Painting and Drawing from Photographs with PCAD Professor, Jason Ward
Staging photographs to be used as references takes careful planning. This course will help students develop strategies for how to compose and take Photographs intended to be used as reference for traditional drawings / paintings. We’ll discuss what makes a good Photographic reference and how it complements observational study. This course covers methods for translating Photographic images into drawings / paintings and material handling techniques that help traditional drawings / paintings achieve a level of Photographic realism. Min 4, Max 10 participants
Wednesdays, October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 from 6-9pm
Students may sign up for a single class for the first class, or the entire 5 week course
$220 for the 5 week course or students may sign up for the October 1st class as a single class for $60
Painting (Oil/Acrylic) Materials List:
Paints: Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, Ultramarine Blue, Titanium White, Burnt Umber, Burnt Sieanna, Windsor Newton make good quality inexpensive acrylic paints.
Brushes: A variety of brush sizes and shapes for Oil/Acrylic paints.
Palette Knife
Palette: Glass, wood, or plastic artist palettes are best, a pad of palette paper is fine. Avoid water color palettes, paper plates, tin foil, or other non-palette surfaces
Canvas, Panel, or Heavy Bodied Paper surface: Canvas will need several coats of gesso to give a smooth surface, Masonite, MDF, or Birchwood panel may only need one or two coats of gesso, Watercolor or Bristle Velum paper may only need one coat of gesso *Note paper may curl or wrinkle while applying gesso, if so keep your coats thing and press paper under weight for a few hours.
Water Jar
Paper Towels
Drawing Materials List:
Students may choose to work with either Charcoal or Graphite
Pencils and Graphite Sticks: A range of leads from H-B’s is recommended, however a classic #2 pencil is hard to beat.
Charcoal: Soft vine charcoal, compressed charcoal sticks, charcoal pencils, and charcoal powder are all recommended.
Erasers: A kneaded eraser and a rectangular white eraser are both great. I often use pink pencil cap erasers.
Artist Sandpaper Block or Stump: A great tool for toning a surface, and sharpening pencils and charcoal sticks.
Surface: For graphite I recommend a heavy bodied hot press paper such Bristol Vellum. For Charcoal, a heavy bodied charcoal or watercolor paper will work. My preferred paper for charcoal is Rives BFK.
Paper Towels and Artist brushes: For blending.
5 Week course - SIgn Up Here - $220
October 1st Single Session Class - Sign Up Here - $60
Jason Ward Bio:
Jason is primarily a representational painter whose work covers a wide variety of subjects including landscape, still life, narrative scenes, and paleo art. Across subject matter, Jason’s work is united by its use of dynamic light, atmospheric color, and attention to detail. Jason is a working artist currently living in Lancaster, PA and teaching in the undergraduate program at The Pennsylvania College of Art & Design. He received his BFA the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD and his MFA at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, PA.
Throughout his career Jason has worn many hats. He started exhibiting his work in commercial galleries during his junior year at MICA. In 2006 he opened and co-managed a gallery in downtown Lancaster, PA. Around the same time he developed a consistent plein air practice and began teaching classes and workshops at the York Art Association. A longtime goal of becoming a professor of fine art was achieved in 2016, when Jason began teaching at The Pennsylvania College of Art & Design. In 2022 he was a resident artist at the North Museum of Science & Nature, a relationship that remains productive today.