Key Information on course content

• Portfolio review and sketchbook guidance via Google Meet, up to two weeks before the course.

• Help with gathering, printing, and organizing reference images in a sketchbook.

• Studio course on oil painting techniques: handling paint, preparing palettes, creating tonal scales.

• Underpainting with thinners, starting on a white canvas.

• Building compositions, transferring images with a scanner.

• Using mediums, glazes, and solvents for oil paint.

• Colour theory, glazing, and mark-making.

• Preparing surfaces with gesso or rabbit skin glue.

• Making your own canvas and stretcher bars.

• Discussion of contemporary vs traditional art theories.

• Access to a large art library, printer, scanner, and all materials: oil paints, mediums, canvases, oil papers.

• Professional tools: easels, palettes, boards.

• Tutors trained at London art schools.

• Max 6 students per class in a Berlin artist studio.

• Real-time feedback, group critiques, homework, and printed guides.

• Certificate awarded after completing the course

  “The aim of the course is to set the individual in good stead to paint confidently with oils in the studio and to undertake exercises and studies in oil independently.” - Louise Lenz school founder

The Burnt Sienna oil painting course is a hands-on beginner programme created by Louise Lenz and Hannah Turner-Duffin over 10 years. It has six three-hour classes held in our historic Neukölln studio. The course teaches everything from modern painting techniques to making a canvas stretcher. It helps students gain the skills and confidence to keep painting and set up their own studio afterward.

The course will clear up common myths about oil painting and help students learn about oil paint and techniques. By the end, you will have many paintings and studies, including a canvas you made yourself and oil studies on oil paper.

‘I’m so glad to have found this beauty of an art school. So far I’ve attended the winter oil course and the portrait in oil workshop and I can’t wait to do more. Louise (and Jesse) have been excellent teachers, enabling and inspiring me to explore painting- something I’ve had on my list for a very long time. Thank you Burnt Sienna!” Testimonial from Rachel Foreman 2021 

high quality materials list included in your course fee 2025

• Oil painting paper various sizes

• Cotton canvas various sizes

• Pine Stretcher bars various sizes

• Hog hair synthetic and Wolf hair brushes various sizes

• Linseed oil

• Dammar varnish

• Dammar varnish crystals

• Pipettes

• Colour wheels

• Solvents thinners and other mediums

• Oil paints ready-made Lucas, Van gogh, studio or daler rowney or the student equivalent

• Oil paints include a full range that all students have access to on the course.

• Glass palettes

• Palette knives rags easels drawing boards

• Dry materials for drawing include but are not limited to pencils charcoal felt pens coloured pencils oil pastels dry pastels.

• Turpentine or An alternative (Let us know if you have any allergies or if you are pregnant When applying for the course We will endeavour to place you on a course in oil painting that is turpentine free)

• Rabbit skin glue

• Gesso for priming canvases, chalks and glues for binding surfaces
  
  

Studio resources and library


There is a rich broad art library with many hundreds of thousands of references to historic and contemporary painting that students are free to use on the course. We have a full colour printer and scanner available for use for students to utilize the library and copy any images that are important to them for their work.

Individual student setup

Every class has a maximum of six students each student is assigned a workstation. Each workstation consists of the following materials and studio equipment. The workstation provides everything our students need to work in oil painting. The setup is wholly unique to Burnt Sienna and the teaching of Louise lenz Hannah Turner Duffin and Emma Seach. You will not find this particular setup with its traditional values and core resources anywhere else in Berlin. What we provide for our students aims for them to continue working in a professional manner as an artist for the future.

Chair, easel, Drawing board,  table ,glass palette bucket for solvents paint brushes colour wheel scissors staple gun palette knives Pipettes glass jars for mediums

Course Content                    (subject to change with developments and improvements - all content here included plus more)

Week one:  We will begin with an introduction and orientation of the studio, then move on to  transcribing an image from a master work or image: focus will be upon paint handling, mixing black, building a palette and application of a tonal scale in order to produce a study on paper in the time given. Grisaille painting technique: monochromatic painting.

Week two:  Discussion and introduction to surfaces. Stretching the canvas on the bars. Adding glue to size the canvas.  Preparing sources and thumbnails, we will begin to think  about constructing a composition. Students are asked to bring resources, photographs, source material postcards and objects etc. We start constructing a composition and building a ground.

Week three :   Extension of introduction to surfaces and application to stretched canvas. Introduction to colour theory and colour mixing and applying this to a still life painting on paper under guidance. Hannah will demonstrate how to make up a colour palette and you will work throughout the session from a still life. There will be a focus on colour values, composition, form, colour identification and mixing and mark making. 

Week four: Introduction to underpainting and starting a canvas painting using your own resources, going back over composition and colour theory as we move forwards throughout the sessions.

Week five:  Introduction to glazing techniques and more on colour theory. Start to build glazes on individual canvases, working with contrast and tone, building depth and creating highlights.

Week 6:  Finishing highlights lowlights, varnishing and depth. Continuing on to the final layers of your paintings and completing your canvas paintings. Depending on each student's development there is the possibility to complete several studies on paper and one canvas painting.

Materials and Equipment 

Course fees include the teaching fee, oil painting materials and all studio equipment. Students are encouraged to bring their own brushes if they have them. During the course we ask students to buy two small tubes of oil colour of their choice and student quality. The rough cost of this would be max. 30 euros. However if you are on a budget it is not essential and you can complete the course without extra purchases. We do use expensive products and oil painting is not a poor mans business. You will find although we use academy quality paints we will use quality oil papers and canvases with a broad range to give you the experience to go out and get your own products after the course.  There are refreshments in the studio including tea, coffee, biscuits and snacks.

What do I need to bring with me ?

Please bring clothes that can get dirty, any snacks you need, and a positive attitude with creative ideas! Bring any art supplies you want to talk about, paints you have, and sketchbooks with notes or drawings for inspiration. House slippers are provided, but you can bring your own if you like. Outdoor shoes are not allowed inside.

Where does the course take place ?

The oil painting course is taught in our beautiful Neukölln attic studio in the heart of the art district and far from the bustle of the street. It is in the attic on the top floor so take your time on the stairs, especially if you have any health problems. The studio is well ventilated with Dyson air purifier, roof access and fans. There are plenty of local shops and bakeries to find lunch. We are about a 4 minute walk from Rathaus Neukölln on the U7 and 10 minutes from Hermannplatz U8.

Refund policy

A deposit is payable to secure a place on our courses of 150 euros. A refund of the deposit is possible up until 2 weeks before the first class, no refund is possible after that point. A return of the full fee is possible at 50% two weeks before the course start date after 14 days before the course starts the fee is non refundable. The fee is payable on the date of your first class, if you need to spread the payments out over the course length we can set up a payment plan. If the course is unable to run due to sickness of tutors or for other reasons owing to Burnt Sienna then students will be refunded their course fees.

Lateness, missed classes and sickness

If you will be more than 10 minutes late without letting the tutor know, please expect to miss the class. Of course life happens but let us know as soon as you know what's going on, places on our courses are precious and with only limited spaces in an intimate setting we look for discipline in our students, this in turn is great for artistic output!

 If you are ill for a class or unable to attend please let us know as far in advance as possible via email or WhatsApp. We can offer a refund of the deposit up to 2 weeks before the start of the course and not afterwards. If you are ill please wait until you are fully recovered to attend your class.  We do as far as possible offer students alternative classes and catchup classes whereever it is feasible to do so.

Burnt Sienna Philosophy 

Burnt Sienna art school Berlin offers two core courses in drawing and painting, these courses take seasonally. The programme has been developed by artist Louise Lenz over the last 10 years and she is an associate  tutor at the Newlyn School of Art. The traditional teaching techniques and methods Louise brings from this highly respected art school in Cornwall are brought to Berlin and work alongside contemporary methods. Louise is the mentee of artist Jesse Leroy Smith who comes from the ROyal Academy schools.  Unlike other independent art schools in Berlin, Burnt Sienna Art School Berlin  limits class sizes in order to ensure the highest level of artistic development and flexibility towards methods of teaching. After every course students are awarded with a certificate on completion.

Entry requirements

For our beginners courses it is essential that you are a beginner with an open mind! Intermediate requires some basic knowledge this can be discussed after registering. Basic English language although German is understood and spoken too. This course is suitable for both beginners and those looking to set up a studio independently.  We ask that you have lived in Berlin for at least 3 months and you have good boundaries with your employer in order to attend the course as fully as possible. The studio is in the Attic on the 6th floor so some mobility is required.