3-week Oil Painting Course with Lou Thomas - Mountains, Textured Seascapes or Landscapes
3-week courses for beginners or improvers in oils
"Lots of fun, worth every penny. Looking forward to booking again. " - Lauren
These stimulating courses are an inspiring way for artists with some experience to discover the secrets to creating beautiful natural scenes in oil paints.
Lou runs two courses at Vitreus Art -
- Beginners Oil Painting for those with some painting experience but who are new to oil painting (in a style similar to the painting on the right in the first image)
- Improvers to Advanced Oil Painting for those who have worked in oils before and are looking to boost their skills (in a triptych style similar to the painting in the second image)
Beginners OIl Painting
This course is suitable for students of any ability including those with no experience of oil painting and those who have painted previously but simply want to explore textured painting techniques.
Lou will guide you through the preparation stages of creating a textured work with a seascape or mountain theme in week one; applying paint and using dispersal techniques in week two; and in the final week finishing and fine tuning the details of the painting.
Each session will take 3 hours.
At the end of the three weeks you will have a complete textured oil painting which, after another two to three weeks drying can be varnished using “Re-touch varnish” and framed.
The Course Structure covers:
- Week one - introduction to oil painting materials; drawing the subject on to your canvas panel; application of texture pastes
- Week two - masking, applying paints to selected areas
- Week three - painting the sky, adding fine details, finishing, and a discussion on how to varnish after 2-3 weeks' drying time
Improvers to Advanced OIl Painting (Triptych) - additional infomation
Lou's Advanced course is designed to grow the confidence and capability of the artist - you will have painted with oils before to some extent.
The subject matter will be more challenging, with a wider range of paints to work with, developing a sense of movement to convey sky and sea, and a focus on achieving a finer reproduction of the source materials.
More time will be spent understanding composition and texture and colour layering, all techniques intended to boost the ability of the student.
At the end of the course you will have 3 complete oil paintings in a triptych format which, after another two to three weeks drying can be varnished using “Re-touch varnish” and framed.
For both Courses:
- Courses for Beginners and Improvers or Advanced painters
- Step by step demonstrations and critiques
- Subject matter taken from Lou's own photographs
- Small class sizes
- Widely spaced workspaces; aprons provided
- Materials and refreshments are included
- Each 3-session course costs £170 inc VAT per person
You are asked to bring:
- Your own oil paint brushes if you have them
- Rags for cleaning
- Old clothes
- A flat tray (like a fruit box) to convey your work home) plus old newspapers
Please note - these courses are taught in our upstairs studio, with no wheelchair access.
These courses are taught by by Lou Thomas, a highly respected and widely-collected painter.
Lou's mountain scenes and seascapes are much admired, with a style that incorporates much texture and movement.
How to book your place - Three-Week Oil Painting Courses with Lou Thomas
Lou Thomas' Oil Painting Courses are structured as 3-week courses of 3 hours per session on Saturdays and take place on the dates below.
If you're ready to book, use the PayPal button below and select the session you want to join - debit / credit cards and PayPal accepted . We can also take personal bookings in our studio.
All bookings are subject to our class bookings Terms And Conditions.
If you have any questions or concerns get in touch and we'll do our best to help.
2025 Courses
Watch Lou introduce her Beginner's Course! Still have questions? Contact us!
Learn to choose, mix and apply oil paints 
