Art Extension Program

Rebecca Rowe

Head of Learning  - Visual Arts & Design

Our most recent Art Extension workshop was perhaps our most challenging one yet!  Artist, Liz Gridley, returned to run an oil painting workshop using the  Zorn limited palette. 

Swedish artist, Anders Zorn (1860–1920), was renowned for his use of a limited palette consisting of Titanium White, Ivory Black, Cadmium Red Light and Yellow Ochre. To explore Zorn’s distinctive approach to colour mixing, students first created a colour wheel using only these four pigments, discovering the remarkable range of hues that can be achieved from a restricted palette.

Students then completed a short painting study, carefully recreating a small section of one of Zorn’s works. This highly technical exercise challenged students to closely observe colour, value and brushwork while developing their understanding of traditional painting techniques. It proved to be a rewarding experience for our Art Extension students, who embraced the challenge and certainly felt extended throughout the process.

For many students, this was their first opportunity to work with oil paints. They appreciated the chance to experiment with a medium favoured by many of history’s great masters and gained valuable insight into the unique qualities and handling of oil paint. The results demonstrated both their growing technical skills and their willingness to take creative risks when working with unfamiliar materials.

Click to enlarge the images and see how well they did!