The Painting Process: Still Life (Online Course)
Jon Brogie
Thursdays, 5 PM – 9 PM ET
July 10, 17, (no class July 24), 31, August 7, 14, 21, 28, September 4 2025
8 weeks – Tuition $475
Limit: 10 students
Take this class:
- To learn the traditional approaches to constructing a painting from start to finish.
- To gain insight into the methods employed by many artists at the GCA.
- To formulate better strategies when problems arise in your painting process.
- If you’re a beginner or have been painting forever.
Is this class for me/ prerequisite?
- GCA Painting Orientation or some prior experience with oil paint and drawing in the academic method is recommended.
Online tech needs:
- The class will be conducted on the Zoom platform and is a live online experience.
- Each class will be recorded and made available so students can review demos and critiques after each live session for the entirety of the class.
- This class also uses Google Classroom to distribute materials. Watch this video for more insight. Both of these services are free but require registration.
- It will be necessary for students to have access to a computer, tablet or smartphone. The recommended device is a laptop or desktop.
“In this class, I learned a better theory for chiaroscuro (handling of the midtones) and how to establish the transition between light and shadow. Technically speaking I think this rendering class gave me a better understanding about how any object is related to the light source. I really learned a lot from Jon and it was a really good and helpful experience for me.” – Guanghui
Course Description
While painting is ultimately a creative endeavor, having a reliable process allows the artist to focus their creativity and apply it more effectively to their work. This online course provides a historically-sound process for developing an oil painting from start to finish. Utilizing the genre of still-life, students will learn how to plan and execute their paintings through methodologies that can be applied to any genre or subject matter. These methodologies provide a framework for the artist, allowing for modification to suit an individual artist’s sensibilities, while also facilitating more predictable results. The course will begin at the composition stage, covering every step from thumbnail sketches and preliminary studies, to drawing the “cartoon,” stretching the canvas, transferring the drawing, and the various stages of painting. By the end of the course, students will have a greater understanding of how each stage in the process builds towards the next, as well as ways to adapt the process to suit their artistic needs.
During each class, Jon will demonstrate a different stage in the process of creating a painting. Students will also have the opportunity to work on their own painting projects and receive personalized feedback and critiques.
Week 1: Composition and thumbnail sketches
Week 2: Cartoon
Week 3: Poster studies
Week 4: Stretching the canvas and transferring the drawing
Week 5: Underpainting
Week 6: Main pass
Week 7: Main pass continued
Week 8: Final pass