Figure Painting: The Art of the StartA
Adult Course | Registration opens 8/5/2025 10:00 AM MDT
This class is an introduction to painting the human figure from life, starting with the art of the block-in. The Block-in is the first stage of a painting - the initial sketch. You will learn the direct painting method known as “open grisaille” to quickly and effectively capture the dynamic gesture, flow, and masses.
By practicing countless starts over the 6 weeks, you will learn the shapes, proportions, and basic structures of the human form. As the weeks progress, you will be given an introduction to a limited palette to mix the flesh tones of the figure as a preview to the concepts we will cover in the next 6 week course - full color.
This class is part of a year long course in learning to paint the human figure. Every 6 weeks a new class begins covering a different facet of figure painting: starting with an introduction to materials and short poses in the Fall, and ending with long pose, highly finished paintings at the end of the academic year in May. This allows students to “hop on and off” throughout the year to tackle relevant concepts to their practice, or to dive deep and sign up for the year.
Some experience drawing the model from life is helpful but not required.
- Materials List
16x20 cotton duck canvas
Bristle Filbert brush 2 each size 4, and 2
2 inch chip brush or house painting brush
Professional Grade Artist’s Oil Paint 37ml tube of the following colors
Burnt Umber
Burnt sienna
Cadmium red
Cadmium yellow
Ivory black
Titanium white
Meiningers neutral gray acrylic gesso squeeze tube
A brush washing jar with sealable lid
Odorless mineral spirits
Paper towels
Palette - a neutral brown sealed wooden palette or glass palette
Palette knife
Alexander Soukas
Alexander Soukas' serious training in the fine arts began upon attending the Walnut Hill School for the arts, one of five high schools in the United States dedicated to rigorous training in music, ballet, theatre, writing, and visual arts. Unsatisfied with his studies, and desiring to pursue a career as an artist, he began homeschooling as a way of earning his diploma while undertaking an apprenticeship with realist figure painter Jason Polins. Soukas studied traditional painting and drawing in Boston with Polins for 4 years, where he now visits as a guest instructor at Polins' atelier, The Boston School of Painting. Years later, Soukas studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in a coordinated program with the University of Pennsylvania for a year before leaving to seek a more rigorous classical training at Studio Incamminati. While there, he worked for and studied under Nelson Shanks as one of his last apprentices. https://www.alexandersoukas.com/