Painting Course with Colour Specialist, Caroline McFarlane

Franklin Arts Centre from Franklin Arts Centre

A structured, hands-on acrylic painting workshop series designed to help participants understand and apply colour theory through guided painting exercises. Each session focusses on a key aspect of colour, blending instruction with practical application

On the alternate weeks (during term time), the studio will be open between 6 – 8pm on Tuesday nights for participants to practice together what they learn in the sessions with Caroline.

Materials and equipment will be provided.

18 March:
The Colour Wheel and mixing basics
Participants will learn about primary, secondary and tertiary colours, as well as concepts like hue, saturation and value. They'll mix their own colour wheels and explore blending techniques, applying their knowledge to an abstract painting that focuses on colour harmony.

2 April:
Warm vs Cool Colours and mood
This session explores how warm and cool colours influence emotions and atmosphere in art. Participants will experiment with gradients and contrasting palettes, creating two small landscape paintings, one using warm tones, the other using cool colours.

29 April:
Complimentary and Analogous Colours
Dive into colour relationships, focussing on how complimentary colours create contrast and how analogous colours enhance harmony. Exercises will include colour matching techniques. Participants will create two paintings, one emphasising bold complementary contrasts and the other using a softer analogous palette.

13 May:
Tints, Shades and Tones
This session introduces depth and dimension through tints (adding white), shades (adding black) and tones (adding grey). Participants will complete a monochromatic study and a still life painting, learning how subtle shifts in value can transform their work.

27 May:
Colour and Composition
This session focusses on how colour placement influences composition and visual impact. Participants will explore colour dominance, balance and focal points before creating a finished piece where one colour leads the viewers eye.