w/ Riisa Gundesen
$185 (Non-Members) / $175 (Members) – 4 sessions
Dates & Time: Saturday, April 4, 11, 18, and 25, 2026, 1 – 4 PM
Harcourt House Artist Run Centre
The Maggie and John Mitchell Art Education Studio, ANNEX Building, 10211 – 112 Street, Edmonton
Please ring buzzer upon arrival
In this workshop we will consider traditional and contemporary palettes, alla prima oil painting techniques, and expressive, gestural brushwork. Working with long and short poses, your instructor will also guide you in observational strategies, as well as basic anatomy and other techniques specific to working with the human figure. Participants are asked to bring their own materials for this workshop. A list of recommended supplies below.
For More Information: info@harcourthouse.ab.ca / 780 426 4180
Method of Payment: In the office, over the phone, or online through Zeffy.
Instructor’s Bio
Riisa Gundesen (she/her) is an oil painter based in Edmonton, AB, on Treaty 6 Territory. Her practice deals with self-portraiture and still life, exploring intersections of personal narrative, gender, consumerism, and the abject. Her paintings have been shown in galleries and artist-run centres across North America; her newest body of work has been exhibited in major group shows at Contemporary Calgary, and the Esplanade Arts And Heritage Centre, and in recent solo shows in Ottawa, ON, Utica, NY, and Kingston, ON. She has also been featured in such publications as Galleries West and The Capilano Review, and her work is included in the collections of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the University of Saskatchewan. Gundesen received her BFA from the University of Lethbridge in 2012, and her MFA from the University of Saskatchewan in 2018. She currently teaches painting and drawing at the University of Alberta and MacEwan University.
Materials:
- Paint: Oil paint in the following colours :
Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Cad Red Light (or hue), Cad Yellow Deep/Medium (or hue), Ivory Black, Titanium White, Burnt Sienna (or other earth tone), Yellow Ochre (optional), Prussian Blue (optional). - Brushes: Hog’s Hair brushes, Flat or Filbert. Sizes ~ 2 – 8, at least four or five
- Mediums: Walnut or Linseed Oil, Odourless Mineral Spirits if desired (no turpentine or other solvents with strong fumes please)
- Surfaces: 5 surfaces minimum, each around 22” x 30”, or larger if desired. You might work on stretched canvas, masonite, wood, rag paper, or cardboard. If you are working in oil, your surface needs to be properly primed with gesso or equivalent. Typically, 2 or more layers of gesso are necessary to fully seal a surface for oils. Alternatively, you can find pre-primed canvas surfaces, including canvas papers, or Arches does an oil paper as well. Note that many pre-fab stretched canvases, especially cheaper ones, are primed for acrylic, not oil, and you made to gesso them further to avoid strike through.
- Surfaces: 5 surfaces minimum, each around 22” x 30”, or larger if desired. You might work on stretched canvas, masonite, wood, rag paper, or cardboard. If you are working in oil, your surface needs to be properly primed with gesso or equivalent. Typically, 2 or more layers of gesso are necessary to fully seal a surface for oils. Alternatively, you can find pre-primed canvas surfaces, including canvas papers, or Arches does an oil paper as well. Note that many pre-fab stretched canvases, especially cheaper ones, are primed for acrylic, not oil, and you made to gesso them further to avoid strike through.
- Sketching supplies: You may wish to make some preliminary drawings before you start painting – a sketchbook or newsprint pad, some pencils or charcoal, something along those lines would be good for that.
