Course curriculum

    1. Hello!

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. About me

    3. Health and safety

    4. What is cold wax?

    5. Surface matters

    1. Introducing the tools and materials

    2. Introduction to the different papers

    3. Downloadable list of materials

      FREE PREVIEW

    1. Mixing your oils and cold wax

    2. Preparing your surfaces

    3. Layering with a squeegee

    1. Colour combos

    2. Combo 4 example: Lemon yellow and ultramarine blue

    3. Combo 5 example: Cadmium yellow deep and ultramarine blue

    4. Combo 8 example: Lemon yellow and cerulean blue

    5. The colour combinations

    1. Prepare your surfaces

    2. Making some marks

    3. Adding some colour

    4. Scraping and scratching

    5. Creating organic marks

    6. Creating quiet spaces

    7. Unifying the surface

    1. Adding a film of colour

    2. Blending

    3. Masking & mark making

About this course

  • £100.00
  • 41 lessons
  • 3.5 hours of video content

Build depth, form and texture

The perfect follow-on from Atmospheric landscapes where you will be introduced to techniques for building rich layers of texture, patterns, marks, and colour to form rich, complex base layers to your paintings - key to helping you scale up your work!

Enrol today

What will be covered?

  • Build depth and movement using texture tools and innovative reduction techniques

  • Learn how to carve out form and create "quiet spaces" that give your compositions balance and emotion

  • Explore how to use colour not just for impact, but to create mood, atmosphere, and dimension

  • Work with pigments, marble dust, and other loose powders to bring a tactile, elemental quality to your pieces

  • Master the use of brushes, squeegees, and more to create smooth transitions and rich surfaces.

  • Learn to mount your paintings on board and seal them with cold wax for a polished finish.

Paula Dunn

Artist, teacher, author

Paula Dunn is a landscape painter who lives and works in Yorkshire, England. Taking her inspiration from walking the land, the climate and weather play a significant part in her work. She predominantly works with oils and her painting over the years has shifted from a representational image of a landscape to the more abstracted. Paula’s paintings can be found in private collections across the world and she is a contributing artist to the award winning “Waymaking – an anthology of prose, poetry and artwork by women who are inspired by the landscape” Vertebrae publishing. In September 2025 her book Atmospheric Landscapes using oils and cold wax will be published by Crowood Press.

Frequently asked questions

  • Do I have the experience?

    Whether you are a professional artist or haven’t picked up a paint brush since school, absolutely no experience of painting or of working in oils is needed. Just be prepared to have fun and to experiment.

  • What materials and tools do I need?

    A full list of the tools and materials and where to purchase is available at the bottom of this page.

  • When does this course start?

    This is a self-paced course and can be started as soon as you sign up. Once you have registered you will be provided with access to all the content immediately on the Thinkific platform. You can work through the lessons at your own pace, and return to them as often as you need to.

  • Is there tutor support during the course?

    This self-paced course is designed to be studied independently, and should contain all the information you need.

  • System requirements

    Broadband internet connection with a minimum speed of 5Mbps is recommended. The Thinkific platform is fully mobile responsive so you will be able to access the course from any phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer!

  • Supported browsers

    In order to make sure the course runs well, please access the course via your desktop using one of the following browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Microsoft Edge. If you are accessing via a mobile the following browsers are supported: iOS Safari, Chrome or Samsung Internet. Internet Explorer is not supported and if attempting to access Thinkific on Internet Explorer, you will see an error message.

  • Can I download and share the course?

    You cannot download the content due to copyright, but once you register you will have a year's access to the content and can return to it at any time. Please do not share your login and course access with others.

  • Do you offer refunds?

    Refunds are not offered for self-paced courses as the course descriptions provide full details of the content. In the unlikely event you have booked a course that is not right for you, please let me know before you start accessing the content. Please read my terms and conditions for full details.

Tools and materials

Check out the tools and materials you will need for this course