Take what you need from this course which explores Edward Hopper’s narrative paintings, focusing on how he creates an uneasy tension within his work, an approach that influenced filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch.

The course examines how Hopper constructs atmosphere, often conveying the sense that something is not quite right. The devices explored include his use of colour to illuminate his paintings, as well as his compositional strategies, in which figures are placed in isolation within spaces that contain subtly shifting eye levels. These compositions appear to follow the conventional rules of linear perspective, yet upon closer inspection reveal underlying ambiguities.

Course Structure

Day 1 - Analysis of one or more Hopper paintings of your choice.

Day 2 - Working with studies and photographs of townscapes or buildings taken of Putney Boat Houses, you will experiment by merging your own ideas with selected ideas taken from Day 1, producing preparatory studies that explore colour and composition.

Day 3 - Using the studies developed on Day 2, you will create a larger-scale townscape painting of your own.