Oil Landscape Painting with Greg Barnes

Explore the impressionist style with award winning artist Greg Barnes as your personal guide.  Greg tailors his instruction to reach all levels from beginning pointers to advanced techniques.  Working from photo reference materials or en plein air, this oil painting master class will focus on capturing the essence of a scene through design, color harmonies, and intuitive interpretation.  Greg strives to teach in a way that you will continue to learn from the experience long after the workshop has ended.

Each day includes one or two demonstrations by Greg, focusing on different aspects of producing a captivating landscape painting. The remaining time will be spent at your easel, painting from the view or subject matter of your choice. He will continually visit each easel as you paint, giving individual instruction and personal attention. The class will finish with a critique of each students’ work.

Two Days $450

Monday 21 & Tuesday 22 September 2026, 9am to 4pm

Register here

Includes Morning Tea, BYO lunch

Greg Barnes Oil Painting suggested materials list:

Canvas: six 9 x 12″ or similar size up to 16 x 20″

Greg likes to use oil or acrylic primed linen panels but whatever you have should be fine.

Paints:  Primary colors (Ultramarine Blue, Cad Lemon, Permanent Red (Rembrandt brand) and White.  Also Alizarin Crimson, Cobalt Blue, Transparent Red Oxide and Indian Yellow may be added to the primary palette.

Palette: any surface for holding and mixing your paint – either wood, glass, or gray disposable palette sheets will suffice. The palette is usually incorporated on your painting easel.

Thinner – small container of Gamsol odorless mineral spirits

Brushes – 3 or more flats – #6, 10, 12

Flats are Greg’s  preferred style of brush but you may use whatever style you have.

Easel:  any suitable portable easel should suffice.

Paper towels, palette knife for mixing

Sketch book & pencil or charcoal for note taking and preliminary sketching.

Do you want to paint more loosely and spontaneously?  Do you want to hone your pastel skills?   Explore the impressionist style in pastel with award winning plein air artist Greg Barnes as your personal guide.  Greg tailors his instruction to reach all levels from beginning pointers to advanced techniques.  Working from life or en plein air, the class will focus on capturing the essence of a scene through design, color harmonies, and intuitive interpretation.

Each day begins with a pastel demonstration and lecture by Greg, focusing on different aspects of producing a captivating landscape painting. The remaining time will be spent at your easel where Greg will visit as you paint, giving individual instruction and personal attention. The class closes with a critique of each students work.

Two Days $450

Thursday 24 September, 9am to 4pm & Friday 25 September, 9am to 3pm

Register here

Includes Morning Tea, BYO lunch

Greg Barnes Suggested Pastel Supplies*:

Paper:  UART brand, any grit 400 or above (I use 400) or similar pastel paper.  Pastel Premier brand is another good option.  I often have a roll of paper with me and will sell by the sheet at workshops.
A couple sheets per day of 9 x 12″ or larger will work

• Portable easel
• Support large enough to accommodate your paper size (drawing board, lightweight sign board, etc.)
• Masking tape OR clips to hold paper to drawing board
• Pastels:  (we use Soft pastels, NOT oil pastels) – at least 36 landscape; Good brands to start with: Rembrandt, Unison, Schminke, Mount Vision, Terry Ludwig.

If you’re just experimenting with pastel, try a half-stick set from Rembrandt, Schminke, Senellier, or Unison.  You get more colors for the price.  Greg also typically uses the harder Nupastels to begin his paintings (esp. dark blues, burgundies and bottle green).   He sometimes brings extra sets of hand picked Mt Vision pastels for sale during the workshop.

• Paper towel or similar smudging tool
• #2 pencil and or Vine charcoal (the softer the better) & sketchbook

*All supplies are not mandatory – bring what you have and we’ll work with it!

If the demand is there, a third Greg Barnes Masterclass will be offered.

It will be a one-day class with a focus on composition.

 

Registration $50

Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, Fishtrap Theatre

Saturday 26 September, 2.30 – 5pm

Note: Fully Registered Artists – DO NOT REGISTER as this is already included in your Access All Areas Pass.

LEON HOLMES MASTERCLASS

In this two day Masterclass, Leon will share his knowledge of oil painting, focusing on helping you better understand what you are seeing and why some artists use unexpected colours in areas that just seem to work. He will demonstrate tips and tricks for manipulating paint to create luscious, rich, clean colour and avoid muddy results. This workshop will be the ultimate warm-up bootcamp to prepare you for a week of painting at PADU and open possibilities for any future outdoor painting adventures. Students will practice the techniques hands-on. Depending on the individual and the time available, there will be time for painting their own scene as Leon walks around, giving one on one advice and assistance.

Students struggling with muddy colours or those looking to understand more about colour and light will get the most out of this workshop. But if you have bee painting for years and feel your work needs a new direction, Leon always has something new he has discovered and is willing to share!

Two Days $360 plus Hire options.

Please note, the standard ticket does not include any equipment. If you are new to Plein Air Oil Painting or would like to try our equipment please contact Leon Holmes directly for Hire Option 1 or 2.

Hire Option 1:   Easel and Tripod –  $30 for both days

(incl. 9×12” Pochade Box & Tripod only – no other materials included)

Hire Option 2:  All inclusive –  $60 for both days

(incl. 9×12″ Pochade Box, Tripod, Swag Apron, MH Oil Paint, Neef Brushes, Italian Palette Knife, Dipper Pot, Medium (MH refined Gum turpentine or AO Odourless solvent), MH OLeo Gel, primed panels and gloves.

Monday 21 & Tuesday 22 September, 9am to 4pm

Monday 21 & Tuesday 22 September, 9am to 4pm

Register here

Includes Morning Tea, BYO lunch

Leon Holmes Material List

If you do not already have any of the following please refrain from purchasing prior to the workshop. Part of my teaching is about equipment and in many cases having quality tools and materials can be the difference between struggle and success in your art practice. Cheap quality paints are a false economy, you end up using more and will struggle with muddy paintings.

I’ve seen too many classes where students buy paint etc that they never use again so please bring only equipment you already have. This way you can make more educated purchases for your personal needs after my teachings. To make your life simple, we will be able to supply you directly with any art supplies Leon will be teaching with. These will be available for purchase before and during the workshop. Please reach out if you like to pre-purchase.

Easel

A lightweight outdoor easel, Pochade Box or French Box Easel with a wooden or other neutral toned mixing palette. We have kits available for hire and sale (Hire equipment only available in WA)

(I will bring a few of our Pochade boxes and tripods. To avoid missing out you will find them available with Express post landing at the door within 5-7 day – leonholmesart.com.au)

Boards (Primed or gessoed)

• 2 per day approximate size 20 x 30 cm/ 8”x12” or 20 x 40cm / 8”x16”
• Something to transport your wet painting in, eg. pizza box works if you don’t have a panel carrier

Paints

For the sake of the workshop I will be teaching a limited outdoors palette and will further explain other colours and their uses. As a minimum please bring simply a tube of:

• BLUE• RED• YELLOW• WHITE

Feel free to bring any extra colours you might already have.

Brushes & Knives

• 5 or 6 of your best brushes in a variety of sizes up to 1” wide • A softer hair brush will also be handy – not essential • palette knife/s- I carry two different sizes 1 inch and 2 inch long

Other materials needed:

• Small sketchpad and pencil
• Artist quality Pure Gum Turpentine Do NOT bring odourless Turpentine!

(If you have trouble with the solvents for oils, we can also provide you with an odourless alternative)

• small dipper pot or jar (for Gum turps/medium)
• 2 x clips/clamps, big enough for clipping your boards to your easel
• 3 x rags per day or a roll of paper towel (old tea towels or something of this size is best)
• Painting clothes or apron
• Gloves (Kitchen style – latex or similar style)
• Wide brimmed hat, sunscreen & bug spray
• Plastic bag (for rubbish)
• Foldable chair• snacks, BYO lunch, water

But what if I need it? The less you have the more you will make do and use creative ways to achieve some amazing results.

Andy will demonstrate his bold watercolour technique with emphasis on simplifying the scene using tone and composition to create a successful painting on location. Dependent on weather conditions, students will either follow along with Andy or watch then choose their own scene and paint with Andy’s guidance. We will look at how Andy built a lightweight watercolour easel from an inexpensive retail box easel and look at his minimal setup of tools and limited palette of watercolours.

Oil painters who have shied away from watercolour may find this workshop especially useful as Andy was very much an oil painter, for more than 20 years, before adopting watercolour in 2022. As such, he is in a great position to speak of the differences in behaviour and approach.

This workshop is ideal for those with some watercolour experience looking to take their practice outdoors but also to artists comfortable with other media and looking to add watercolours to their repertoire.

Two Days $350

Wednesday 23 & Thursday 24 September 9am to 4pm 

Register here

Includes Morning Tea, BYO lunch

Andy Dolphin Watercolour Materials List coming soon

Do you have Procreate on your iPad but wonder how you might use it in your traditional-media art practice? So many people download it, play with it for a few weeks then give up, unsure why or how to use it.

In this workshop, Andy will take you through his process of using Procreate and Apple Pencil on the iPad to reassess plein air sketches and paintings that “missed the mark”. Introducing students to the incredible power hidden beneath Procreate’s deceptively simple interface, Andy will show how to use the selection and adjustments tools to match and alter colour and tone over the original painting and how to best work with layers while playing with possible adjustments to composition and cropping. Sometimes, a few minutes in Procreate is all it takes to get a painting headed in the right direction before repainting it in the studio.

Tuesday 29 September 2026 9am to 4pm

Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, Dance Studio

$175

Morning tea provided, BYO lunch

Material List Andy Dolphin, Procreate for Plein Air

Essential Hardware and Software:

• iPad compatible with Procreate
• Compatible pressure-sensitive Apple Pencil
• Procreate app – 5.4.8 or later (installed)

Optional:

• Compatible keyboard may be useful but not needed
• Angled desktop support for iPad may be useful (this differs for everyone)

Note:

• Charging options are limited
• Ensure iPad is fully charged before lesson and/or bring a PowerBank and cable
• It may be useful to have AirDrop turned on (we can do that in class)

 

Adding figures to landscapes brings storytelling, movement and atmosphere to your paintings. Join acclaimed artist Leanne Pearson for this one-day studio workshop exploring expressive ways to confidently include people in your work.

Working primarily in oils (acrylics welcome), Leanne will demonstrate her bold, painterly approach and guide you to loosen up, use vibrant colour and create depth and light. With personalised instruction in a supportive environment, this workshop suits both emerging and experienced artists looking to expand their creative expression.

The class will cover:

• How to compose your story
• Drawing tips and techniques
• How to break figures down into basic shapes and understand perspective in figures
• How to create drama with colour and contrast
• Create looseness and impressionistic outcomes

One Day $175

Friday 25 September 9am to 3pm

Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, Dance Studio

Register here

Includes Morning Tea, BYO lunch

Materials List Leanne Pearson

Paints: Artist quality paints (not student)

Limited Palette Colours: Cad red, Permanent alizarin crimson, Ultramarine blue, Cad yellow light, Pthlalo Green and titanium white

Full palette option:  Cadmium yellow (Series4), Lemon yellow (S1) Cadmium red (medium) (S4), Permanent Crimson Ultramarine blue (S2), Cerulean blue, Phthalo green, Titanium white, Burnt sienna (SI), Yellow ochre (S1), Burnt umber (SI) Titanium white

Optional additional colours: Permanent rose (S4) Cadmium orange ($4) Veridian green (S4) Michael Harding’s Indian yellow red shade

Brushes

• A range of sizes: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12
• A few tiny synthetic watercolor brushes for detail
• A rigger brush for signing and narrow lines (watercolor)

Neef brand brushes are useful and effective (available are at Oxlades Guthrie St.)

Rosemary & Co brushes (ivory synthetic range, hardy, relatively inexpensive, order online)

Other materials

• Copic pens (C3, C6, C9) and a small sketchbook
• Palette knife (one small and a longer one)
• Some rags
• A palette (tear-off, wooden, Perspex, or glass, such as an old frame)
• Baby wipes
• Pencils or charcoal and a sketchbook
• Viewfinder
• iPad, iPhone, or camera
• Gamsol (low-toxic solvent to use as a medium)
• Apron

Explore the magic of painting with gouache on black paper.

This technique is perfect for capturing quick, high contrast paintings that really pop.

Learn how painting the light values only, whilst reserving the black of the surface, allows you to quickly capture fleeting light.

We will start with a number of small step-by-step exercises that focus on learning technique and then progress to capturing the scenes around us.  The aim is to build the skills necessary to capture a scene.

For the purposes of this workshop, we will be painting on black paper although other surfaces are suitable.

Gouache is the ideal medium for painting while travelling as it dries fast to a beautiful matt finish and washes up with water.  It’s extremely forgiving and requires minimal equipment.

We will cover:

• Different brands and types of gouache.
• Recommended substrates and surface preparation for gouache.
• Gouache painting techniques including blending, wet on wet, tonal layering and dry brushing.
• Simplifying values and creating the illusion of detail.
• Methods to seal and protect your gouache painting.

This workshop is suitable for painters of all levels and participants will go home with a number of small paintings and workshop notes.

Take a tour of Linda’s gouache on black sketchbook on her YouTube channel to see more of her work or visit her FB and IG @Lindamacaulayartist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDsevO70nvI

Friday 25 September 9am – 3pm 

Plein Air, Mandurah

One Day $175

Register here 

Materials list for Linda MacAulay – Gouache on Black

 

The photo above shows the basic material list.  (the airtight palette or stay moist palette and the travel stool are optional)

Paint

Essential basics:   A warm and cool set of primaries plus white = 7 tubes in total.

I will also be using a Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna and one or two other unique pigments.  If we do use other pigments, it will only be a tiny bit so I will give you some of those on the day.

If you don’t have any gouache, it is more economical to buy a set than individual tubes.

Notes on my brand preferences and different types of gouache.

The quality and performance of the different brands is marked so here are my recommendations and options for every budget.

Please note Himi and anything labelled acryla or acrylic gouache have different formulas to traditional gouache require different working methods.  If you already have these, just bring them anyway.

The white gouache that comes in most sets is too transparent or too yellow, so I recommend also purchasing a tube of white gouache preferably Art Spectrum or the Horadam Schmincke Titanium White.

Budget Option Paints

The Reeves Gouache 18 set from Spotlight or Officeworks is ok and the cheapest by far.

Plus 1 x tube of Art Spectrum or the Horadam Schmincke, Titanium White.

OR

Mid-Range Options Paints

Winsor and Newton Designers Gouache 10 colour set (not the cheaper W&N version), plus  1 x tube of Art Spectrum or the Horadam Schmincke Titanium White.

OR

Art Spectrum individual tubes or a set of primaries.  The limited palette set of 9 is perfect.

OR

Best Quality Option Paints.

Horadam Schmincke brand has the best coverage. You can purchase a 12 x set of 5 ml paints.  The 5 ml tubes are very small, and you would need an additional tube of either the Art Spectrum or the Horadam Schmincke Titanium White.

Alternatively, you could by the larger tubes individually and just get a set of each primaries and white.

Brushes

I x 10mm synthetic flat brush with a good edge.

1 x synthetic liner brush Size 2 -4 or thereabouts.

1 x aqua brush (round large size). These fill with water.

(other soft brushes if you have them but really you don’t need many)

Palette or easel

It can be as simple as a plastic plate, takeaway lid or a stay wet/moist palette if you have one. I love the one pictured on the right.

I usually don’t use an easel but if you have one, please feel free to bring it.

I usually use a small low camping stool to sit on or a camp chair.

Paper

During the workshop I will be painting on heavy weight black paper.  We will be working small (no larger than 20 x 25 cm) as this gives us time to practice a number of gouache techniques.

The most economical option by far is the Anko Scrapbook 8 x 8-inch black scrapbook from K-mart at $5.  I have used this extensively and it compares well to many more expensive brands.

I would also recommend using Stonehenge Black Watercolour paper in a small pad (20 x 25 cm), 300gsm, hot or cold pressed or the Legion panels with this paper mounted.

Really any black paper is ok although the higher the gsm the better.  I would not recommend anything under 180gsm for the workshop.  The advantage of using a pad or the scrapbook is that you have a firm surface to work on.  If you bring loose leaf paper please cut it into A4 size sheets and bring something to rest it on.

Other

Small packet of tissues or paper towels and a packet of wipes (any type)

1 x white charcoal pencil, white pastel pencil or any light-coloured pencil except for a watercolour pencil.

2 x small plastic water containers for washing brushes.

1 x water bottle for painting water.

1 or 2 clips to prevent the wind blowing the paper away.

1 x small spray bottle filled with water like the X-Press one.

For yourself

Water to drink

A camp chair or stool

A hat, Sunscreen and Insect repellent as we will be outdoors all day.

Any questions please contact Linda on 0407539800 or linda@lindamacaulay.com.au