Oil (& acrylic)
Online Painting Bootcamp
with Anne Smerdon
This course is EVERYTHING I have learnt and WISH I learnt before starting to paint. And it’s what took my work to the next level.
It’s for oil painters, acrylic painters and gouache painters (watercolour is it’s own kind of beast). The changes I’ve seen in student work over over the weeks has been phenomenal. It’s one of the reasons why I am so proud of this course.
“I cannot recommend this course enough. Anne is a fantastic teacher explaining subject like colour theory which can be overwhelming and complicated so simply and easy to understand, that it enables you to have the confidence to go forth after the course. She’s very generous with her knowledge and doesn’t hold back. I’ve done other courses where it seems like the artist doesn’t want you to excel further than them and holds back on sharing their knowledge. But Anne gives you everything she knows and truly wants you to succeed.”
Who am I?
I’m a multi award-winning artist based in the Northern Rivers of NSW. I’m a 2025 ABC Portrait Artist of the Year contestant (spoiler alert: Margaret Pomeranz chose my painting), a 2024 finalist in the Evelyn Chapman Award, the Portia Geach Award and the Wollumbin Art Award. And I was the winner of the 2022 and 2021 The Doyles still life prize.
I’ve been painting with oil paint since 2018 and over the last few years I’ve been sharing what I’ve learnt with artists in my home town, with amazing results. Artists from further afield have heard about the results and requested I teach the course online. So, after a few refinements and iterations, I’m pleased to announce my oil painting course is now available to all artists, from any location. Let’s do this! Let’s supercharge your painting skills and fast-track your artistic success!
I’ve designed this course to cover what you need to know to be successful in creating your own representational paintings (paintings that look like something, rather than abstract paintings). There’s a lot of rules in painting. Rules that some artists stick to, rules that some artists break and rules that counteract other rules. So it can be really confusing to know which way you should paint. I experienced this first hand learning from different artists at their workshops. I’d observe one artist using one technique, and another artist using a completely different technique. And I couldn’t work out which technique was right for me….until…..I understood the theory behind them, the “why”!
In this course I teach you WHY different rules and techniques exist so that you can decide if you want to stick to them or break them, to suit YOUR needs. I get into the nitty gritty of the science behind paint, colour theory and how to override your human brain, which really is the biggest hurdle when it comes to painting. We will cover theory that few artists know, even if they studied at art school. The skills you will learn here will enable you to paint faster, paint more accurately and loosen up! I know this because that’s what it’s done for me!
I run the oil painting course 2 - 3 times a year in-person in Murwillumbah NSW. But this year I am opening it up to an additional 10 online students.
All levels of skill are welcome, beginners to professional artists, as long as you’re confident in drawing as we will be drawing up basic shapes in preparation for each painting.
Anne
“This course was an absolute game-changer in learning to paint with oils! Anne is so knowledgeable and generous with her teaching. There was enough theory to help me understand the reasons behind things, and also enough time to practice I was learning. Anne’s guidance and individual support was really valuable throughout! I highly recommend!!”
What you’ll learn:
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Module 1
COLOUR THEORY
Colour is not just “red”. It’s hue, tone, chroma, tinting strength, lightfastness, temperature and opacity. It’s a science!
For example, what makes Cadmium yellow different to Aureolin yellow? The colour is the same but they create VERY different results.
Understand “which pigment to use” and how to see colour quickly and accurately to avoid dull paintings.
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Module 2:
MOSAIC THEORY
Our eyes lie to us.
Our reference lies to us.
Our palette lies to us.
Our canvas lies to us.
So how can we see and mix accurate colour and value?
I’ll show you the foolproof method that I use that works. Every. Single. Time. This took my painting to the next level and helped my paintings look so lifelike and 3D.
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Session 3
BLOCK IN
Some artists tone their canvas. Some artists block their painting in. And some artists paint straight onto white canvas.
Which one should you use?
I’ll explain when and why you may want to use each of these different methods and how they effect the resulting painting. We’ll also look at the science of oil paint and how to avoid cracking and clouding paintings!
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Module 4
CHROMA
It’s a little known aspect of colour theory but until you understand chroma your work will never “pop”.
You’ll never capture the vibrancy of flowers like Margaret Olley did.
And you’ll be inaccurate in judging tones.
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Module 5
LOOSEN UP
How do you create loose, painterly, effortless looking paintings that still look realistic?
It eludes many artists. It took me years to figure it out! But now I’m sharing what worked for me so that you can fast-track your success to loose, effortless painting.
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Bonus Content
I’ve recorded my answers and detailed explanations to student questions I’ve received in class, including:
When do I paint from life and when do I paint from photos?
How do I set up my still life scenes to create atmospheric light?
“My skills reached a new level which is what I was hoping for! Just the perfect amount of theory and painting time. We got stuck straight in and created some lovely little studies. Anne is a wonderfully warm and talented teacher with a contagious passion for her craft and I’m looking forward to more painting time under her guidance.”
How it works?
The course runs over the 4 weeks of March 2026. Each week you’ll receive new video content - a theory lecture and accompanying practical class.
You can complete these anytime during that week. At the end of weeks 1 and 3 you will have a 20 minute zoom session with me to discuss your progress and answer any questions you may have.
You will have email access to me throughout the whole month so you can email photos of your assignments or send through questions.
1 March - modules 1 & 2 are released
5/6 March - 20 min private zoom sessions
8 March - modules 3 released
15 March - modules 4 released
19/20 March - 20 min private zoom sessions
22 March - module 5 released
26/27 March - final group zoom session
What’s included:
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Each week you’ll receive 2-3 hours of video content:
a 1 hour theory lecture
a 1-2 hour practical recording of my painting process to paint along with
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To ensure you’re fulling digesting and understanding the ideas from each module, you’ll have access to a 20 minute zoom call with me to discuss your painting and answer any questions you have along the way. These critique sessions will be scheduled at a time that suits you at the end of week 1 and 3, allowing you time to watch and complete the modules.
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Throughout the month, you can email me photos of your work at any stage, whenever a question pops into your head or you feel something is “wrong” with your painting. I will be checking emails regularly throughout the month and will response asap.
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At the end of the month we will have a final group zoom session where you can share your work or ask any final questions.
NOTE: I’ll be demonstrating with oil paint. However, you are most welcome to use acrylic or even gouache for the course. All the theory, techniques and ideas apply to acrylic and oil painting equally. There is just one brief module on oil painting itself.
Let’s supercharge your painting skills and fast-track your artistic success!
FAQs
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What better way to learn how to use oils than with a dedicated course! All levels of skill are welcome, from beginners to professional artists, as long as you’re confident in drawing as we will be drawing up basic shapes in preparation for each painting.
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Yes! I’ll be demonstrating with oil paint and there is one discussion on oil painting itself. However, you are most welcome to use acrylic or even gouache for the course. All the theory, techniques and ideas apply to acrylic, gouache and oil painting equally. Just not watercolour, as it’s its own kind of beast.
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All levels of skill are welcome, beginners to professional artists, as long as you’re confident in drawing as we will be drawing up basic shapes in preparation for each painting.
We all start somewhere! And the best place to start is with the guidance from an experienced artist!
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You will have access to the video content (theory and practical classes) after your course month has finished. I have no plans to take the online course down so as long as my website is running, you will have access to your course content.
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The personal zoom critiques are totally optional. If you can’t schedule a zoom session on the assigned days, you will still have 24/7 email access to me during your course month. Simply take a photo of your work at any stage and email it to me and I can make comments and give advice.