Achieving Realism 2.0
This groundbreaking class will reveal the rules of the masters in producing convincing realism in your
paintings. In fact, you will learn that realism does not have to be painstakingly tedious to be
successful. While photorealism can at times depend on the most meticulous of details to
communicate its idea, traditional realism separates itself by looking for that gray area in painting that
says more with less. This highly investigative yet inviting course will re-open the doors of the past,
ignite the imagination and stoke the fine artist within. Also, Steve Gibson will introduce traditional oil
painting methods and how you can incorporate them into your airbrush work. These methods,
reapropriated for use with an airbrush have been developed off and on over the past decade-they
are meant to reveal a more universal process of building an image regardless of subject matter. The
purpose of this instruction is to provide you with the tools necessary to develop your own vision
while following a methodical approach that also allows for individual interpretation of both subject
matter and its meaning.
This class is comprised of a culmination of intense practice, an ever insatiable thirst for artistic
knowledge of traditional and academic painters from the past, and thru years of trial and error,
an effort to find relevance and practical application methods for the airbrush using the what
has been learned regardless of surface or substrate.
This class is NOT another gimmick that has been slapped together recently to sell you a trend
in airbrush painting... it is genuine. Its foundations have been earned in practice and in patience-
over years. You will begin to learn how to paint and see as an artist in a traditional sense and make
aesthetic decisions based on long established principles in the visual arts. You will not just
copy and match an image- I will ask you to go further and beyond...
In this course you will learn:
•What makes good subject matter; nature vs. the photograph.
•How airbrush painting a grisaille (monochromatic grey) will give you better control
over establishing value and its many nuances.
•Starting from a mid-tone and working toward light and dark through a systematic
“push-and-pull” approach.
•Separating color and value during the painting process and its advantages.
•Transparent versus opaque techniques and when to use them.
•Painting through mistakes with ease and confidence.
•The importance of form over detail; working large to small.
•How to make aesthetic decisions based on traditional principles.
•Freehand techniques with little or no masking aids.
•The versatility of an all “additive” painting process.
Who is this class for...?
Achieving Realism is open to the novice to seasoned professional. A basic to intermediate
understanding of the airbrush is recommended and preferred. This class uses academic and
traditional painting methods repurposed for a modern approach specific to airbrush. The tried and
true results of these ideas hang in the most prestigious galleries and institutions world-wide and
were developed by master painters and draftsman dating back over half a millennia!
This groundbreaking class will reveal the rules of the masters in producing convincing realism in your
paintings. In fact, you will learn that realism does not have to be painstakingly tedious to be
successful. While photorealism can at times depend on the most meticulous of details to
communicate its idea, traditional realism separates itself by looking for that gray area in painting that
says more with less. This highly investigative yet inviting course will re-open the doors of the past,
ignite the imagination and stoke the fine artist within. Also, Steve Gibson will introduce traditional oil
painting methods and how you can incorporate them into your airbrush work. These methods,
reapropriated for use with an airbrush have been developed off and on over the past decade-they
are meant to reveal a more universal process of building an image regardless of subject matter. The
purpose of this instruction is to provide you with the tools necessary to develop your own vision
while following a methodical approach that also allows for individual interpretation of both subject
matter and its meaning.
This class is comprised of a culmination of intense practice, an ever insatiable thirst for artistic
knowledge of traditional and academic painters from the past, and thru years of trial and error,
an effort to find relevance and practical application methods for the airbrush using the what
has been learned regardless of surface or substrate.
This class is NOT another gimmick that has been slapped together recently to sell you a trend
in airbrush painting... it is genuine. Its foundations have been earned in practice and in patience-
over years. You will begin to learn how to paint and see as an artist in a traditional sense and make
aesthetic decisions based on long established principles in the visual arts. You will not just
copy and match an image- I will ask you to go further and beyond...
In this course you will learn:
•What makes good subject matter; nature vs. the photograph.
•How airbrush painting a grisaille (monochromatic grey) will give you better control
over establishing value and its many nuances.
•Starting from a mid-tone and working toward light and dark through a systematic
“push-and-pull” approach.
•Separating color and value during the painting process and its advantages.
•Transparent versus opaque techniques and when to use them.
•Painting through mistakes with ease and confidence.
•The importance of form over detail; working large to small.
•How to make aesthetic decisions based on traditional principles.
•Freehand techniques with little or no masking aids.
•The versatility of an all “additive” painting process.
Who is this class for...?
Achieving Realism is open to the novice to seasoned professional. A basic to intermediate
understanding of the airbrush is recommended and preferred. This class uses academic and
traditional painting methods repurposed for a modern approach specific to airbrush. The tried and
true results of these ideas hang in the most prestigious galleries and institutions world-wide and
were developed by master painters and draftsman dating back over half a millennia!
