This is an advanced portrait and figure painting class. Students will be encouraged to make unique and individual painting choices as they achieve full facility with Indirect Painting methods. Students will select a relevant painter, or several, from the history of art and/or contemporary art to emulate. Through research and analysis of these artists, students will become familiar with their techniques and processes including choices of support types, ground colors, palette, and layers used in the underpainting/overpainting process. Students will combine aesthetics and methods to develop their own unique combination of paint handling, painting techniques, compositional choices and narrative choices. This course is intended not only to solidify understanding of Indirect Painting but also to help the student innovate on the indirect painting process. Further, this course will help the student to produce original work, and to develop more individuality in their voice as a painter.
Students will have an option to draw first set-up. Academic drawing is an fundamental skill to any painting, and will significantly improve painting skills of all levels. In this class we will cover the fundamentals of academic drawing, including gesture drawing, long study, placement, composition, volume, prioritization of the focal points.
This class will be divided into two 5-week sessions:
Nude female figure (July 10th – Aug 7th)
Clothed male portrait (Aug 14th – Sept 11th)
Painting
Brushes – sable or bristle, filbert, any brand will be good. I personally like Robert Simmons bristle.
size #2 (2 brushes)
size #4 (2 brushes)
size #6 (2 brushes)
size #8 (2 brushes)
size #12 or #14 (1 brush) fan brush; small and a large (optional, but very useful)
Paints –any professional brand.
Titanium white (large tube)
Yellow ochre
Cadmium yellow or similar
Indian yellow
Alizarin crimson or magenta
Cadmium red light
Venetian red or English red
Viridian green or similar
Burned sienna
Ivory black
Ultramarine blue
Turquoise
Canvas –
8×10 canvases or canvas boards
3canvas 20×24 or larger
2 canvas 18×24 or larger
Gamsol
Aluminum Palette Cup
Palette (no paper please, solid palette; glass or wood)
Vine charcoal
Drawing
Notepad for sketching 9×12 (any brand)
Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Board Pad vellum 19″x24″
Pencils:
Graphite HB, 2B, 4B 2H
Erasers:
Kneaded eraser
KOH-I-NOOR “Elephant” Soft Eraser
Leon Okun was born on February 6, 1980 in a small town in Siberia, Russia. In 1993 Leon’s family immigrated to San Diego. His interest in figurative art developed while taking art classes at Mesa Community College, where he was given complete freedom of exploration. This freedom led him to a profound interest in figurative drawing and propelled Leon to pursue the kind of program that would satisfy his passion for fine art.
Leon’s educational art journey began at Watts Atelier (a small private art school with an emphasis on the traditional fine art), where he studied for two and a half years. There he met Ron Lemen, an art instructor at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art. To this day, Leon gives Ron Lemen credit for inspiring him to believe in himself and to set the highest possible standards for personal artwork.
In 2003, Leon returned to Russia to explore Russian art schools and museums. Painters like I. E. Repin, V. Serov, and V. Surikov captured his interest and helped him develop the best possible vision any artist can have: To become a serious painter.
It was then, in 2003, that Leon decided to apply to the Repin Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. Repin Academy of Arts is a two hundred and fifty-seven year old historic institution. It has been the birthplace of the most famous Russian painters. It was clear to Leon that if he wanted for himself the best art education in the world, than it would have to be the Repin Academy of Arts.
After two years of intense preparation Leon got accepted to the Academy, where he studied for six years and received both a Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Art and a Masters Degrees in Fine Arts.
In 2011, Leon returned to San Diego and immersed himself into teaching, sharing with his students the wonderful education he had received at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg.
Successful in his own right as a Artist and as a Teacher, Leon now inspires his students to search our their dreams and to strive to achieve their own personal best.
Leon is a member of the California Art Club, the American Portrait Society, the American Impressionist society, and the Plein Air Painters of San Diego.
Leon has participated in and won numerous art competitions in San Diego and throughout Southern California. His style of painting is based on the traditional European classical art, and color pallet that so many Russian painters are famous for.
Most recently Leon had several successful exhibitions that drew a great deal of interest in the art community.
Course Changes or Cancellations
LAAFA reserves the right to cancel any class/workshop, limit workshop size, change class/workshop times or substitute instructors for those listed in the schedule.
If a class/workshop is cancelled; students may transfer to another class/workshop, use credit on artschoolvideos.com, keep credit on file or be issued a full refund.
Refunds and Transfers
All online classes and workshops are non-refundable.
Absences
There are no make-ups available for online courses. Students are emailed a 10-day access to each recorded session, made available the next day after the live session.
Information
Campus Address
16926 Saticoy Street
Van Nuys, CA 91406
(818) 708-9232
contactus@laafa.edu
Business Hours
Phone Hours: Mon-Fri, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Main Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
