Allow yourself to explore your love of painting and take it to the next level. Stay on track and discover the secrets of color, composition, value, edges, and more. Jill interacts directly with students in real time.
Accustomed to teaching painting at all levels, Jill has a way of instilling confidence and encouraging students to take risks with remarkable outcomes.
Jill offers her Online Painting Lessons as a healing & transformative practice. Students will share their work for constructive and supportive feedback. Once you are registered you will receive your links to upload your work and link/password to join the on-line lesson(s). If you are interested in enhancing your painting please be sure to contact Jill by filling ut the form below today!
If you are striving for consistent results with your painting take advantage of one of these affordable and convenient online options:
Online Critiques – Find your creative place while enhancing your painting practice in a group setting. Some students have expressed a sense of intimidation before joining the group. After their first lesson they come to realize that there is a wealth of opportunity for learning within a supportive group of like-minded artists.You will receive thoughtful suggestions on ways to improve your work in realtime. To save you time and guesswork Jill may digitally paint the suggestions. Even if you don’t have a painting to critique you will benefit from the many informative tips that apply to all paintings. Contact Jill today to get your full benefits of the group critiques.
At right is the work of student, Nancy C with Jill’s mark-ups and solutions. Nancy’s watercolors have shown marked development in the 8 months that she’s been attending Jill’s critiques. Composition issues that apply to all paintings include; watching the edges, intersections, direction of shapes.
One Hour Private and semi-private lessons
Now you have constructive and supportive feedback at your fingertips.Private lessons are one on one with Jill with immediate feedback and constructive next steps
Find out more by submitting the form below.
“Jill is a terrific teacher as well as a wonderful artist. She does not try to find fault with a student’s work.
Helen M
Rather, she studies it, evaluates it and gives exactly the right suggestions as to what is needed to bring that work to full potential.”
Italy Painting Workshop September 2022 – Ready to paint in Italy? Click here
Jill’s custom made videos. The videos below are available for free access without registration on YouTube.
Acquire skills and develop your own style with a series of videos intended to offer techniques in painting the landscape and still life.
Studio Landscape: Painting the Italian countryside from plein air studies and photo reference. colors, value, composition and capturing light with hands-on demonstration.
Studio Still Life: This video is Part One of two. In part one we learn how to start a painting. Color and form, capturing light, value are just a few of the things that Jill touches upon.
Plein air (outdoor): Monet’s Water Lilies in Connecticut with a surprise visit from a snapping turtle
The Palette (click here): Jumpstart primer for the beginner. Creating a palette of colors as a reference for future paintings.
Color Walk: (click here) Jumpstart primer for the beginner. Emulate nature’s beautiful palette through color mixing from found objects.
Quick Tips
Here’s what you will need:
One Stop Shopping for Art Supplies at Dick Blick – Jill has already developed an affordable lists of painting materials for you, including list of paints and selection of brushes – CLICK HERE then go menu on upper left to Educators, Blick U, student then under state popup find Online and scroll down to my name Jill Nichols Art Lessons
Paints:
Blues: Ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, (or cobalt blue, pthalo)
Yellows: Cadmium yellow pale, cadmium yellow deep, (or cadmium yellow medium, hansa yellows)
Reds: Alizarin crimson, Cadmium red light, (or cadmium red)
Earth Tones: Yellow Ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber and Sap green
Large White: Titanium or mixing white
Recommended Paint Brands:
Budget: Daler-Rowney Georgian
Good Quality: Gamblin, Utrecht, Grumbacher
Best Quality with intense pigments: Old Holland, Williamsburg
Brushes:
Think of your brushes as an investment. The best brushes are natural bristles because they will hold up better and are the easiest to clean. I have created a list of budget brushes for those that just want to try painting out, however I strongly encourage the purchase of better brushes for better results with less frustration.
Palette:
Disposable palette- good for students just starting out, easy cleanup, portable
Wood – sturdy, portable, easy to scrape, easiest for plein air
Glass – best for those with a permanent studio space, good for seeing colors, easy to scrape
Solvent & Oils
Mineral spirits: Prefer Gamsol because it is the least toxic
Lavender Oil- Chelsea Classical Studio offers a wonderful alternative using natural ingredients that work for a solvent and brush cleaner
Gamsol vegetable solvent- gel in tube, non-toxic, shinny finish, adds a little body, portable, great for plein air
Linseed Oil- tried and true
Walnut Oil – leaves a shinny finish
Stand Oil – Thick and viscous
Clove Oil – Apply over paints on palette to retard drying
Easel:
An easel will be important for the ease of your painting. Please note that if you are planning on painting en plein air (outdoors) then you will want to purchase a portable easel- I find that the Julian Half box easel works very well. This can also double as a studio easel and is easy to set up and stow away if you have limited space. There are also table top easels if you prefer to sit at a table. Visit Jill’s list for details-follow link above.
Other Necessities:
Palette knife (2), rags/paper towels, garbage bag for used towels, canvas or gessoed board, primed paper, clean jars for solvent
NOTE: All demos will be done with oil paints. You may opt to use acrylics replacing water for solvent and gel for a medium. Watercolors require different techniques than oils (and Acrylics). Please check back again for Jill’s watercolor videos.
Need a little more direction without obligation? Consider using one of Jill’s step by step paint kits that use a ghosted image of either her Lighthouse or Poppy painting. Click here to order one of Jill’s Learn how to Paint Kits.