Trees in oil, student works

The more preparation we do for our oil paintings, the more successful the outcome. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail, as they say. This exercise, from a photograph I took in Belmont Park with beautiful light peeping through the trees, started as a charcoal study. Charcoal is a lovely, tonal medium which allows us to move tones around by smudging with a cloth, a sponge, our finger or a putty rubber, to give soft gentle nuances of values, in an attempt to create the right atmosphere. 

Charcoal study by Rose

The next stage is to do an underpainting in oils on the canvas of choice, beginning with a gentle layer of raw umber, diluted with Sansodor,  or odourless mineral spirits. It will look a bit like a water colour. Like the charcoal, the mix can be moved around a bit with paper towel. It is important not to let the dark areas be as dark as you want them in the finished painting. We paint on top of this layer creating a grisaille, and those subsequent layers can be dark. If we go too dark too soon then all will be too heavy. Err on the light side. 

Below we see the beginnings of the grisaille going down - this is Raw Umber,  French Ultramarine (which together will make a black) and White. You can see it, in this painting, in the lightest areas and the foreground. The whole painting will get this layer, creating a black and white painting 

Rose's completed grisaille

Louise's completed grisaille 

                   Once the grisaille is dry (in this case, the following week) colour is put on top of the grisaille. 

Louise finishing the colour on top of her grisaille 

Why so many layers? It gives you a rich and BRIGHT painting, which looks solid and substantial. 

Louise's finished painting 

Nichola's

Christine W's

Students enjoyed this exercise, though there was much nashing of teeth along the way too! 

For info on upcoming workshops please email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

Graphite study for portrait commission

I always like to do a pencil study before I start a final piece of artwork. It helps familiarise me with the subject, and when it's a commission, it allows the client to see what the finishes item will look like, and gives them the chance to alter things. When it's a portrait, this is the time to decide if the likeness is true (and that means true to how the client 'sees' that person, not how I see them). 

I decided to show the finished study first, then you can scroll down to see the stages in reverse! In this case I drew a map of the face, then worked tonally from the eyes outwards. 

The whole thing took around 10 hours. 

For info on classes or portrait commissions, please email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

Rose Painting Workshop with Kathleen Speranza, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 9th - 13th June 2020

I am delighted to be hosting a Rose Painting Workshop by the esteemed artist Kathleen Speranza in June 2020.

Garden roses are some of the most beautiful forms of the botanical world. They have been cultivated for centuries and bear little resemblance to the stiff generic varieties that are commonly available. In this intensive workshop, painters will have an opportunity to study their complex geometry and exquisite colour subtlety. The course will include an indirect method of painting and the introduction of a specific limited palette. A brief slide lecture on the hostory of the genre will inspire us as we explore this timeless motif. Previous painting experience is encouraged. 

Kathleen Speranza is an artist with more than 30 years of painting and teaching experience. She maintains a studio in Lynn, Massachusetts where she lives, and teaches workshops around the world. Ms Speranza is also on the faculty at Rhode Island School of Design and teaches Painting and Drawing to sophomores in the Illustration Department there. You can see more of her beautiful work here: https://kathleensperanza.com


Your host, Julie Douglas, has 25 years experience teaching drawing, painting, and illustration, and runs Belfast Academy of Realist Art (BARA), which offers termtime drawing and painting workshops, as well as year-round workshops with visiting artists, including Michael John Angel (founder of The Angel Academy of Art, Florence), David Gray, Paul Foxton and Colleen Barry. Julie is a combination of enthusiasm, Irish hospitality, and fun; she will welcome you warmly and think of everything you need before you do. If you've been looking for an arty guardian angel, you have found her!


This five-day workshop is fully tutored. The day runs from 10am - around 5pm with a break at lunch time. There are cafes and deli's nearby, and students may go out for their break or bring lunch to eat in the studio, which is large and roomy. Refreshments are provided. 

The BARA easels studio comfortably fits 16 students each with their own dedicated lighting, wall space, chair/stool, and shelves. The second studio has large tables for flat work, tracing and cutting, with space for students to eat as well as a comfy seating area ('the parlour').

Cost: £700 to include instruction, tea/coffee, and some materials. A list of materials will be sent upon booking.
Deposit of 50% is required upon booking to hold your place.

To book a place on Kathleen Speranza's workshop please email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

Terms & Conditions:
A 50% non-refundable deposit is required to hold your place. Full payment must be received by 1st May 2020. If booking after 1st May, full payment is due at time of booking. 
Minimum number of students is 15.

COST: £700 to include instruction, tea/coffee and some materials. A list of materials will be sent upon booking a place. 

Not included:
Accommodation, flights, transport, and all other personal costs.  Fees are non-refundable unless the course is cancelled for any reason. 
If traveling, it is recommended that you take out insurance to cover costs in the unlikely event of cancellation etc. 
If necessary, we reserve the right to replace the tutor in an emergency. 

Details of accommodation near the studio will be provided upon booking. 


For booking information and all enquiries please email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk 

Belfast is a vibrant city with a warm, friendly atmosphere. If you are traveling for this course, you will find lots of things in the city to enjoy in the days before or after the workshop. 

https://www.discovernorthernireland.com/belfast/