Yarnell School Online (YSO) & A La Carte Lessons

Below you can search or browse through all of the Jerry Yarnell videos in HD to watch and learn at your own pace, any time - any place. Many of the video lessons were created only for YSO and can be found nowhere else.

Just click on 'Series Video Details' to learn more.

• If you are a YSO member, just choose 'Play' to watch the videos in a Series.
• If you are not a YSO member and would rather purchase standalone Video Series, choose 'Purchase A LA Carte Lesson' for the entire lesson series to be added to your cart for purchase. Once purchased, your selection can be found in your account dashboard under 'Purchased Videos'.

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Painting

Detail

Brushes Overview

Date Released: 01/01/2012

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Color Mixing 101

Date Released: 05/13/2010

Difficulty:  Beginner-Advanced (All)

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Lesson 1 of 1

In this one 30-minute episode, Jerry takes you through a very comprehensive color-mixing process for basic to advanced mixtures. Special emphasis on mixing blacks, grays, and under-painting colors for certain objects including flesh tones, animals, birds, trees, grasses, and numerous other landscape objects and still-life objects. Also how to mix highlight colors for accenting objects.

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Date Released On:05/13/2010

Structuring Your Painting

Date Released: 05/13/2010

Difficulty:  Beginner

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Lesson 1 of 2

This instruction starts with the importance of reference material in developing any composition. Other attributes - such as season and light source - also need to be established. Jerry then discusses the use of eye stoppers, overlapping and negative space to arrive at a proper composition and maintain interest and excitement in the painting, Jerry completes the instruction by adding some do's and don'ts, featuring a special rule of how to create an entrance into a painting.

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Date Released On:05/13/2020

Lesson 2 of 2

This is an intense session on how to use reference materials forming a composition and creating a painting. This lesson teaches you to compose on your own work and to create a focal area versus a painting with a definitive center of interest. The composition design moves the viewer into the painting and directs their attention to the focal area without stopping or distracting them. Also, a painting with a center of interest will not have competing items in the periphery of the work. In this case, less is always more. Several examples are used to make the point. Jerry finishes his instruction by discussing the simplicity of the sky in that the cloud formations used will be part of the center of interest and not peripheral distractions.

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Date Released On:05/13/2010

Jerry’s Lily Pond

Date Released: 05/13/2009

Difficulty:  Intermediate

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Lesson 1 of 2

This painting develops a lily pad pond with its flower being the center of focus. The canvas is prepared with an olive green mottled background. Jerry then starts by sketching the lily pads using elliptical shapes to create flatness. Next, a deep red green mixture is used to fill in the areas around the pads, and he then mixtures a soft light green color that is used to shape the pads with clean edges. Focus is on the design and composition, using proper negative space techniques. Using a lighter green mixture and a chiseled edge synthetic brush, Jerry creates turned up edges on the lily pads, thus adding an extra dimension to the front side. The pads are highlighted using a warm complimentary accent to finish the session.

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Date Released On:05/13/2020

Lesson 2 of 2

In this segment, Jerry starts by sketching and blocking in the flower. The chiseled edge synthetic brush is best for this part of the painting. The petals are darker and warmer at the base and repeat warm highlights on the pads. Switching to the bristle brush, the reflections of the flower are added using a scumbling technique. The remaining part of this segment adds the details to the flowers and their leaves. The painting is completed by adding the white and final accent highlights focused in the center of interest. A final check is made for eye flow and contrast areas to complete the painting.

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Date Released On:05/13/2009

Mama’s Baby

Date Released: 05/13/2009

Difficulty:  Intermediate

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This session is about the painting of animals, specifically a cow. First, Jerry sets the background by putting in a non-descriptive dark background using loose and impressionistic strokes. The loose strokes continue as Jerry adds the light green grasses. No horizon line is required in this painting. The use of warmer shades in the foreground and use of lighter shades in the center frame the center of interest. Next, Jerry sketches the cows and blocks them in with a dark mixture, and uses a warm gray mixture to block in the white areas of the cow. The calf is blocked in using midnight black to complete this part.

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Date Released On:05/13/2020

2 of 2

In this session, Jerry begins the highlighting process, starting with the head of the cow. With the light source coming from the left, he uses loose strokes and allows areas of contrast to develop to indicate the shape of the cow. The use of proper sable brushes are important in this detailed phase. Using little accent strokes to highlight the body parts, Jerry next adds cast shadows to the ground around the cows and finishes with detail grasses and flowers and cautiously adds final accent highlights to complete the painting.

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Date Released On:05/13/2020

The Lighthouse

Date Released: 05/13/2009

Difficulty:  Intermediate

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Lesson 1 of 2

A simple painting that teaches you the process of fine art technique. In this opening segment, it is all about blocking in the entire canvas. The background does not look like much, but it is essential to getting the value system correct. Starting with the Hake brush, Jerry gently blends in the sky, starting at the top and ending with a touch of red glow at the horizon to create atmosphere. The sky color is then reflected into the water, and the ocean is blocked in by using turquoise, and it gradually becomes darker moving into the foreground. Switching to the No. 10 bristle brush, Jerry then blocks in the cliffs, using heavy texturing. This is also a good time to spot in the shoreline rocks that will serve as eye stoppers at the bottom as well as to create interest. Using the No. 4 bristle brush, Jerry completes this segment by adding initial highlights to the ocean and creating the lights and darks for the wave motion. At this transition point it is necessary to choose a lighthouse you desire and to block it into the cliff.v

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Date Released On:05/13/2020

Lesson 2 of 2

Starting with the lighthouse, Jerry uses the No. 4 round sable to detail and highlight the structure. The brightness of the lighthouse sets the balance of the value system for the remainder of the painting. Switching to the No. 4 bristle brush, Jerry then highlights the cliffs accordingly, giving the rocks their shape and formation. The shoreline rocks can also be highlighted at this point. Repeating this process with a No. 4 sable brush, final highlights to the rocks provide added definition. Next, gesso is sprayed on the shoreline using a toothbrush to provide the splash/spray and mist effect. Switching back to the bristle brush, the next level of movement can be added to the water. Finally, the sable brush with pure white is used to provide the final highlights and caps to the waves. Continuing with the sable brush, pine trees can be added to the shore cliff to provide added interest and shape with the use of good negative space. Final touches are then applied with the script brush adding seagulls to give a coastal atmosphere to the painting. A simple painting that has many lessons in process and a result that is fun for your viewers. They will be impressed.

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Date Released On:05/13/2020

Study Series: Waterfalls

Date Released: 05/12/2009

Difficulty:  Beginner

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Lesson 1 of 1

In this study, Jerry takes his students step-by-step through the process of creating a waterfall, with special emphasis on the proper under-painting values and colors for the under-painting of the rocks and the water. Then he shows how to put successive layers of highlights to establish the form and details of the rocks and falling water.

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Date Released On:05/12/2020

Study Series: Sunsets

Date Released: 05/12/2009

Difficulty:  Beginner

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Lesson 1 of 1

In this study, Jerry shows his students how to use the 2-inch hake brush and the wet-on-wet technique to create a beautiful sunset. He also uses a photo of the sunset as his reference material and how to convert it into the painting.

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Date Released On:05/12/2020

America’s Pride (Bald Eagle) & Broken Pots 2

Date Released: 05/12/2009

Difficulty:  Intermediate

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Lesson 1 of 5

This is a great, very small, painting of the head of a bald eagle. In this first episode, Jerry shows how to prepare the canvas for a bird painting. Then proceeds to show the proper mottling techniques to create the proper background for the eagle’s head. Then shows examples of other miniature bird and animal paintings.

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Date Released On:05/12/2020

Lesson 2 of 5

In this episode, Jerry shows how to sketch in the Eagle’s head using a white Conte Pastel Pencil. Then proceeds to show how to under-paint the head, beak, eye, and shoulder with the proper under-painting tones. Also Jerry gives a great description of how to use the correct brushes and techniques for blocking in feathers.

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Date Released On:05/12/2020

Lesson 3 of 5

In this episode, Jerry shows how to put final details and high lights on the eagle’s beak, eye, head and shoulder. He shows the proper use of brushes and consistency of paint to achieve the layering effect on the feathers and adding a few tree limbs. In the second half of this episode, Jerry begins a new acrylic painting called “Broken Pots 2”. (Some old discarded Indian pots in the snow.) Again, properly preparing the 5x8 horizontal canvas and showing how to paint in the background using the Hake Brush.

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Date Released On:05/12/2020

Lesson 4 of 5

In this episode, Jerry shows how to sketch in the pots using proper composition techniques to create good eye flow. Then he shows how to under-paint each pot with the appropriate colors using specific brushes and blending techniques to achieve roundness to each pot.

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Date Released On:05/12/2020

Lesson 5 of 5

In this final episode, Jerry shows how to paint the final highlights on each pot. Then, shows how to use small brushes to apply the design to each pot. Now he shows how to under-paint the shadowed part of the snow on and around the pots. Then he applies the highlights on the snow and then with the Script Brush paints in the tall weeds. Then, he adds a few final highlights and details throughout the painting.

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Date Released On:05/12/2020