It is mostly forgotten how master artists built their seemingly magical skills. It wasn’t magic, it wasn’t “talent,” it was by copying the masters of their day and before. Michelangelo, DaVinci, and van Gogh all copied paintings to develop their skills. Sargent copied Velasquez, Goya, and El Greco among others. Museums around the world allow artists to copy master paintings.

And this is why: While copying a master’s painting you train your eye to see what you mostly looked past. Edges, color temperature, brushwork. You will see a color you didn’t notice before, then learn how to mix that color. The magic comes when you now see that color in nature, building a new color vocabulary that will stay with you forever. I am not alone in believing that copying master paintings is the fastest way to gain the skill of observation and technique.

This class is for all levels, focusing on how to recognize the tools of composition, color identification, color matching, the illusion of distance, and how the medium is used effectively from thin layers to impasto brush strokes –– and in what order. We will begin with the still life pictured, by Joaquin Sorolla. Next, the Oyster Gatherers by Sargent. Finally you can choose which painting you want to copy from a collection of master paintings by Emile Gruppe, Sorolla, Willard Metcalf, to name a few. We will end the class with a critique and discussion of what was achieved and how to go forward with this new information.

All levels: but some experience with your chosen medium is recommended.