Landscape Painting and Printmaking: The River
with Nick Archer
This course explores a mixture of contemporary and traditional approaches to painting and will involve elements of drawing, printmaking, collage, and photography alongside painting to explore different approaches to image making.
The starting point will be to explore the river area near to the studio in Chiswick. We will be collecting reference through drawing, painting sketches and photographs, which will then be used as reference to create a finished piece of work in the studio. The course will be given some context with talks about artists who work in this way; see examples below.
This Summer Term course is divided into 3 x 4-week blocks, and is recommended for students interested in contemporary methods and also for those seeking mentoring on their own projects: the course materials are a means to inspire and stimulate them in their work.
Summer Term 2024 Course Details
Weeks 1-4
Collecting reference by the river – how to collect reference using drawing, paint sketches and photographs. We will look at artists who paint ‘plein air ‘such as the impressionists and contemporary artists who paint from observation as well as photographs to create a final piece.
We will examine techniques on how to use materials such as watercolour to sketch from observation and to make colour studies to help with the final piece.
Turner
Weeks 5-8
We will work on larger drawings and studies both in the studio and by the river and look at how to translate sketches and photographs to larger scale pieces using both traditional techniques plus contemporary techniques such as grids and projections. We will also look at blending techniques with oil paint as one of the ways in which to capture reflections in water.
Bonnard
Weeks 9-12
The final block will focus on making a final painting from the experiences based by the river and you will also have the option of creating a series of prints from the images you have created. With the use of the press, we will be using monoprinting, collography and dry point. You will learn the techniques needed for these process’s and explore which process works best to create a series of prints from your final painting.
Canaletto
Constable
Reviews for Nick Archer:
“Nick Archer is a very supportive and encouraging tutor, who guides each of us to develop his/her own style. However, far from letting us “run wild,” he is first-rate at ensuring we properly observe, analyse, see correctly, and learn, when relevant, to use colour and tone. All this applies equally to his life drawing and painting classes. Having appreciated that you have grasped the basics, Nick will help you branch out and run wild if you wish!”
— Alison R Noyes
“Nick Archer has a wealth of technical knowledge combined with an ability to stretch the boundaries of what is possible. Always supportive and willing to give constructive advice and feedback were required. I can't recommend his classes enough.”
—Helen Rawlinson
Nick Archer
Nick trained at the Royal Academy Schools in London (1996-1999) and is a BP Portrait Prize finalist. He was a member of the Royal Society of Portrait painters from 2000 – 2008. He has won several awards, including 1st at the Hunting Art Prize in 2001. He has exhibited extensively in the UK and Europe since 1999, including solo exhibitions with Louise Alexander Gallery (Porto Cervo, Italy), Sarah Myerscough Fine Art (London), Long and Ryle (London), Galerie Hug (Paris), Gowen Contemporary (Geneva) and with Christine Park (New York).
Nick is represented in London by Long and Ryle, in New York by Christine Park and in Geneva by Gowen Contemporary.
He is well established as an international artist and teacher, with a busy schedule of exhibitions and commissions.