Abstraction and Landscape Painting Online

Invigorate your painting practice and expand your visual vocabulary of abstraction and landscape painting.

Learn how to draw out the abstract from within the conventions of landscape, looking backwards and forwards, and constantly exploring the rich potential of the painted image.

Fran O’Neill emboldens you to break out of your comfort zone and push past the threshold of formulaic painting and roam into the space of the imagination, from whatever physical location you find yourself in, during this online short course. She guides you in developing a critical approach to landscape and abstract painting, forming connections between the two, and focussing on either or both as jumping off points.

For those working in landscape, Fran invites you to look for the possibilities of landscape painting from within your own reality and expanded perceptivity. For some it may be a view out of a door or window that captures your attention, or you can access diverse landscapes whilst working from photographs, or images in your mind, picturing vistas of rolling hills, dense forests, backyards, interiors, vegetation, gardens, cityscapes, alleyways or suburban streets.

Beginning with a known approach, then gradually altering the paintings into abstraction through the creation of subsequent works, focusing on how one image can inform the next, until it reaches a resolution. Fran guides you to explore shape, line, scale, compositions, mark-making, and the intersections of concepts with materiality. She encourages you to take risks and be willing to discover new ways of seeing your artworks, allowing different processes to come into play.

Enter the exciting worlds of landscape and abstraction, where subtle (and not-so-subtle) shifts can occur. Bring your curiosity and be prepared for different images to emerge from the original source, resulting in unexpected and individual paintings.

The course is suitable for those with prior painting experience at intermediate and advanced levels.

*NAS Short Courses are open to students of ages 16 years and over. The NAS Art Club is open to students from ages 15 years and over.

Fran’s online studio course is taught utilising an online video conferencing platform.

She is present in the online studio for the whole session, and she responds directly to students’ questions. This is a critique-based class, with students making work either during the class or during the week, with discussions held regarding works made. We are also using Padlet in this course, Padlet is a web application that allows users to post information and images on a digital wall.

Students will be provided with a link to directly access the video conferencing platform and NAS Padlet. The links will be provided close to the date of course commencement. Please ensure you use the links provided to directly access the online platforms.
The course lecturer and NAS team will be able to provide some assistance to students in the initial session, in the event students experience any issues.

Class sizes are limited to a maximum of twelve students and the sessions are not recorded.

Please note, the sessions are not recorded.

A computer, laptop or iPad with good quality Wi-Fi connection.


The computer screen positioned in a stable place in front of you, at a distance that allows you to see screen images clearly, and to be heard through the inbuilt or external speakers and microphone.


A smart phone or camera for taking photos of your artworks.

Fran O’Neill’s art practice is grounded in drawing from life, and she maintains these fundamentals as she focuses on abstract paintings.

She currently teaches online and formerly, on campus at the Art Students League and the New York Studio School in New York City and is represented by the Sears Peyton Gallery in the Chelsea art district in Manhattan. She holds dual citizenship in the U.S.A. and in Australia, dividing her time between Australia and New York.

Her paintings are held in corporate, museum and individual collections.  For more information on Fran’s artworks, visit www.searspeyton.com and http://www.franoneill.com/

Students must supply their own art materials, please refer to the list below.

Don’t sweat it! Whatever you have on hand is great!

• Smartphone or camera
• Brushes: A large selection of rounds from small sable to large house painting rounds
• Drawing paper, pencils and charcoal
• Scissors
• Canvases: All sizes are suggestions, not requirements for this class.
  3-4 small canvases – roughly 14” x 18” or 18” x 24”
  2-3 medium canvas’ – roughly 28”x 34” or 30” x 48”-

Suggested Paint Colors
All colors are suggested, but are not requirements for this class. (Don’t worry if you don’t have all the colors listed.)
Paints of your choosing in oil, acrylic or watercolor paints – a full range of cool and warm colours.
Painting mediums for your chosen material.

This is the full list of paint colours in order of placement around the palette, however you are welcome to begin with what you already have in your collection. If you are not sure what to purchase, the lecturer will discuss at the first class. Suggested colours are listed in order of placement around the palette:

• Flake White
• Titanium White
• Lemon Yellow
• Cadmium Yellow Medium
• Yellow Ochre
• Cadmium Red Light or Medium
• Quinacridone Magenta
• Alizarin Crimson
• Caput Mortem Violet or Indian Red
• Windsor Violet (W&N) (Dioxazine Violet)
• Ultramarine Blue
• Cobalt Blue
  Cerulean Blue
• Terre Verde
• Viridian
• Cadmium Green Deep
• Raw Umber
• Ivory Black
• Peach Black or Payne’s Grey

Oil Painting: 
If you are working with oils, please ensure you have a well-ventilated space.
A large hand-held palette is to be varnished with 2 coats shellac or 6 coats of linseed oil. 
Odorless Turpentine in sealable containers. You will need to store turps in either glass or metal containers, as anything made of plastic will dissolve.
 Murphy’s oil soap for cleaning brushes.

Acrylic Painting:
 A variety of plastic containers for storing mixed paints, 
plastic palette
, and spray bottle with water to keep paints from drying out.

General Materials: 
Rags and/or paper towels. 
Drawing paper, pencils and charcoal. 
Wet wipes for cleaning hands and palettes outdoors
. Plastic wrap for palette storage. 
A palette knife for mixing and applying paint
.

Optional Materials
: Watercolors, palette, watercolor paper/ block, sketch book, pencils, erasers for drawing ideas.