Acrylic Painting: Autumn Light

Class Description

Join Riverworks Teaching Artist, Jack Burbridge, for Acrylic Painting: Autumn Light. In this course, we’ll make observational still life and interior paintings inspired by the early autumn color and afternoon light. We’ll see dark/light values and warm/cool and chromatic color interactions to convey form and light, applying basic techniques and methodologies for painting in acrylics. We’ll also learn about composing from master paintings and develop our own engaging compositions. Some drawing experience is helpful but not necessary – this course offers compelling challenges for beginners and experienced painters alike! Supplies: Required and Suggested Student Supply List: https://tinyurl.com/AcrylicPainting2026 Course Curriculum: Each session builds on concepts explored in the previous. Session 1 – Still Life with Seasonal Fruit / Objects: Seeing sculpted natural still life form in light. Palette setup and paint mixing. Working with warm and cool primary colors. Basic underpainting and compositional sketches. “Drawing” with paint. Seeing contrast in values. Blocking with value and color, creating volume in overlapping and clustered shapes. Working alla prima. 12 x 16” canvas. Session 2 – Still Life with Seasonal Flowers: Seeing natural still life and plant forms on a table in light. Mixing warm and cool and secondary colors, finding greens and higher keyed colors! Earth-tone underpainting and compositional sketches. Painting positive and negative shapes, seeing value contrast. 12 x 16” canvas or larger. Session 3 – Still Life with Interior: Seeing larger still life on table and shapes in room in perspective. Zooming in vs. zooming out. Underpainting and compositional sketches using value, aware of light source. Developing color interactions to create space and atmosphere. 16 x 20” canvas or larger. Session 4 –Still Life with Interior and Window View: Seeing interior/exterior spaces and the effects of light on interior forms. 16 x 20” canvas or larger. See Jack Burbridge's bio on our Teaching Artists page.