Painting Best Practices Workshop with George O’Hanlon and Tatiana Zaytseva of Natural Pigments

Paint failures have been recognized and studied for over a hundred years, the result of humidity, extreme temperatures, and paint embrittlement. The symptoms were obvious—cracking, delaminating, and paint loss—but these precise causes were not. Conservation workers gradually formed hypotheses as to why cracking and paint loss occurred in old paintings, while, concurrently, the coatings industry studied failures in all types of paint films. Artists developed their own ideas, as well, but they remained largely unaware of findings from both the conservation community and the coatings industry.

Natural Pigments spent years developing a technical workshop to teach skills that are not taught in art school and universities, including a thorough understanding of artists’ materials and tools, what they are designed to do, when to choose them, and how to promote considerable longevity in a finished work of art. This workshop covers the most important aspects of painting, which have proven to be the best practices over the centuries.

During the course of this information-packed workshop, all aspects of constructing a painting will be addressed, from the support and ground to the final layers. Practical procedures will be clearly explained and demonstrated, enabling students to build their paintings based on conservation research gathered during the past century. This workshop is designed for painters working in all mediums, but special emphasis is given to oil painting.

Workshop Curriculum

Day 1: Supports and Grounds; Sizes and Grounds

Day 2: Paints and Mediums including the Optical and Physical Properties of Paint, Paint Components and their Effect on Paint Behavior, and Appearance

Day 3: Varnishes, Brushes, Understanding Art Materials and Labeling, Pigments and Studio Safety

Supplies
There is no need to bring any supplies, except a pen or pencil and notebook. Printed handouts will be distributed on the first day of the workshop.

Special Notes/Additional Programs
Thursday, October 20 @ 5-6 pm. Open to the public! Join us for an informative evening of demonstrations and Q&A with Natural Pigments at de Gerenday’s Fine Art Materials and Curiosities. Special sales and light refreshments will be included at this FREE Lyme Academy of Fine Arts event. For your shopping convenience, de Gerenday's will remain open through 7 pm. 

Friday, October 21 @ 5 pm - Guest Lecture in Southwick-Keller Studio with George O'Hanlon and Tatiana Zaytseva of Natural Pigments. Free and open to the public.

Instructor Bios

George O'Hanlon
George O'Hanlon is technical director of Natural Pigments and Executive Director of Iconofile, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to promoting the understanding of sacred art. George received his fine arts education and carried out his apprenticeship in Mexico. Upon his return to the United States, he worked as Art Director and then Creative Director for advertising agencies in Silicon Valley, working on such major accounts as Sony, Hewlett-Packard, and Ricoh. He then established a marketing communications firm that was later acquired by the Japanese chemical giant, Shin-Etsu, and was retained as president of U.S. marketing operations. In 1992, he left this post to study traditional art techniques. In 2001, he founded Iconofile and, subsequently, Natural Pigments, an organization designed to promote an understanding of these techniques among contemporary artists. Since that time, O’Hanlon has formulated hundreds of paints and artists’ materials, including Ceracolors, a water-soluble wax paint.

Tatiana Zaytseva
Tatiana Zaytseva is Administrative Director of Natural Pigments and Secretary of Iconofile, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to promoting the understanding of sacred art. Tatiana received her education in St. Petersburg, Russia in fashion and design, earning a second degree in engineering process controls. After moving to the U.S. in 2001, she helped to establish Iconofile and, in 2003, Natural Pigments.

Please review our Terms, Conditions and Policies prior to enrollment.