Certificate Programme
Certified Painting Programme
Duration: 2 Years | 4 Semesters | 16 Months of Instruction | 4 Collection/Concept Portfolio Projects
The LAAD Painting Programme supports learners who want to pursue painting as a serious vocation or teaching pathway, balancing classical foundations with contemporary expression.
Curriculum
Technical and expressive foundations
- Charcoal drawing and still life
- Figure studies and basic design
- Composition and observational/imaginative studies
- Perspective and spatial organisation
- Colour theory with watercolour, acrylic, and oil techniques
- Art history and visual movements for contextual development
Curriculum in detail
Detailed education programme
The full programme as taught, semester by semester: the courses in each semester and the lessons within each course. Courses within a semester run alongside one another.
Semester 1 — Painting (1)
Introduction to Drawing
- Introduction to placement and composition; one-, two- and three-object composition and proportion
- Tone — the light-and-dark scale, and building volume
- The concept of the plane and of three-dimensionality
- The relationship between plane and tone
The Concept of Tone
- Tone, where tone is used, and the relationship between tone and volume
- Light and shadow from a single source
- Light and shadow from two sources
- Light, shadow, and the illustration of material — illusion
Perspective
- One-point perspective
- Two-point perspective
- Perspective of the circle
- Perspective of interior space
Composition
- The definition of composition, and the concepts of empty and filled space
- Properties of form, and proportion
- Rhythm in composition
- Depth and pictorial space in composition — construction and structure
Project 1: A composition, together with its analyses
Semester 2 — Painting (2)
Composition, Continued
- The golden ratio
- Construction and structure in composition
- Closed and open composition
Colour and Harmony
- The definition of colour, and kinds of colour
- The tone of a colour
- The warm and cool property of colour
- The intensity of colour
Portrait
- What a portrait is, and how it is made
- Roman sculpture and the Fayum portraits
- Portrait
- Group portraiture
- Self-portrait
Still Life — Landscape — Figure
- What still life is, and its historical development
- What landscape is, and its historical development
- What the figure is, and its historical development
Materials and Techniques: Watercolour and Inks
- Introduction to watercolour materials and to colour
Project 2: A drawing copied from a master, with interpretations
Semester 3 — Painting (3)
Materials and Techniques: Watercolour and Inks, Continued
- Introduction to watercolour materials and to colour
- Wet technique
- Dry technique
- Watercolour studies of space and composition
- Watercolour and India ink
- Desen colore — coloured drawing
Materials and Techniques: Pastel
- Introduction to pastel and to colour, with tone and colour mixing
- Using oil pastel; the oil-pastel scraping technique, and mixing it with oil
- Soft pastel and charcoal
- Mixed technique
Materials and Techniques: Collage
- Introduction to the technique and its history, and composition with figurative expression
- Mixed compositions using two or three images
- Abstract composition
- Décollage and assemblage
Materials and Techniques: Oil Paint
- Introduction to oil paint and to colour, with tone and colour mixing
- The grisaille technique in oil paint
- The glazing technique in oil paint
Project 3: A self-portrait in four different techniques
Semester 4 — Painting (4)
Materials and Techniques: Oil Paint
- Oil paint — peinture
- Oil paint and palette knives
Portrait
- What a portrait is, and how it is made
- Roman sculpture and the Fayum portraits
- Portrait
- Group portraiture
- Self-portrait
Practice and Theory
- What art is, and how it is made — creative practice
- Art history and references — creative practice
- Being of one's own time — creative practice
- Different materials, techniques and points of view
Figurative and Non-figurative Expression / Reality — Abstraction — Abstract
- The characteristics of figurative expression
- Abstraction; non-figurative and abstract expression
Creativity and Concept
Please study the programme closely. An education of international quality is open to you too. We would be glad to see you among us.
Programme Aim
Develop artists with original visual language
The aim is to cultivate love for art in society, train artists and art educators, organise solo/group exhibitions, and support individuals who can express original ideas through colour, consistency, and disciplined production.
Hobby Participation
Diverse creative exploration is also available through LAAD's Painting Hobby Programme, focusing on technique and expression without certificate obligations. See Hobby Programmes.
Who Can Enrol?
Open to diverse learner groups
- Aspiring painters and fine arts applicants
- Learners developing strong drawing and painting foundations
- Art enthusiasts, youth, and retirees
- University students seeking stronger creative practice
- Individuals seeking a professional vocation in art
- Creative career changers and hobby learners
Graduate Outcomes: Graduates organise solo and group exhibitions, work as art teachers across education levels, and pursue opportunities in art sales/marketing, TV/film production support, and independent creative practice.
Programme Format: Online | 4 semesters of 4 months | 16 months of instruction across a 2-year academic programme. Each semester closes with a 15-day hands-on project, worked by every student.
