Studio Painting: Colour, Technique and Critical Development
- Number of classes: 8
- Total Course Hours: 32
- Disciplines: Painting
- Lecturer: Evan Salmon
- Age: 16 years and over
- Levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
- Location: National Art School
Studio Painting: Colour, Technique and Critical Development
Course Details
This 8-week course is designed for painters with intermediate to advanced experience who wish to deepen their technical skills and strengthen their artistic confidence. Led by painter Evan Salmon, who brings more than 30 years of professional practice, the course offers a balance of structured projects and individual guidance.
Through studies in traditional genres such as still life, landscape, and the human figure, students will refine their abilities in both oil and acrylic painting. Evan will demonstrate the preparation of diverse supports and grounds, explore advanced colour theory and palette organisation, and introduce glazing techniques that layer transparent colour over opaque passages. Students will also gain insights into painting mediums and disciplined approaches to both oil and acrylic methods.
The course encourages personal growth: students may bring in their own works for critical feedback, while also engaging in set projects tailored to individual needs. Historical examples will serve as touchpoints for recurring themes, compositional strategies, and technical approaches, fostering a richer understanding of painting’s long tradition while cultivating each artist’s unique voice. You will work towards developing a series of completed paintings by the conclusion of the course.
Please note: There will be no class 27 March due to the Easter Long Weekend
* NAS Short Courses are open to students of ages 16 years and over. The NAS Art Club is open to students between 15 - 17 years of age.
* Drawing and painting short courses may be held in upstairs studios. If access to stairs is not suitable, please contact us at short.courses@nas.edu.au
* What to bring? Please refer to the list of required materials in the Art Materials field below.
Art Materials
Students must supply their own art materials, please refer to the list below.
Please note: Students may choose to bring either acrylic paints or oil paints.
Paints
Oil paint (Art Spectrum or other artist quality paint)
- Titanium white 150ml tube
- Yellow ochre 40ml tube
- Lemon yellow 40 ml tube (cool)
- Spectrum yellow 40 ml tube (warm)
- Spectrum red 40 ml tube (warm)
- Alizarin crimson 40 ml tube (cool)
- Ultramarine blue 40 ml tube (warm)
- Pthalo blue 40 ml tube (cool)
- Burnt sienna 40 ml tube
- Raw umber 40 ml tube
- Ivory black 40 ml tube
OR
Acrylic Paints (Matisse or Atelier)
- Titanium white, 250ml tub
- Yellow ochre (oxide) 120ml tube
- Lemon yellow (cool) 120ml tube
- Primary yellow (warm) 120ml tube
- Napthol red light (warm) 120ml tube
- Alizarin crimson (cool) 120ml tube
- Ultramarine blue (warm) 120ml tube
- Pthalo blue (cool) 120ml tube
- Burnt sienna 120ml tube
- Raw umber 120ml tube
- Ivory black 120ml tube
Mediums
- Oils: Refined Linseed Oil 250ml, Odourless Solvent 500ml
- Acrylics: Retarder medium and glaze medium 250ml
Brushes
- Flat or filbert brushes, sizes 2, 6 and 10 (hog hair bristle for oil. Synthetic or hog hair bristle for acrylic)
- Large flat brush 5cm for applying ground colour
Supports
- Primed canvas boards, wooden prepared panels or stretched canvas (approximately 30 x 40cm or larger if preferred)
Other materials
- Wooden palette mid-tone (either brown or grey)
- Small palette knife (diamond shaped)
- Coats Willow Charcoal 12 pack
- Wolff’s Carbon Pencils Set (2B and 4B)
- Faber-Castell Kneadable Eraser
- Workable Fixative Spray
- Bond Pad A3
- Water spray bottle (for acrylic paint)
- Sunlight soap
- Nail brush
- Disposable gloves, apron and cotton rags
- Utility knife for sharpening pencils
- Paper towel
- Sealable jars for painting mediums
Enclosed footwear is essential in all studios on campus.
Lecturer Profile
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Evan received a Diploma from the National Art School in 1991. He completed a Master of Fine Art (Research) at the College of Fine Arts, University of NSW in 2002. Evan worked as a studio assistant for the sculptor Robert Klippel between 1996 and 1998. He taught painting and drawing to Diploma students at various TAFE colleges between 2002 and 2016. He has taught observational drawing at the National Art School since 2017. Evan is represented by Gallery LNL and has held 29 solo exhibitions since 1993. He has also been included in many group exhibitions. Evan was selected as a finalist for the Sulman Prize in 2006 at the Art Gallery of NSW. He was winner of the NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize in 2015. His work is held in private and public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, NSW Parliament, University of Technology Sydney, Art Bank and Wollongong Art Gallery.
Testimonials
Evan was a supportive and encouraging teacher.
I thoroughly enjoyed the course. The lecturer and both models were very professional. Also the studio was a delightful space to be in. Thank you
I think NAS does more than just 'art' - it really is a place for peoples inner peace and self connection. Thank you for providing a space and courses that do that.
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