Overview
Curriculum
Easily one of the greatest portrait painters of all time, Anthony Van Dyck enjoyed a prolific career as a painter, starting as an apprentice at age 10 to Peter Paul Rubens, making a name for himself with the aristocrats and clergy in Genoa, Rome and Sicily, and then ending his career in the court of Charles I of England. He died too soon at the age of 41.
In this course we will put under the microscope a select number of Van Dyck’s portraits in order to analyze his technical application of paint. We will take the conclusions of our analysis and apply them to our own portrait painted from a live model.
In addition, we will add to our portrait a tromp l’œil frame, like the one Van Dyck painted in the double portrait located in Palazzo Pitti in Florence. (See image below.)
I hope you will join me on this extraordinary expedition.
Materials
Paint
I insist my students use Michael Harding paints. I’ve used his colors for over two decades and his are easily one of the best paints on the market. In order to make it easy for students to try out these paints without requiring a significant investment, I offer all of the paint you will need for an additional fee of €30.
Medium: Oil and Solvent
I will provide you with linseed oil, Tintorsetto (odorless solvent) and a medium holder at no additional charge.
Brushes and Brush Holder
It is best to have an assortment of brushes: flats, rounds and filberts, with some made of hog bristle, an others, synthetic. Once you have had some experience, it is worth adding some sable brushes to your collection.
To ensure proper care of your brushes, I strongly recommend a brush holder.
Palette
Each student should invest in their own wooden palette. Round or rectangle is fine, just make sure it isn’t too small.
Rags
Please bring with a worn t-shirt to cut up for use as a rag.
For further details, please download the Materials list.
Terms and Conditions
A non-refundable deposit is due at the time of registration.
There is no reimbursement for absences, nor make-up lessons.
Registration is managed through our Course Registration portal. If you have any difficulties registering, please let us know via email or call/text via WhatsApp: +39 347 263 1033.
If the course that interests you does not appear on our Course Registration portal, it may not currently be offered. Check the schedule of courses to confirm the dates.
If this course isn't on the schedule, but it interests you, let us know!
Video Highlights: Painting the Portrait in Oil
The above video is the time-lapse of a painting I made during a course I ran online in the Fall of 2020.
Meet Your Instructor:
Timothy Joseph Allen
Founder and President of the Association of Social Promotion A.P.S. PADASOR (acronym for the Painting And Drawing Art Studio Of Rome), Timothy Joseph Allen is an American professional painter who has been living and working in Rome, Italy for over twenty years. He began his career in 1992, earning a BA in Studio Art at DePauw University and an MFA in Painting at Indiana University, Bloomington in 1998. He has also been teaching at The American University of Rome since 2006.
His medium is oil on canvas and his style and subject matter are principally inspired by the Renaissance and Baroque. Of special importance to his process is painting from life: “I enjoy painting most when the presence of the subject and the limit of time combine to bring a sense of urgency to my analysis, intuition and performance.”
In recent years his work has been pre-selected and/or selected in several international competitions including the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Mod Portrait competition at the MEAM museum in Barcelona, the Figurativas Painting and Sculpture Competition in Barcelona, the World Wide Kitsch online painting competition, and the BP National Gallery Portrait Competition in London.
To understand best what Tim can teach you, please have a look at his paintings and drawings.
If you would like to take private lessons with Tim, please follow this link.
