Hyperrealism Airbrush + Oil Paint (Javea, Spain)

In our hyperrealistic Combi Oil/Airbrush portrait class, you will learn the most up to date ways and techniques taught by Marissa Oosterlee, a professional artist and teacher for 20 years. You will be able to use her refined techniques within a layer system to build up a portrait from scratch to finish. She explains all steps gradually and guides small groups towards the best version of each attendee, to help them become more confident and being able to work more systematically.

She will also help to deal with troubleshooting, like corrections and proper cleaning/maintenance of the airbrush and brushes.

The combination of Airbrush and Oil paint is unique and stunning to say the least. The best part is that you do not need to Master either of them, just have a good dose of goodwill to learn new things and you will surprise yourself in the end with an amazing study of both techniques. The most difficult and technical part of airbrushing isn’t really needed when you finish with oils, and the other way around, the start with oil paint is the hardest, which is compensated with the airbrush! This way you get best of both worlds to create stunning pieces with great comfort and confidence.

You will learn that color does not move in mysterious ways, it is all perfectly doable if you know the 4 rules of mixing without spilling a lot of paint and using as little different colors in a mix  to keep them as pure as possible and prevent muddy colors.

Marissa actually uses an incredibly small amount of paint per painting which saves money, loads of time and creates more harmony. People ofter refer to her portraits as “Glowing”  and “Lifelike”.

Knowing when and how to use transparent or more opaque paints will help to keep textures and shapes steady and makes refining or correcting a lot easier.

The groups are kept small for  maximum attention to each student. Beginners are offered an introduction class for only 75 euro on the morning prior to the course. Here you will learn how to position the airbrush, create dots, lines and shades, adjusting pressure and diluting the paint correctly for a maximum control. This ensures you to be able to come along with confidence and a good tempo.

In the 4-day combi workshop you will learn all about:

• Materials for airbrush and oil paint
• Maintenance
• Mixed techniques you can add to create extra effects or textures
• Rendering eyelashes, hair, lips and all other important features in a portrait that require more attention
• Correcting
• Color mixing
• How to use transparent colors
• Maintaining the correct proportions
• How to create amazing textures
• When to leave out or add details
• Create perfect transitions
• The most important rules within realism
• How to observe your reference in order to paint as accurate as possible
• Create more depth in your portraits
• The full process to create a hyperreal portrait with a combination of airbrush and oil paint.

Practical information:

During the workshops we provide a nice lunch, beverages, paint, a workstation including air and hoses, a paint surface, professional daylight and materials needed to apply certain techniques. You can also rent a professional airbrush for just 7 euro a day, all well maintained and in a “like new” condition. You should bring your own brushes, or buy a small set during the course.

The main language will be English but we can speak fluent Spanish, Dutch, German, Italian.

The area is enchanting all year around, winter season is between 14-23 degrees Celsius, spring/summer between 20-30 degrees. Beaches, mountains and forests are a must see, so if you like to stay a couple more days for holiday we can highly recommend several stunning viewing points and things to do or see. It is also a culinary town, with over 300 lovely restaurants and bars. The mountain Montgo provides a micro climate in our town Javea. This enables painting throughout the year without a problematic heatwaves or cold fronts.

The closest airport is Alicante (1 hour), it provides shuttle busses and taxi’s or rental cars. Valencia is a little further away but is still very doable, about 1 hour and 10 minutes from our studio. We can provide the contact of a private driver at good rates.

For B&B we can recommend a lovely place close to us, on walking distance, but of course there are many other accommodations around. including a big comfortable camping (also with chalets) and Bungalows el Arenal.

The 4-day workshops are 595 euro. Bookings can be paid in full or with a 150 euro deposit to secure your seat.