Oil Painting Class

I'm taking my first oil painting class. It is a continuing education course at a local community college. It is 3 hours every Saturday and goes for 6 weeks. Today is Week 3. I know absolutely nothing about oil painting, so everything is new to me.

Our teacher gave us these 7 steps to success:

1. Art is intention.
2. Composition.
3. Put composition on canvas (i.e., drawing).
4. Preliminary, impressionistic painting.
5. Work with secondary objects or background.
6. Work with midground or frontground.
7. Classical transparent glazes

We finished Step 3 last week; today we will start Step 4. Hurrah! Painting at last!

The course teaches the painting style of the Flemish and Dutch masters.

Here are some artists that painted in this style:

• Abraham Mignon
• Balthasar van der Ast
• Rachel Ruysch

I notice that in addition to being a first-rate painter, Rachel Ruysch had 10 children. Where did she find the time? Wow!