Alla Prima: Painting Hands (Online Course)
Sandra Sanchez
Sundays, 6 PM – 8 PM ET – please adjust for your timezones
February 9, 16, 23, March 2, 9, (no class March 16), 23, 30, April 6, 2025
Plus over 12 hours of recorded demos. Each week’s corresponding demo is provided a week before each live class.
*Note: first demo sent a week before the live class starts – there is homework due the first class.
8 weeks– Tuition $495
Limit: 10 students
Take this class:
- To explore techniques for painting hands.
- To learn helpful painting techniques like palette organization and color decision making.
- To capture the likeness in an efficient manner.
- To build an organized practice for painting within a limited timeframe.
- If you have foundational experience painting.
Class format notes:
- 2 hours of pre-recorded demos distributed weekly. The first demo is distributed the week before the first live class. Homework is due on the first class.
- 2 hour live critiques class.
- Students work on their weekly assignment outside of class time.
Is this class for me?
- Some oil painting experience is recommended.
- Taking GCA’s Painting Orientation Seminar is helpful if you are new to GCA.
- Some drawing experience, especially in the Academic method, is always useful for painting classes at the GCA.
How often is this class offered?
- This class is offered once a year.
Online tech needs:
- The class will be conducted on the Zoom platform and is a live online experience.
- The pre-recorded demos will be shared via a private video link on YouTube. YouTube is free but will require an account to view the video.
- This class also uses Google Classroom to distribute materials. Watch this video for more insight.
- All of these services are free but require registration.
- Each class will be recorded and made available via links in the google classroom so students can review demos and critiques after each live session for the entirety of the class.
- It will be necessary for students to have access to a computer, tablet or smartphone. The recommended device is a laptop or desktop.
“Taking classes with Sandra is one of the best decisions I’ve made for my art practice. She is a generous teacher who meets students where they are and makes painting feel accessible and fun. Sandra has helped me paint with more confidence and given me the toolkit I need to continue pushing my work forward.” -Kaeti
Course Description
This course is designed to provide artists with a strong understanding of hands painted in an “Alla Prima” manner, or a painting done in a single sitting. Through a combination of in-depth lectures and Alla Prima hand painting demonstrations, students will develop the skills necessary to accurately depict one of the most expressive and gestural parts of the human body.
The course will cover various techniques, including drawing fundamentals and proportions, volume as it relates to the light source, common lighting scenarios, flesh color mixing, and capturing hands in perspective. Students will also learn the basics of self critiquing, and how to apply their findings from master copies in their future personal art projects. Instructor critiques will be tailored to each individual student’s needs and artistic goals. By the end of the course, students will gain experience with alla prima painting and confidence in their ability to depict hands in a way that feels fluid, natural, and structurally sound.
1 – Set Up/Block In/Basic Landmarks
2 – Abstract Shape Design II & Simplification of Hands
3 – Value Essentials
4 – Form Essentials
5 – Mastering Lighting
6 – Mastering Color Mixtures
7 – Foreshortening Basics
8 – Gesture, Composition and Putting It All Together
Week 1: Introduction to Hands And Block In Basics
- Setting Up
- Discussion of hands in art and their expressive potential
- Block-In fundamentals
- Essential bony and muscular landmarks
Week 2: Simplification Techniques
- Simplification and its role in creating clear sketches
- Examples of simplified hands in classical oil painting
- How to filter out unnecessary details and maintain a strong visual impact
Week 3: Value Essentials
- Understanding the role of value in an organized sketch
- Using value comparisons to achieve a unified look
- Strategies to avoid common value mistakes
Week 4: Three-Dimensional Rendering
- The basics of optical vs conceptual form
- Techniques for creating pictorial depth
- How to render in an alla prima setting to achieve maximum results
Week 5: Lighting
- Basics of how light contributes to creating a three-dimensional effect
- Introduction to different lighting scenarios, such as diffuse lighting and direct lighting
Week 6: Color Mixing for Hands
- Introduction to color theory for flesh tones
- Color tips and techniques to create glowy, fleshy and translucent effects
- How to balance strong neutrals with the natural high chroma found in hands
Week 7: Foreshortening Basics
- Capturing foreshortened effects without distorting the hands
- Tips to create flawless foreshortened paintings
Week 8: Gesture, Composition And Putting It All Together
- Discussion on the expressive potential of hands in paintings
- Study of hands in different contexts (such as when holding objects, clasped, etc.)
- Pushing the gesture in hands
- Final Wrap-up: applying class techniques to future personal art projects