New in the Academy: April Showers - An Alla Prima Oil Painting in One Sitting

This month's project inside MazArt Academy is a change of pace: April Showers is a loose, alla prima rain scene painted start to finish in one sitting.

What we're painting

A figure walking away from us under a red umbrella and coat, caught in the rain. It's a quiet, subject and a good one for working wet into wet straight onto a toned surface without stopping to plan out every mark.

Why alla prima, and why now

Most of what I teach inside the Academy is built around slowing things down - underpainting first, values pre-mixed, working in layers over several sittings. That structure is what gets you consistent, realistic results, and it's why the method works.

Alla prima teaches you something different. You're painting it all in one go, while everything is still wet, and it trains you to trust a stroke rather than go back and fix it. If you tend to overwork a painting, or you keep going back in "just one more time".

You'll still be working with the same eye for tone and colour relationships - you're just applying it in one sitting instead of several.

How the class works

I paint the whole scene directly onto a toned surface, talking you through it as I go. You can follow along in water mixable oils or traditional oils - I cover both throughout the tutorial.

What you'll come away with

A finished rain scene with a real depth to it, and a bit more trust in your own brush. It's a good one to slot in between the more structured projects.

April Showers is available now inside MazArt Academy, with the full reference material, colour guidance and complete tutorial. If you'd like to paint with me, please click the link below.

View the lesson