Workshop Information

I have a variety of art workshops that I am passionate about teaching with the goal of providing students the skills to take their work to the next level.

My process is to explain painting and design in a straightforward, no nonsense manner so students have a process to consistently follow and achieve success with.

I have three types of art workshops. Those that can be covered in approximately a three hour block, a full day and others that require two or three days.

I paint in oil but all the topics translate into acrylic,watercolor and pastel painting.

If you or your group are interested in in any of the below workshops, please contact me to discuss scheduling and cost.

Michael King art instructor

1 Day Workshops

For many, flesh tone are difficult to impossible to mix. In reality, flesh tones are as easy to mix as any other colour. I’ll show how simple it is to mix flesh tones using core colours and just two basic principles of colour mixing – value and colour temperature. Once you learn how easy it is, you can take the principles you learn into mixing any colours.

Supplies Needed: Standard painting supplies plus canvas and ref photos.

Composition can be as complex as you make it. The reality is, for most of is you can get by with some core compositional principles and guidelines to improve the impact, flow and story of your painting. Combining this foundation with simple thumbnail sketches will provide you with a plan and a focused direction to tackle your painting head-on, without having to revise as you go.

Supplies Needed: Standard painting supplies plus canvas and ref photos.

Not understanding why you can’t mix the colour you want?

This workshop covers, in detail, the colour mixing of pigments, pigment bias and using it to your advantage, how to determine a colours value, the importance of colour temperature, how to mix neutral colours, the importance of standardizing your palette, and how to fix those muddy or chalky colours.

2 or 3 Day Workshops

This workshop goes in depth on what makes up an amateur painting and how to break free from these habits.

Specific topics will include working with using composition to your advantage, looking for shapes, controlling values, edges, colour temperature, colour mixing,  brush techniques, standardizing your palette, and how to fix muddy or chalky colours.

Supplies Needed: Standard painting supplies plus canvas and ref photos.

Using shapes, proportion, value, colour temperature and the understanding of what is beneath the skin is key to creating better portraits.

Specific topics include observation skills, working with shapes, mixing any flesh tone, colour values, edges, colour temperature and brush techniques to take your portrait painting to the next level.

Supplies Needed: Standard painting supplies plus canvas and ref photos.

If you have countless tubes of paint that you never use or are just starting out and are overwhelmed with all the colours available, this workshop is for you.

This workshop covers, in detail, the colour mixing of pigments, pigment bias and using it to your advantage, how to determine a colours value, the importance of colour temperature and how to make the shifts, mixing realistic greens, how to mix neutral colours, the importance of standardizing your palette, and how to fix those muddy or chalky colours, plus much more.

The extra days (2 or 3) with this ‘In Depth’ workshop provides us time to take the practice in class and apply it to paintings and painting scenarios, allowing you to fully understand how it all works together.

Short Workshops

The world of constant comparison. Learn how to draw objects and scenes intuitively and correctly the first time through observation and point referencing.

Supplies Needed: Sketch book and pencil,standard painting supplies plus paper and ref photos.

What is perspective and how does it work to influences buildings, people and any object in your scene? Instruction will include exactly why humans see perspective but often ignore it when trying to draw objects. Once the student understands what they see and why, drawing perspective becomes second nature.

Supplies Needed: Sketch book and pencil and/or standard painting supplies plus canvas and ref photos.

Value is KING and colour is its servant. Learn how to see value in colour and understand that you do not have to match the colour in a scene or photo but the value.

Supplies Needed: Reference photos in colour and B&W, canvas or boards, brushes and paint supplies.

Learn how to break a scene into larger and smaller shapes and why this is important. In addition, students will learn how to  fill these shapes with the corresponding correct value & colour.

Supplies Needed: Photo references, sharpie marker, scissors, canvas or board, brushes and paint supplies.

Reviewing the four large planes of a landscapes that are needed to fully understand outdoor scenes while covering the effects of atmospheric perspective.

Supplies Needed: Standard painting supplies plus canvas and ref photos of landscape scenes.

Looking at the principles of refraction and reflection while learning how to paint water and waves.

Supplies Needed: Standard painting supplies plus canvas and ref photos of water (lake, river or surf).

The use of homeopathic white to make whites that vibrate with interest.

Supplies Needed: Standard painting supplies plus canvas and ref photos of snow scenes.

Learning the principles of light reflection and refraction to paint anything transparent from clear to coloured glass.

Supplies Needed: Standard painting supplies plus canvas and ref photos.