“Welcome to Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils with Paul Taggart.
Many beginners start off with oil painting simply because they are assured that any mistakes they make can be easily rectified. However, it is so much more than this. Oil painting is about painting in layers to create depth. To stand before a traditionally rendered painting, is to stand before a seemingly three-dimensional space, one filled with light, mood and movement.
But there is also an abstract quality to such a painting. Study a traditionally worked painting and you will see the brushstrokes, the textures, the highlight areas and, you will begin to understand the incredible versatility of oils and the excitement with which the artist must have applied the paint.
Study it further and you will discover where the artist has used glazing to enrich and enliven specific areas. Look more deeply and you will come to recognise that tints are used to enhance recession, to create a feeling of distance. Tonking, sgraffito, lift-off and myriad techniques may also have been exploited to bring texture to the subject and the composition.
Now imagine yourself as that artist – there would be no limit to your development if you were only shown how to use these techniques.
I hope that by demonstrating how exciting and straightforward it is to paint with oils, to fill you with my enthusiasm for the medium.”
Paul Taggart
[Module 1] Paul Taggart's Essential Sketching & Drawing Guide
eighteen-videos, box-set total running time 8hours 12minutes
We are breaking down the art of sketching and drawing to the bare essentials, so that whatever your level - whether a complete beginner- or someone who wants to develop your sketching & drawing further - you will enjoy working-along with the projects.
The art of sketching and drawing can range from the simplest of quickly rendered sketches, through to the most detailed of tonal drawings – the choice is yours alone to make - using a wide range of possible equipment – from the simplest pencil to an exciting range of water-based tools.
Sketching and drawing sits alongside painting – as an equivalent art-form in its own right or as a companion to painting.
We kick off with Module 1, in which a 2B pencil is our drawing tool and this box-set featuring three step-by-step, work-along projects, in which Paul shares three specific techniques.
Work-along at a pace to suit you - and let your pencil take you on this journey of discovery.
[Series 1] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils
ten-episodes, box-set total running time 9hours 35minutes
Comprehensive start-to-finish introduction to the traditional layering technique in oil painting - ideal for anyone starting out in oil painting, or those who already paint in oils wishing to learn the traditional technique of working from dark-to-light. No speed-painting here, you are watching every stroke as it is applied in real-time and at such close quarters that you can clearly see how the strokes work on the canvas.
CHECK OUT the companion box-set 'Painting Topical Techniques for Oils with Paul Taggart [Series 1]'
Equipment Focus for Oils
eight-videos, box-set total running time 2hours 21minutes
Showing you how to use your painting equipment, how to exploit its characteristics, how to maximum its usage, is key to Paul’s method of tutoring; for he firmly believes that working effectively with a core painting kit is far more fulfilling than possessing vast quantities of brushes, paints and so on; which is why our oil painting tutorials are based on a core kit, which forms the basis of Paul’s limited painting kit that he uses for his own selling collection – so we are not advocating anything different for you.
[Series 1] Masterclass
six-videos, box-set total running time 6hours
Followers of our tutorials are fascinated to have a greater understanding of traditional techniques and so it is we film a selected number of Masterclasses, focusing on one particular painting at a time. However, to film each and every stroke as I paint would involve a monumental amount of filming and viewing time – which is why in these Masterclasses we focus on one particular section (perhaps one other), so that you can watch that develop from start to finish.
This box-set takes you through my traditional layering technique of working from dark to light; you can watch as Eileen’s camera tracks every brush-stroke, every colour mix, every detail – with close-ups revealing the results of maximising specific techniques such as glazing and tinting. Through my running commentary you will pick up a host of techniques, hints, tips and more as I describe my actions, my thought process, my method, my colour mixes. You will learn about glazing, about tinting, about sgraffito, about tonking.
Nothing is left out, for I do not believe in holding anything back. You are right there with me at my Masterworks easel.
[Series 2] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils
thirteen-videos, box-set total running time 14hours 11minutes
Series 2 is based on the first of the three principal techniques that make up the ‘combination’ method and it is the technique in which you will work purely with thinners. Normally this would be the underlying ‘thinned’ layer; but in this series Paul guides you through the process of using it as a stand-alone technique.
If you are new to painting in oils, nothing could be simpler than to practice a few oil sketches using a basic set of paints, some brushes and a thinner. For those who already work in oils, this is also ideal if you wish to explore the possibilities of working out of doors without spending too much time on detail. This technique can be worked either wet on dry or wet on wet. See this as an opportunity to explore this particular technique in oil painting and in so doing, you will also become excited about how you can develop it in conjunction with impasto and glazing for a more traditional approach.
CHECK OUT the companion box-set 'Painting Topical Techniques for Oils with Paul Taggart [Series 2]'
[Series 1] Learn to Enjoy Colour Mixing : Yellows
five-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 44minutes
Box-Set No. 2 [Series 1] – helps you learn how to make YELLOW Work for You - how to control your colour mixes, rather than let those pesky mixes control you. No need for all those tubes of different yellows – instead, here’s how to mix an infinite variety of yellows for yourself. In this box-set Paul shows the basics of mixing a range of yellows, how to identify the colour in your subject, how to adjust colours, how to correct colours and finally two detailed step-by-step studies for you to work-along with, in which yellow is the colour bias of the subject.
A box-set of detailed demonstrations showing how, with only six colours, you can achieve most of the YELLOW colour mixes that will serve you well in any composition.
Practice the basics learnt in each tutorial and you will find that you are prepared for the next stage.
[Series 1] Learn to Enjoy Colour Mixing : Blues
six-videos, box-set total running time 7hours 32minutes
Box-Set No. 4 [Series 1] – helps you learn how to make BLUE Work for You - how to control your colour mixes, rather than let those pesky mixes control you. No need for all those tubes of different blues – instead, here’s how to mix an infinite variety of blues for yourself. In this box-set Paul shows the basics of mixing a range of blues, how to identify the colour in your subject, how to adjust colours, how to correct colours and finally two detailed step-by-step studies for you to work-along with, in which blue is the colour bias of the subject.
A box-set of detailed demonstrations showing how, with only six colours, you can achieve most of the BLUE colour mixes that will serve you well in any composition.
Practice the basics learnt in each tutorial and you will find that you are prepared for the next stage.
Learn to Enjoy Painting Portraits & Figures - Features
nineteen-videos, box-set total running time 9hours 46minutes
Do you want to take those first steps into painting portraits and figures? As with all of Paul’s tutorials, the sixteen specific lessons and three Problem Solvers in this pick’n’mix box-set are packed full of helpful hints and tips and illuminating facts that will encourage you on this journey into the world of painting portraits and figures.
Nothing is held back, as Paul takes you right back to the basics on the various Features that make up the human head - for as he explains, to fully enjoy the rewarding experience of painting figures, or portraits, you do need the bare facts; for how else would you know what to do to correct something that is going wrong - or for that matter know when something is going right.
But this set of tutorials is so much more than that, for each video provides detailed instruction on how to paint and draw.
Workshop - Oil Pastels
two-videos, box-set total running time 1hour 27minutes
Looking for help with oil pastels? In this Workshop and accompanying Equipment Focus, filmed in real-time, with no editing, an introduction to working with Oil Pastels Paul takes you on the first steps of a journey into the world of oil pastels - a medium that is more often than not dismissed as being merely for use by children and therefore underused as an adult medium. We set out in these workshops to show that this needn’t be the case and that oil pastels can be enjoyed even further by using them either in their ‘dry’ form, or exploiting their potential as a ‘wet’ medium, with brushes and thinners so that you can extend your repertoire of techniques.
As with all of our tutorials, you are taken through each and every stroke
from beginning to end - accompanied by Paul’s running commentary throughout.
[Series 3] Topical Techniques for Oils
eight-videos, box-set total running time 5hours 44minutes
This companion box-set introduces you to the Basics of working with impasto through a simple study; followed by
an Exercise – one that will help you get to grips with impasto mixes and directional brush-strokes.
A further six videos cover other topics that resulted from our filming of ‘[Series 3] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils’ – subjects such as working with Impasto Graduated Colours, both the mixing process and the application on your painting surface, which becomes second nature, when you know how. Demonstrating the difference between Cast Shadows and Volume Shadows, another of the several techniques covered which will serve you well for whatever subject you are painting.
As with all of Paul’s tutorials, these are filmed in real-time, so that you can see everything that is happening on Paul’s painting surface. All of which is accompanied by Paul’s detailed running commentary throughout.
[Series 1] Learn to Enjoy Colour Mixing : Metals
four-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 47minutes
This box-set of three complete step-by-step workshops is filmed in real-time, so that you can watch every colour mix, every stroke and every technique. Red, White and Yellow Metals are currently available as three stand-alone workshops and we have filmed a dedicated fourth video, an invaluable companion to demonstrate how to achieve each of the three principal metal colours – [1] Copper & Red Metals [2] Silver & White Metals [3] Gold, Brass & Yellow Metals. A fourth video concentrating on how-to achieve the varying colour mixes, completes this comprehensive box-set.
Although demonstrated in acrylics, these detailed workshops, are equally suitable for oils and other opaque media, as the process is identical - for Paul is using the traditional layering technique of working from dark-to-light.
You will definitely find yourself wanting to work along with Paul as he helps you discover the delight in achieving ninety-five percent of the colours you will ever need from a core palette of six colours.
Out and About with Paul in Oils (suitable for opaque media)
four-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 7minutes
A complete step -by-step oil painting, started in situ, when out and about in this landscape, full of moving figures and vehicles. This comprehensive workshop is completed in the studio, demonstrating how invaluable it is to [a] make thumbnail sketches for the composition, whilst at the venue and [b] take a correspondingly wide range of reference photographs. Although a busy composition, the point of this Out and About is to demonstrate that the addition of figures to a landscape need not be a daunting prospect. Paul approaches the entire painting as an oil painting sketch, keeping the approach as loose as possible.
Although approached in this manner, the tutorial is nevertheless based on tried-and-tested traditional techniques, as explained by Paul throughout in his running commentary.
Out and About with Paul : Line & Wash in Watercolours
three-videos, box-set total running time 2hours 37minutes
The second of our ‘Sketching Companions with Paul Taggart’ box-sets -- in which you can watch-along with Paul as he works en plein air (in the field) on two different subjects; for which he uses two quite different, but equally traditional Line & Wash methods. Don’t think of this purely in terms of watercolours, for everything shown here can be exploited for use with other media. For example, the tonal underpainting method used for the figure sketch could be rendered in oils – see this in action in Series 4 of ‘Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils with Paul Taggart’, in which tonal underpainting is overlaid with transparent glazing mixes.
Use the two techniques demonstrated in this box-set as the inspiration to experiment with the media of your choice – be it acrylics, oils, pastels, inks, watercolour pencils, oil pastels etc.
Topical Techniques : Composition Matters
five-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 43minutes
Ever wondered what to paint? How to decide on your composition? How to make your composition unique to you? How to accurately transfer the composition to your painting surface? Ever started in the middle of the blank surface and run out of space, or ended up with too much space to fill? Let Paul guide you through the techniques that he uses to map out his own paintings, through this box-set of five detailed tutorials; which, as ever, are accompanied by his running commentary and a basketful of hints and tips which will make your painting experience all the more enjoyable.
Some of the subjects covered here in drawings are then followed-through into step-by-step painting tutorial box-sets, such as [Series 4] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Watercolours, [Series 4] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils and [Series 4] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Pastels.
[Series 4] Topical Techniques for Oils
five-videos, box-set total running time 2hours 53minutes
This box-set introduces you to the Basics of working with glazes through a simple study using glazes on their own. Following this you are then taken through an Exercise, the purpose of which is to show you how glazes work over a tonal underpainting. Then Paul deals with the subject of Viscosities in Glazing Mediums, the Properties of Glazes and finally a Dry Glazing method that he has uniquely developed as part of the traditional methods and techniques which he has used through the decades of his career.
As with all of Paul’s tutorials – these are all filmed in real-time – no editing, no speed-painting, no skipping stages. Everything is shared with you; nothing is left out of either Paul’s demonstration, or Paul’s running commentary. Even mistakes are shown, so that you can learn how to deal with problems in your own painting.
Close-up shots allow you to see how the glazing behaves on the surface – which is critical in helping you to understand the nature and function of glazing.
[Series 1] Learn to Enjoy Colour Mixing : Oranges
eight-videos, box-set total running time 7hours 14minutes
Box-Set No. 5 [Series 1] – helps you learn how to make ORANGE Work for You - how to control your colour mixes, rather than let those pesky mixes control you. No need for all those tubes of different oranges – instead, here’s how to mix an infinite variety of oranges for yourself. In this box-set Paul shows the basics of mixing a range of oranges, how to identify the colour in your subject, how to adjust colours, how to correct colours and finally two detailed step-by-step studies for you to work-along with, in which orange is the colour bias of the subject.
A box-set of detailed demonstrations showing how, with only six colours, you can achieve most of the ORANGE colour mixes that will serve you well in any composition.
Practice the basics learnt in each tutorial and you will find that you are prepared for the next stage.
[Series 1] Learn to Enjoy Colour Mixing : Greens
five-videos, box-set total running time 5hours 23minutes
Box-Set No. 7 [Series 1] – helps you learn how to make GREEN Work for You - how to control your colour mixes, rather than let those pesky mixes control you. No need for all those tubes of different greens – instead, here’s how to mix an infinite variety of greens for yourself. In this box-set Paul shows the basics of mixing a range of greens, how to identify the colour in your subject, how to adjust colours, how to correct colours and finally two detailed step-by-step studies for you to work-along with, in which green is the colour bias of the subject.
A box-set of detailed demonstrations showing how, with only six colours, you can achieve most of the GREEN colour mixes that will serve you well in any composition.
Practice the basics learnt in each tutorial and you will find that you are prepared for the next stage.
[Series 3] Masterclass in Oils (suitable for opaque media)
eight-videos, box-set total running time 7hours 26minutes
The focus and purpose of this Masterclass box-set is to share with you the method for rendering a ‘moving’ figure within a landscape; to share with you my thought-process and the traditional techniques/method that are the basis of my Masterworks oil paintings. Just as we do with all of my online video tutorials, nothing is withheld as you get to watch from start-to-finish, each layer of the process of rendering the figure, working from dark-to-light – accompanied by my running commentary and footage of my colour mixing on the palette. Close-up footage captures those all-important layers; from the thin underpainting through the impasto layer and the rich quality of glazes, not to mention the subtle, yet powerful effects of tints, to the final super-highlights.
Throughout the eight videos, we also feature a reprise of the overall work as I complete each layer; in order that you can follow the development of the surrounding landscape as you watch the figure being brought to life through my colour mixes and brush-strokes.
Workshop in Acrylics (suitable for opaque media)
fourteen-videos, box-set total running time 14hours 20minutes
The techniques in this workshop are based on traditional oil painting techniques and the process is therefore suitable for working with oils. Follow-along as Paul works on this panoramic landscape view and you will learn how aerial perspective not only exists in a distant mountain range, but is every bit as important in correctly working up the foreground barley field. All achieved through exploiting colour mixing to create the necessary change in values. See how one-point perspective comes into play in the clouds. How two-point perspective is successfully rendered through directional brush-strokes. What about that horizontal band of dark trees running right through the middle of the composition? This was deliberately chosen as a device against which to contrast the bright golden colours of the barley field and the emerald green of the middle-distance fields.
All of which is explained in Paul’s detailed running commentary and demonstrated in real-time filming, which features invaluable close-up shots that show every brush-stroke, from the very first drawing out stage to the finishing touches.
Line, Tone & Glaze Workshop in Oils
four-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 22minutes
Featuring Paul’s unique Line, Tone & Glaze method, developed for his Elphen Chronicles illustrations.
Although this particular workshop centres on one of the artworks produced for Paul’s unique collection of Oil Painting Vignettes produced for one of the books in his Elphen Chronicles, the method can be applied to any subject – landscapes, figurative studies, portraits, still-life, botanical artworks – there is no limit.
The process takes as its inspiration the rich, traditional technique of glazing in oils and as with all of our work-along tutorials; this is filmed in real-time, accompanied by my detailed running commentary throughout. You get to see every brush-stroke, every colour and glaze mix in this step-by-step, start-to-finish work-along workshop.
This method would suit anyone wishing to produce oil painting sketches, or more detailed paintings and is one that would also help anyone wishing to make the transition from acrylics to oils.
[Module 1] Paul Taggart's Essential Oil Painting Guide
eighteen-videos, box-set total running time 9hours 36minutes
We are breaking down the art of oil painting to the bare essentials, so that whatever your level - whether a complete beginner - or someone who wants to develop your oil painting further - you will enjoy the results of working-along with the projects.
Oil painting offers the richest of all painting techniques - which can range from the simplest of oil sketches, through to the most traditional method of painting in layers – the choice is yours alone to make.
Which is what Paul Taggart’s Essential Oil Painting Guide is all about …
We kick off with Module 1 and the basics of how to handle oil paint in this box-set featuring three, step-by-step, work-along projects, in which Paul guides you through the basics of working with fluid mixes of oil paint. Our equipment is also basic - three colours, two brushes, a small palette, one medium, a simple surface and some popular subjects.
Work-along at a pace to suit you - and let your oil paints take you on this journey of discovery.
[Series 1] Topical Techniques for Oils
nine-videos, box-set total running time 9hours 37minutes
Detailed demonstrations with running commentary are the basis of our on-line art instruction videos, for we wholeheartedly believe in sharing Paul’s knowledge, as a professional artist – which means not keeping anything back. Helping you to enjoy your experience of painting in oils is our aim, as it is to provide you with the techniques with which to experiment and develop your repertoire. In this box-set, each video covers one particular technique to enhance your experience of painting in oils.
Out and About with Paul in Oils
three-videos, box-set total running time 3hours 5minutes
Many are daunted by the prospect of painting in situ - here Paul hopes to allay those fears. Many are daunted by the idea of working in oils – which is why, in this episode, Paul determined to capture a landscape in a more unstructured composition - which he terms an oil painting sketch. But don’t let that simple term fool you, for although these are both simple paintings to achieve, the tutorials are based on the traditional techniques that Paul uses on his own masterworks – which make them well worth watching as full-blown tutorials.
[Series 1] Learn to Enjoy Colour Mixing : Basics & Nucleus Palette
six-videos, box-set total running time 3hours 8minutes
Box-Set No. 1 [Series 1] - begins with the BASICS of the COLOUR CIRCLE and shows how, with only six colours, you can achieve most of the colour mixes that will serve you well in any composition.
Colour Mixing is just as important, in the process of painting, as brushwork and techniques and is equally enjoyable and rewarding – acquiring the know-how does not need to be complicated, as Paul demonstrates. There are seven box-sets in Series 1 - a comprehensive and detailed series, Paul’s easy-to-follow guide to colour mixing. Ideal for complete beginners and those who already paint, wishing to control their paint mixes and extend their painting repertoire.
Practice the basics learnt in each tutorial and you will find that you are prepared for the next stage.
[Series 2] Topical Techniques for Oils
eight-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 16minutes
In [Series 1] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils, we deal with the more traditional oil painting method; based on a combination of techniques, working in layers from dark to light and lean to fat – each technique within that combination can be used as a method of painting.
In [Series 2] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils, Paul deals with the first set of tutorials in which we deconstruct this method, concentrating on one specific technique in each set. In this box-set of Topical Techniques you are introduced to the Basics of that technique, followed by an Exercise, which allows you to put that technique into practice on another simple, but more structured subject – one that will help you get to grips with fluid mixes and flowing brush-strokes. Other companion videos cover topics that will help you in your work-along and, generally in your painting, such as perspective.
[Series 1] Learn to Enjoy Colour Mixing : Reds
five-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 39minutes
Box-Set No. 3 [Series 1] – helps you learn how to make RED Work for You - how to control your colour mixes, rather than let those pesky mixes control you. No need for all those tubes of different reds – instead, here’s how to mix an infinite variety of reds for yourself. In this box-set Paul shows the basics of mixing a range of reds, how to identify the colour in your subject, how to adjust colours, how to correct colours and finally two detailed step-by-step studies for you to work-along with, in which red is the colour bias of the subject.
A box-set of detailed demonstrations showing how, with only six colours, you can achieve most of the RED colour mixes that will serve you well in any composition.
Practice the basics learnt in each tutorial and you will find that you are prepared for the next stage.
Line & Wash Workshops in Oils : Acrylics : Watercolours : Pastels
four-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 14minutes
Do you want to take those first steps into painting? Nothing could be simpler than scribbling some linework and adding a few washes of colour. Let Paul take you on a journey into the world of ‘sketching’ and ‘painting’ – otherwise known as Line & Wash. Do not think of these as workshops specifically suitable for each of the four principal mediums of oils, acrylics, watercolours and pastels. Instead, use these as a way of getting the feel for these different mediums.
By experimenting in this way you will enjoy your sketching and painting experience all the more.
Workshop - Drawing
five-videos, box-set total running time 2hours 10minutes
Looking for help with starting off in drawing? Let Paul start you off in the Equipment Focus with an introduction to graphite pencils and sticks. Filmed in real-time, with no editing we take you on the first steps of a journey into this world, following-up with an Equipment Focus on paper wipers for graphite, an essential element for your drawing kit. The accompanying Workshop shows an unusual approach to drawing, using graphite shavings and a kneadable putty erase. Adapted from one of the methods Paul uses for working out the tonal values of a painting, this can be exploited as a stand-alone technique. Have you tried blending mediums for use with graphite? The Equipment Focus and accompanying Workshop may prove thought-provoking and provide you with even more ways to manipulate graphite for different results.
As with all of our tutorials, you are taken through each and every stroke from beginning to end - accompanied by Paul’s running commentary throughout.
[Series 3] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils
seventeen videos, box-set total running time 17hours 4minutes
Continuing to deconstruct the traditional layering technique (featured in Series 1) and as started-out in Series 2 - the purpose of this box-set is to help in the understanding of how to exploit the Impasto layer as a painting technique in its own right – most commonly the middle ‘layer’, through which structure and texture is built, working from dark to light. Here you will learn how to exploit the impasto layer, working with stiff, tube-consistency paint; which Paul describes as the “…essence of oil painting itself.”
Getting used to handling oil paint in this form is really essential to get the full benefit of what oil painting can actually become. This is an exciting technique - get to grips with it and you will find yourselfon a rich and stimulating journey.
Paintings will come alive with character, every element within them imbued with texture, structure, volume and form.
Check out the companion box-set ‘[Series 3] Painting Topical Techniques for Oils with Paul Taggart’
Workshop in Oils : Techniques to Transform and Enhance your Artworks
eleven-videos, box-set total running time11hours 10minutes
Ever wondered how to make your paintings zing? Do you want to rescue an unloved painting? Exploiting traditional techniques is the answer and we’re here to share with you the secrets of how to get the most out of your painting experience. In this workshop we share the art of traditional oil painting techniques, as used in my own Fine Art oil paintings – techniques that will transform and enhance your artworks.
Watch the two, stage-by-stage reveals in the Trailer for this Box-Set and you will see the transformation of a painting that was perfectly acceptable in ‘Series 3 Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils with Paul Taggart’, become something more developed and consequently, even more stimulating for the viewer to appreciate in this Workshop.
Although demonstrated in Oils, the techniques in this Workshop can be EXPLOITED for USE with ACRYLICS – for which we have already produced an impasto painting, the perfect base for working up.
[Series 2] Masterclass
ten-videos, box-set total running time 10hours 4minutes
Although produced in oils – this masterclass can be adapted for use with acrylics – for Paul often exploits his traditional techniques for use across other media, as demonstrated in all of his online art tutorials. Another in our occasional series, where we film Paul at work on a section of one of his Masterworks Paintings, as a detailed Masterclass, accompanied by Paul’s running commentary. Light and water are the two elements in our world that excites Paul most as an artist.
Light – for its effect on our surroundings, its ability to deceive the eye and how formes seem to alter with the change in direction of falling light, its creation of the deepest and richest of shadows – a source of continual change in any subject; one that requires the artist in us to observe and analyse what we see before us. Water – for its luminescent and reflective properties, its movement and mysterious depths, its chameleon-like qualities in taking on the colours of its surroundings – a source of constant change in any composition.
Even here in Masterclass, you will see every brush-stroke, the process of colour mixing on Paul’s palette and every technique.
Out and About with Paul in Acrylics (suitable for opaque media)
eleven-videos, box-set total running time 9hours 46minutes
Although painted in acrylics, the traditional technique of working in layers from dark-to-light, can be applied to all opaque media, exploited as it is from the method that Paul uses for his oil paintings. Each of the eleven videos is an object lesson in how to paint a landscape : trees : figures : horses – for this is an all-encompassing vista of a landscape that tells a story, filled as it is with moving figures and vehicles going about their business.
Filmed in real-time, with close up shots so that you can see Paul’s brush-strokes, colour mixes and more, you not only get to peek over Paul’s shoulder as he works; you will also pick up a host of hints and tips as you are guided from the first marks through to the final super-highlights – nothing is left out.
Creating the Elphen Masterworks 'Starway to Shimmistra'
thirty-five-videos, box-set total running time 2days 23hours
The purpose of this box-set of videos is to share with you the traditional oil painting techniques and processes that Paul exploited to produce this unique Masterworks oil painting ‘Starway to Shimmistra’, created specifically for the wraparound jacket for his illustrated book, ‘Webstrand, the Tooth Gatherer’ from ‘Paul Taggart’s Elphen Chronicles’. So do please join us on this journey that takes Paul from the first drawing out of this oil painting, to the final brush-stroke; all of which was filmed in real-time and most of which is shared in this box-set.
‘Starway to Shimmistra’ is one of the twenty Masterworks oil paintings that chronicle the Elphen Folklore of ‘Webstrand, the Tooth Gatherer’, a collection that took over five years to complete.
[Series 4] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils
twenty-five videos, box-set total running time over 24hours
Nothing surpasses the beauty of glazing in oil painting; which is why in this series we set out to demystify the whole experience of working with the traditional technique of glazing in oil painting; so that you can see glaze mixes in their raw form, how they look on the surface and how they interact with each other and underlying textures and colours. We’re trying something really different to do this, something we hope will take the apprehension out of this most beautiful of techniques; so why not let Paul gently guide you through the exciting ‘art of glazing’ – why not let this be THE BEGINNING OF YOUR MAGICAL JOURNEY into the world of GLAZING and what a journey it will turn out to be.
CHECK OUT the companion box-sets '[Series 4] Painting Topical Techniques for Oils with Paul Taggart' and ‘Topical Techniques – Composition Matters with Paul Taggart’
[Series 4] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Acrylics
eighteen-videos, box-set total running time 18hours 9minutes
Traditional oil painting techniques can transform your experience of working with acrylics. You will learn about working in layers, gradually building through the mid-tones, from dark to light. You will learn how to exploit brush-strokes, along with blending and to experiment with techniques such as tonking scuffs and scumbles. You will learn how to exploit the subtle arts of glazing and tinting, to enrich the subject and add depth to the composition. Showing my colour mixes from a nucleus palette of six colours, plus the two whites, will help you take control of those subtle colour changes which are present in every subject. Close-up shots also allow you to see how colours react when applied over each other and against each other.
Adapted from traditional Oil Painting Techniques, this box-set is equally suitable for oil painters, following as it does the layering technique, working from dark-to-light, using impasto, glazing, tinting, tonking, scuffs, scumbles and myriad other techniques
[Series 1] Learn to Enjoy Colour Mixing : Purples
eight-videos, box-set total running time 7hours 28minutes
Box-Set No. 6 [Series 1] – helps you learn how to make PURPLE Work for You - how to control your colour mixes, rather than let those pesky mixes control you. No need for all those tubes of different purples – instead, here’s how to mix an infinite variety of purples for yourself. In this box-set Paul shows the basics of mixing a range of purples, how to identify the colour in your subject, how to adjust colours, how to correct colours and finally two detailed step-by-step studies for you to work-along with, in which purple is the colour bias of the subject.
A box-set of detailed demonstrations showing how, with only six colours, you can achieve most of the PURPLE colour mixes that will serve you well in any composition.
Practice the basics learnt in each tutorial and you will find that you are prepared for the next stage.
Out and About with Paul in Oils : making GREEN work for you
four-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 46minutes
In this Alla Prima oil painting workshop Paul focusses on ‘Making GREEN Work for You’ in a landscape. On our first visit to this location we realised that it would make the perfect subject for a start-to-finish oil painting workshop, in which Paul could help make greens work for you in a landscape; which can prove challenging to some artists, both in terms of identifying them and in creating the many varied colour mixes.
Painting out-and-about brings many benefits. It teaches you to study the subject, to look for the variety of colours in every element and, it helps you understand the changing nature of light, as it moves across the landscape. To create light in the landscape you need to work out the hue of any particular colour and how to achieve the colour mix to match that hue, both in sunlight and in shadow - which is what this workshop is all about; guiding you through the process from beginning to end.
Line, Tone & Glaze Workshop in Oils
seven-videos, box-set total running time 6hours 57minutes
Featuring Paul’s unique Line, Tone & Glaze method, developed for his Elphen Chronicles illustrations, here applied to a pastoral scene. The versatility and beauty of this method being that you can be as loose as you want, or as detailed as you feel the subject requires. In this workshop Paul has opted for a mixed approach, reacting to the individual elements within the scene, in terms of not only the linework and the tonal underpainting, but also in regard to the manner in which I exploit glazes and tints. Don’t think of this as a tutorial simply about the method, for it is much more than that. This process will also help you learn about tone and value, the underlying acrylic layer in which you will ‘sculpt’ volume and form; essential in effecting the three-dimensional quality in your painting. Your knowledge of colour mixing will develop, both when mixing very specific colours on the palette and on the surface, as coloured glazes are laid over each other.
This method would suit anyone wishing to produce oil painting sketches, or more detailed paintings and is one that would also help anyone wishing to make the transition from acrylics to oils.
Workshop in Oils (suitable for opaque media)
twelve-videos, box-set total running time 12hours 10minutes
Does the idea of painting horses and figures terrify you? It shouldn’t – all you need is a guiding hand and some friendly encouragement to help you gain the confidence. But don’t think of this as merely as a tutorial on how to paint horses and figures – for this is so much more than that; it is an invaluable demonstration of myriad traditional techniques that can be utilised with oils and with acrylics. See it for what it is; a tutorial that will add a host of hints, tips and techniques to add to your painting repertoire and as such, will help you to gain confidence and thus get far more enjoyment out of your painting experience. Here Paul uses the Alla Prima method to demonstrate the dynamism of working in layers using the Impasto technique to create structure, texture and a composition filled with detail that is, in fact, very suggestive in nature.
[Series 5] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils : making LIGHT work for you
eighteen-videos, box-set total running time 18hours 38minutes
Paul shows you how to look for light in your subject and how to maximise it in your painting; not only through a deeper understanding of the power that coloured greys can bring to your colour mixing palette, but also through the exploitation of the twin traditional oil painting techniques of glazing and tinting. Work-along with Paul on this view and you will come to appreciate the quality of light in your subject, whatever the conditions of the day. Even an overcast landscape, on a seemingly dull day, is imbued with light in one form or another. The overall effect may be subtler, but look closely and you will discover myriad colours in the simplest of elements. This is oil painting at its best, at its richest, at its most subtle, at its most exciting. Work-along with me and discover for yourself the beauty of working with the traditional method of building up layers, from dark to light; using all the techniques covered thus far in Series 1 to 4 of ‘Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils with Paul Taggart’.
CHECK OUT the companion box-set ‘[Series 2] Learn to Enjoy Colour Mixing, making WHITE Work for You’ – for working with tints.