who wish to learn a structured approach to classical oil painting. You don’t need any previous experience with glazing , the process will be taught from the beginning, step by step. I have been teaching students for over seven years, some of whom had never even held a paintbrush, and the results have been spectacular.

This is not about simply copying what you see in layers of paint. It is about understanding how colour, light and form actually work together, and learning how to reconstruct them in paint. Tones, shades and values are built gradually, allowing the tonal underpainting to remain visible beneath transparent colour glazes. This creates a depth, luminosity and sense of form that cannot be achieved by simply mixing a colour and applying it directly to the canvas.