Atelier Primer

Atelier Primer

360 Online Class | Available

All Levels

4/9/2024-6/13/2024

6:00 PM-9:00 PM PDT on Tue Th

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$900.00

$810.00

$20.00

The Atelier Primer is a part-time program modeled after a traditional, full-time Atelier’s curriculum. It is a compressed sampling of the foundations introduced in the traditional 3 year atelier trajectory. Each 10 week term of this program builds off of the previous term and the program as a whole is encouraged to be taken many times over to continue to build momentum and skills without having to start at the beginning every time. This exciting program will teach the classical foundations of drawing and painting representationally. Whether you’re a beginner interested in learning the techniques of observational drawing and painting, or you are an intermediate/advanced student who wants to improve or keep your skills sharp, the Atelier Primer is perfect for you. This online, evening class is ideal for those who cannot attend classes during the day. Our Tuesday and Thursday class time will consist of assignment reviews/critiques from the instructor, as well as in-real-time demos. There is also built-in work time during the class meeting time windows, so you can receive feedback and check-ins as you work through the assignments. Led by instructor Riley Doyle, alumni and previous instructor of the full time Georgetown Atelier, the Atelier Primer is comprised of hands-on demos, pre-recorded demos, foundational skill building assignments and individual critiques.

Each academic term of the Atelier Primer represents a different core medium of this traditional academic approach. The FALL TERM focuses on drawing and is the primary foundation laying term, where key concepts and techniques will be introduced and will be carried into all future study and practice. The WINTER TERM focuses on monochromatic oil painting. It will reinforce all skills introduced in the previous term and add on the complexities of handling the medium of oil paint. The SPRING TERM focuses on limited palette oil painting. Once again building off of the previous term, we will take what we’ve learned from the previous two terms and add on the complexities of seeing and recording color information.

NOTE: It is highly recommended that anyone new to the Atelier Primer program begins in the Fall term. Please contact the registrar at dunye.s@gageacademy.org to confirm your eligibility for the course.


  • Painting Supplies:
    -Canvas Pads: I’d recommend this particular brand, Fredrix as a starting point, but if you
    are willing to pay a bit more, I HIGHLY recommend Centurion Oil Primed Linen 12” x 16”
    or 16” x 20” are both good sizes for class. Any similar brand or product will work.
    -Bottle of Galkyd Lite (Paint medium)
    -Gamisol
    -Solvent container with lid for rinsing and dipping brushes
    -Small sealable/closable jar or container to hold paint medium
    -Palette or Palette paper I would recommend palette paper to get you started unless
    you already have a palette you use and like. A super cheap option is a piece of glass
    with a neutral value sheet of paper taped to the bottom
    -Palette knife
    -Paper towels
    -Bar(s) of unscented soap to clean brushes (you can also buy brush cleaner from an art
    supply store)
    -Apron or painting smock
    Brushes:
    -You'll want to experiment a little with brushes as there is a lot of variety out there, I
    almost exclusively use Princeton Aspen Series Flat brushes, You will not really use
    anything smaller than a size 2 or larger than a size 8.
    https://www.dickblick.com/products/princeton-aspen-series-6500-synthetic-brushes/?fro
    mSearch=%2Fsearch%2F%3Fsearchword%3Daspen%20brushed
    It’s always good to have a few super soft synthetic brushes:
    https://www.dickblick.com/products/utrecht-manglon-synthetic-brushes/
    Ideal brush set for this class:
    Princeton Aspen Series Flats: 1@ size 2, 2@ size 4, 2@ size 6
    Utrecht Manglon Synthetic FILBERT: 2@ size 6
    **Brushes can be expensive, get what you can or use what you have but I would highly
    advise that you come with new or at least well maintained brushes that still hold their
    form and point.
    Oil paint- (Brands recommended is Williamsburg or Gamblin or my personal favorite,
    Michael Harding)
    -Titatninum White
    -Ivory Black
    Casts - These are optional, but if you wanted to continue practicing painting from life
    these are a great way to do it
    -Professional Quality
    -Student Grade