Can you answer these five questions about your painting ?

How Paint Works — The Art of Thinking in Paint

To mark the start of a new Advanced Oils year — and once again all our long standing TOP and AO members, it’s wonderful to have you with us again. Each new year brings a fresh opportunity to grow as painters: to reset, rethink, and reconnect with why we paint at all.

Painting remains one of the most extraordinary spaces we can step into — at once deeply personal, wonderfully creative, and part of one of the oldest and most respected traditions in art. It can hold everything from quiet reflection to professional ambition. However you approach it, the key to progress is the same: understanding how paint works, not just what to paint.

From TOP to AO — Building Depth and Direction

Our TOP projects introduce the core principles that make painting work — value, opacity, temperature, and saturation — and how to use them with confidence. It’s where you build fluency: the essential grammar of painting that underpins everything.

Advanced Oils (AO) takes that understanding deeper. It’s where you turn principles into personal vision — exploring creative direction, refining judgment, and learning to think like a painter. It’s a deeper dive into expressive problem-solving, style, and intent.

And now, for those ready to go further, AO includes new options for personal online mentoring — both one-to-one sessions and small tutorial groups — so you can develop your work from the comfort of your own studio. Prefer in-person mentoring? That’s still available too.

Painting as a Journey

Painting isn’t a single road; it’s a journey with many paths. Two painters can take completely different routes and both be right. What matters isn’t finding the way, but discovering your way.

That’s why we work from principles, not prescriptions. Rules give the illusion of certainty, but they often stifle curiosity. Principles invite exploration. The moment you understand why something works, you’re free to use it however you wish.

The Four Building Blocks

Every painting you make is a sequence of decisions — when to add, when to stop, when to change direction. Those decisions, not the brush, separate craft from art.

We’ll explore four building blocks that underpin all painting:

• Value — how light or dark your paint is.

• Opacity — how it handles light, whether solid and reflective or thin and luminous.

• Temperature — whether a colour feels warm or cool.

• Saturation — how strong or muted that colour appears.

Recognise these four in everything you see, and you’ll realise that they’re the language of painting. Master them, and you can say whatever you like in paint.

Value Comes First

If you remember only one thing, make it this: value is king. Our eyes read light and dark before they register colour. That’s why a good tonal structure makes even the simplest image convincing. Squint, simplify, and look for the big shapes — those are the bones of a painting.

The Conversation of Paint

What makes one painting feel alive when another feels flat? The answer isn’t in the brand of paint, but in how it’s used. Paint is neutral; it only comes to life through how you orchestrate it.

Painting is not a recipe but a conversation. Each brushstroke asks a question; each revision offers an answer. The most compelling paintings aren’t those that look most polished — they’re the ones that seem to think for themselves.

Honest Critique and Generous Conversation

In both TOP and AO, critique is how we grow. Good feedback isn’t about judgment but understanding. We ask: what choices were made, how are they working, and what could be tried differently?

Honest, kindly given critique sharpens perception, not ego. So let’s give and receive feedback generously, speak from understanding, and listen with openness. When honesty and curiosity meet, real progress happens.

Why This System Works

These principles have guided my own painting for over twenty years — from traditional still life to abstract exploration — and they’ve helped hundreds of painters find confidence, clarity, and voice. Whether you’re in TOP, Advanced Oils, or mentoring one-to-one, the aim is always the same: to move from imitation to intention.

Every mark you make, every decision you test, builds that understanding. Over time, it becomes instinct — and that’s when painting begins to flow.

Mastery isn’t about control; it’s about listening — to what your materials, ideas, and paintings are trying to tell you.

So as we begin this new Advanced Oils year, think less about perfection and more about process. We’re not just learning to paint one picture; we’re learning to think in paint — and that’s where mastery begins.

Self-Reflection: Five Questions to Guide Your Practice

1. What do I notice first when I look at my own painting — value, colour, or texture — and what does that reveal about how I see?

2. Am I painting from knowledge or from habit — and how could I tell the difference?

3. Where in my current work does the paint seem to “think for itself,” and how might I encourage more of that?

4. How comfortable am I with honest critique — both giving and receiving — and what might that openness unlock?

5. What does “painting with intention” mean to me right now, and how could I bring more of it into my next piece?

   
   

What to Do Next

Put these ideas to the test. Post your work from your current project in the group for member critique — use the conversation to see how others read your decisions and where your strengths are emerging.

If you find you’d benefit from more tailored feedback, consider one of the new Advanced Oils mentoring options. Whether online or in-person, mentoring offers focused, individual guidance designed to accelerate your progress and clarify your artistic direction.

Let’s make this a year not just of painting, but of real growth — in understanding, in confidence, and in creativity

Martin

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