Marvin Mattelson lays down his palette and uses his words

Alla Prima Oil Portrait Painting Mastery Online Art Class-2022

May 16, 2022
Marvin Mattelson's alla prima in-class demonstration painting

Do you control your painting or does your painting control you?

6 Saturday Sessions
10am - 4:30pm
Starting Date: June 4, 2022
Class size limit: 15 students

Alla Prima or painting wet-into-wet is a huge contributing factor regardless of what you want your end result to be, regardless of if you are going for a more spontaneous or a more refined look. Sadly the vast majority of Alla Prima classes and workshops promote a shoot-from-the-hip open palette approach. Even though the instructor may exhibit some skill and acumen utilizing this approach, it probably took decades to develop. It's a frustrating and inept way to learn. The biggest fault with the way art is taught in general is that you are told what to do, but never are you told why. Phrases like, "You'll know it when you get it!" and "This is the way my teacher taught me!" are dead giveaways. Run, don't walk to the nearest exit and never look back. There is a very viable alternative...me!

I'm excited to announce my new Alla Prima oil portrait painting class. I have developed, what I believe is, a new and exiting way to paint in the Alla Prima style that goes far beyond the typical approach. It will empower you to be both more accurate, as well as more efficient. Enhancing your ability to paint directly – wet-into-wet – is the fundamental skill necessary wether you ultimately choose to make paintings in one sitting or build up multiple layers. No matter how long you've been at it, if you want to experience significant progress with your paintings, then you need to change your approach, significantly.

When you do what you've done, you get what you've gotten.
Mark Twain

I've mentioned time and again that when I attended art school for 4 years I was taught squat about technique or approach. They didn't want to inhibit our creativity. When I finally got the courage to try it on my own, I bought every book I could get my hands on to gain the understanding I longed for. Sadly, each and every author came up short. Why? Because no one was able to explain the reasoning behind each action. That's the quintessential aspect in owning whatever it is you want to achieve. It's taken me decades to get to the root of it all ,and although people are at least teaching technique today, I see very few artists who have developed the deep understanding which is at the root of all great master paintings. Many artists an copy, down to the smallest minutia, but so can a camera.

A man paints with his brain, not with his hand.
Michelangelo

Please contact me, Marvin Mattelson, to register or for additional information. You can learn more about my Alla Prima portrait class here. or about my other course offerings here. Here you can see students' work and read their feedback. You can learn more about my virtual class setup and, last but not least, my teaching methodology.

Once again, I'm now conducting my classes and workshops online in HD 1080p through my Fine Art Portrait Academy,  as well as now offering private coaching and mentoring.

For further information please follow this link to my teaching page.

Until next time...

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