Portrait Painting in Coloured light with Tom Van de Wouwer (December 2026)
Portrait Painting in Coloured Light
Painting under coloured and unconventional lighting offers a unique way to understand portraiture. Light dramatically affects skin tones, mood, and atmosphere, and learning to interpret it can transform the way you see and paint.
In this workshop, you will paint portraits from a live model under exotic and sometimes unusual coloured lighting. Through guided exercises and demonstrations, you will explore how light influences form, colour, and the surrounding environment.
Fast, broad alla prima colour studies will form the foundation of your work, helping you develop confidence and clarity in your decision-making. The course combines analytical observation with an expressive, emotive approach to painting.
Daily demonstrations and one-to-one feedback ensure that both visual understanding and technical questions are fully supported.
The workshop is suitable for beginners through to advanced students.
What you will learn
- How coloured light affects skin tones and the environment
- The difference between natural and artificial lighting
- Alla prima techniques for fresh, direct painting
- Value and edge hierarchies in portraiture
- Paint mixing for high-chroma colour situations
- Drawing concepts that strengthen portrait painting
- How to balance analytical and emotive approaches
Materials List
- Painting Surfaces
- 1–2 boards or canvases (maximum 40 × 50 cm)
Tom often works on aluminium composite panels primed with white acrylic gesso (such as Dibond), but any surface you are comfortable with is welcome, including primed Masonite or oil/acrylic-primed linen.
- If priming yourself:
- Use gesso diluted 0–25% with water
- Lightly sand between coats
- 1–2 coats are sufficient
- Pre-primed boards are also perfectly suitable.
Brushes
- Bring a range you are comfortable using.
- Recommended: filberts, flats, and fan brushes.
- Synthetic brushes work particularly well on smooth surfaces.
Paint (Oils Only)
- Oil paints are required (no acrylics).
- Core palette suggestion:
- Titanium White
- Cadmium Yellow Light
- Cadmium Yellow Deep
- Cadmium Red Light
- Yellow Ochre
- Raw Sienna
- Transparent Oxide Red
- Permanent Madder Deep
- Quinacridone Magenta or Rose
- French Ultramarine
- Viridian or Sap Green
- Prussian Blue
Optional high-chroma additions are welcome. If you already have a working palette, feel free to bring it.
Mediums & Other Materials
- Linseed or stand oil
- Low-odour solvent (no turpentine permitted)
- Wooden or non-porous palette
- Palette knife
- Kitchen towels/paper roll
- 2 dippers
- 2 jam jars for brushes
Who is the tutor
Tom Van de Wouwer is a Belgian-born artist who has exhibited in Belgium, the UK, and the USA, with work held in international collections.
His practice centres on people and portraiture, and more recently explores the human condition through a contemporary painter’s visual and historical language.
How many students will there be?
There is a maximum of 12 participants, and the tutor will customise the course according to your individual needs.
Studio Access & Parking
The studio and car park open at 9:30 am each day. We kindly ask that you do not arrive before this time, as staff will be preparing the space.
We close at 5:30 pm, so please ensure you are packed up and ready to leave by then. Thank you for helping us keep everything running smoothly!
If you have any questions, please see our frequently asked questions or contact us.
