French Impressionist Painting Techniques
€360.00
Learn the painting techniques of the French Impressionists and how to use them in your own work.
ONLINE PAINTING COURSE
If you’re joining one of my courses for the first time, GET 10% OFF! Use the coupon code NEWCOMER at the checkout.
| Dates | 4th February – 6th May 2026 |
| Duration | 12 weeks (with two one-week breaks at Mid-Term and Easter) |
| Time | Wednesdays 7 – 9pm (UTC+1, Dublin, London, Lisbon) |
| Format | Live-Streamed & Recorded Online Course |
| Medium | Oil Paint |
| Level | All Levels |
| Price | € 360 |
Impressionism has captured people’s imagination since its first exhibition in Paris in 1874, and artists have long sought to understand how the Impressionists created their paintings and how their techniques might be replicated. This course reveals the answers to these questions by assessing the techniques and styles of the French Impressionists and showing how their methods can be used in our own paintings today.
On this course, we will deconstruct several French Impressionist paintings, analysing the methods and techniques they used and doing some small studies of specific areas of their paintings before creating our own original paintings using the styles and techniques we’ve learned. You will be shown many case studies by artists including Monet, Renoir, Degas, Pissarro and many others.
Some of the techniques that will be covered include:
- Direct versus indirect painting practices
- Drawing and composition
- Colour and light, with palettes ranging from dark to light
- Brushwork, from two-dimensional slabs of colour to delicate blending
- Techniques including impasto, scumbling, slurring, wet-on-wet, pointillism
- Atmospheric and light effects, for example, mist, smoke, sunsets and dappled light
- Surface effects: snow, ice, and reflection and transparency of water
- Impact of various media, including watercolour, pastel and photography
- Influences that shaped Impressionism, from Old Masters to Japonisme
This course combines a fascinating insight into the working methods of the Impressionists with practical guidelines to enable contemporary artists to achieve light, colour, movement and atmosphere in their own impressionistic paintings.
If you’re joining one of my courses for the first time, GET 10% OFF! Use the coupon code NEWCOMER at the checkout.
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Painting Techniques
We will examine all of the Impressionists painting techniques including:
- Alla Prima
- Use of Slabs of Colour
- Pointillism
- Impasto
- Palette Knife Painting
- Textured Brushwork
- Influence of Japanese Art
- Use of Photography
Colour
The basis of all Impressionist painting was the representation of colour and light. This was more accessible for them than previous painters because, after centuries of innovation, suddenly a new explosion of pigments was available. Favourite colours included Emerald Green, artificial Ultramarine, Chrome Yellow, Chrome Orange, Cadmium Yellow and Viridian. The Impressionists mixed colour directly on the canvas or placed hues next to each other, which allowed viewers’ eyes to mix them – a technique known as ‘optical colour mixing.’
Materials
The Impressionists lived in an age of great social change as well as radical technical innovation. We will look at the changes to materials and equipment that enabled the Impressionists to create their ground-breaking paintings.
The pigments and materials of the paintings we will study have been analysed by the research departments of major art museums, and we will be basing our painting reproductions on their findings.
Dates
Please see course dates below:
Week 1Â Â Â 4th February 2026
Week 2Â Â Â 11th February
Week 3Â Â Â 18th February
Week 4Â Â Â 25th February
Break   4th March (Mid-Term)
Week 5Â Â Â 11th March
Week 6Â Â Â 18th March
Week 7Â Â Â 25th March
Week 8Â Â Â 1st April
Break   8h April (Easter)
Week 9Â Â Â 15th April
Week 10Â Â Â 22nd April
Week 11Â Â Â 29th April
Week 12Â Â Â 6th May 2026
Features
What you’ll get on this course:
- 24 hours of art instruction
- Live online demonstrations
- Weekly correspondence by email – Q&A, feedback and critique
- Access to detailed written notes and video recordings in the student area of my website
- Reference images
Requirements
For this course, you will need the following:
- Internet connection
- Computer or tablet (android or iPad)
- Print reference images in colour
- Painting materials and equipment – please download materials list PDF below
Terms & Conditions
Please read carefully before enrolling and paying for this course. By paying for this course you are agreeing to the terms and conditions below:
OIL PAINTS
Oil paints, solvents and mediums (such as mineral spirits, turpentine and linseed oil) will be used on this course, and these have a small and safe degree of toxicity but can emit strong fumes, which may cause headaches, drowsiness and skin irritations.
FEES, CANCELLATIONS & REFUNDS
Fees are non-refundable and non-transferrable. Adrian Cooke Artist reserves the right to cancel this course at any time if the minimum number of students required is not reached. In such cases, your fee will be fully refunded.
Reviews
I really enjoyed Adrian’s Impressionist painting course. It covered a lot of useful techniques, like optical colour mixing, complementary colours, ways to change hues and values, and much more. It was interesting to learn about different Impressionist artists and how they worked, their unique styles and the ideas behind their techniques. The online classes were very informative, and it was great to be able to ask questions and get detailed answers. The course notes were also really helpful for going back over everything. Overall, a great experience!
– Katia
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