Mondays, 6:00 – 9:00pm
£360
21 October – 9 December 2024 / 8 Monday evenings
Tutor: Caroline de Lannoy

BOOK VIA UCL SHOP

Course description

This online course of eight evening sessions offers students the opportunity to develop both a critical and practical understanding of colour theory. The emphasis of the course is to examine the science of colour and light with a view to its practical application.

The teaching method is structured around a series of lectures, demonstrations and creative projects. The lectures include an exploration into the history and theory of colour (principally from the Western tradition), colour systems and terminology, meaning and concepts. The theory is complemented with practical sessions through a series of structured exercises that elucidate the expressive, symbolic, scientific and cultural aspects of colour perception.

Using a range of materials and techniques from paint to collage, we will explore how colour behaves, the relationship of one colour to another and the way that colour generates light and form to create a colour space. All work will be made by hand with low cost materials. Note that we will not be working digitally, but will address the role colour plays in these fields in the lectures and discussions. We will develop methods to find a personal approach to subject and the dynamic articulation of colour.

Students will be encouraged to consider the role of colour in historical and contemporary art practices and in relation to their own artistic development. It is our aim that students leave the course with a better understanding of the role that colour plays in their work, which will contribute to the development of a body of personal work within their own time. 

The sessions have been designed to be worked on at home in a space no bigger than your table top. Students will have access to an introductory film in advance of the live session to familiarise themselves with the ideas, practical set up and exercises we will be undertaking. Students will have access to our online platform (UCL Extend) where they will be able to find all the asynchronous teaching (videos), instructions for the session and link to the online live session. An online link will be sent out to facilitate a connection to the live teaching.

Who should take this course?

The course is open to anyone interested in developing skills in relation to colour and their own discipline. It suits a cross-section of experiences from complete beginners to those with previous experience or creative practice in general who would like to develop a more comprehensive understanding of colour, its applications and theories.  

Materials

Students will be sent a full materials list to purchase what is needed before the start of the course.  

You will need to have the following materials for the first session:

• A straight ruler, compass, HB Pencil, scissor, glue, masking tape, 1 square canvas board - 20x20cm or 1xA4 primed paper.
• A mixed set of student brushes including stiff/soft, 2 glass jars with lids, wet wipes for hands, rags or paper towels for brushes, painting palette, palette knife for mixing, thinners such as Sansodor for oil paint.
• Paints: You can choose to work with either oils or acrylic.
  Please note you will need a retarding medium for acrylics in order to stop them drying too quickly when colour mixing. Titanium white, Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red, Alizarin Crimson, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Phthalo Blue or Prussian Blue and Mars Black.
• We recommend that each student has a sketchbook.

Please note: You will receive a more detailed materials list once your booking has been confirmed.

How online teaching works

Students will have access to pre-recorded materials (videos) explaining the ideas behind the exercises as well as demos, how to set up the space, which materials to get ready and instructions for the exercises in advance of the live session.

You will be given an induction on Day 1 showing you how to upload your work onto Padlet - a communal digital platform where the work can be displayed. Technical support is available throughout the course. Once logged in to the live session each day will begin with an introduction, then students will be guided through theoretical talks and practical exercises by the tutor as the session progresses.

There will be PDFs to support the films that include the transcript and recommended reading. Access to the films and supportive material will be available to the students for some months after the conclusion of the course.