Expressive Figure Painting - Advanced - Mansfield Woodhouse Library - Adult Learning

Throughout the course, you’ll work from a variety of figure references—including life drawings, photographs, and expressive poses—to develop a personal, intuitive response to the human form. Emphasis will be placed on bold mark-making, experimental colour, and compositional impact, allowing you to explore movement, emotion, and presence in your work.

This advanced 6-week acrylic painting course is designed for experienced artists ready to deepen their exploration of the human figure through expressive, dynamic approaches. Building on core skills, this course encourages you to move beyond realism and into more gestural, abstract, or emotionally driven interpretations of the figure.

By the end of the course, you’ll have created a series of figure paintings that reflect your individual style and artistic voice—bold, powerful, and uniquely your own:

1) Experiment with surface treatments in at least one painting to expand texture, depth, or emotional impact

2) Demonstrate an understanding of expressive anatomy and proportion, interpreting figure references creatively while maintaining a sense of structure and movement

3) Apply at least 4 advanced painting techniques, such as gestural mark-making, colour layering, impasto, and abstraction, to explore the figure beyond traditional representation.

4)Create a range of new colours

5) Produce a cohesive series of 2–3 expressive figure paintings, demonstrating personal style, confident composition, and experimental use of acrylic techniques.

6) Develop and implement a marketing plan using at least 3 different channels (e.g., social media, email marketing, and local events) to promote their products. (MARKETING SKILLS).

What you will need to bring to the course:

Acrylic paper/sketch pad

A4 canvas

White gesso

a range of synthetic paint brushes

photo reference

acrylic paint (student grade):

- Red (Magenta, Cadmium Red)

- Yellow (Lemon and Cadmiun Yellow)

- Blue (Ultramarine, and Cerulean)

- Titanium white