A NEW COURSE BY SERGIY LYSYY
Complex Scene, Simple Painting: Venice in Tone and a Few Washes
A Venetian scene looks unpaintable: a million details you could copy for hours. Sergiy paints it another way. Get the tone right, and a few washes carry the whole scene. You start seeing what matters and stop drowning in detail.
3 paintings • 8 hours of Full HD video • Lifetime access
At a glance
Your painting does not fall apart on the details. It falls apart on the tone.
Sergiy Lysyy · Signature Member, National Watercolor Society (USA) · Member, Accademia Internazionale dell'Acquerello (Italy) · Ambassador of ROSA Paints · 1st place, IWS Mexico
«Tone is number one in painting. Always number one».
Mass and tone first, the light and the dark set before anything else. A few washes hold the scene, the white of the paper stays alive, and detail comes last, only where it earns its place. That order holds whether you paint a sunlit canal, a bridge at rest, or San Marco at midnight.
Your painting does not fall apart on the details. It falls apart on the tone.
Sergiy Lysyy · Signature Member, National Watercolor Society (USA) · Member, Accademia Internazionale dell'Acquerello (Italy) · Ambassador of ROSA Paints · 1st place, IWS Mexico
«Tone is number one in painting. Always number one».
Mass and tone first, the light and the dark set before anything else. A few washes hold the scene, the white of the paper stays alive, and detail comes last, only where it earns its place. That order holds whether you paint a sunlit canal, a bridge at rest, or San Marco at midnight.
Is this right for you?
Every painter below leaves this course with one specific skill
You start clean and the scene looks right. Then you add detail, layer after layer, and the whole thing goes dull and muddy. You need a method that sets the light first and protects it to the end.
Every window, every brick, every ripple. You try to paint each one and the painting turns stiff. You need a way to read a scene as a few shapes, not a thousand strokes.
With the video on, it works. On your own photo, the painting goes flat. You need to hear why each tone and each mark is chosen, not just what to do next.
You can see the scene has too much going on, but you keep adding, afraid to lose it. You need to know where to stop before the painting turns heavy.
Sergiy’s approach
A scene with a thousand details is painted with a few shapes, not a thousand strokes.
Sergiy does not read a window as a window. He sees a shape, a spot of light, a dark, and puts it down. The eye fills in the rest. This is how a facade full of detail becomes a few honest marks that still read as Venice.
He works with a small set of colors and keeps the white of the paper alive from the first layer. Nothing muddy, nothing overworked. You learn where to stop before the painting turns heavy.
«I don’t get into what it is. I just see a shape and put it down» — Sergiy Lysyy
Course program
The method stays the same. The city changes
Lesson 1. Autumn Venice
A bright canal at noon, warm rooftops, a white palazzo against an open sky. You build the scene as mass and tone first, hold the contrast, and keep the whites glowing without touching them.
Lesson 2. The Venetian Bridge
A quiet canal, a gondola, a stone bridge in soft backlight. You work almost in one color, soften the foreground, and let the light carry a calm, lyrical scene.
Lesson 3. The Golden Square
San Marco at midnight, a lit portal, wet reflections underfoot. The subject looks impossibly complex. You paint it in a few washes, with tone and light doing the heavy work.
Lesson sample
See the method before you decide. One lesson, start to finish
What you will paint
Three finished Venice paintings, built the same way:
tone first, a few washes, light left to glow
What you will paint
Three finished Venice paintings, built the same way:
tone first, a few washes, light left to glow
Meet your instructor: Sergiy Lysyy
«The most important thing is information. That's how we paint» — Sergiy Lysyy
- Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society, USA
- Member of the Accademia Internazionale dell'Acquerello, Italy
- Ambassador of ROSA Paints
- 1st place, IWS Mexico, 2019. 1st place, ABURAWASH Prize, 2017. Prizewinner, GAWA Best of Landscape, 2018
- Work exhibited across Italy, the USA, China, and Taiwan. His painting “Villa Falconieri-Frascati” appeared on the cover of the festival catalog in Frascati, Italy
I paint Venice the way I see it, not the way the camera does. Get the tone right, keep the light,
and the rest takes care of itself. That is what I want to show you here
Sergiy does not teach at any other international school. You will find this course only at Artefacto
What you will achieve
This is what changes when you finish the year. Not "learned a technique". Something more permanent.
Tone under control
You set the light and dark first, so the scene holds together from the start.
Whites without masking fluid
You plan where the paper stays white and keep the glow to the last stroke.
Simplify what looks impossible
You read a complex scene as a few shapes and paint it in a few washes.
Know what to leave out
You stop before the painting turns heavy and muddy.
A few colors, one brush
You get a full scene from a small, simple set of tools.
A method that travels
The same approach works on any city scene, not only Venice.
Support and feedback
During the course you get personal feedback from professionals and a creative community around you.
Learning gets easier and more interesting
Get individual written feedback on your paintings
- 3 detailed reviews of your final paintings + 1 creative task within the first 75 days.
- Professional feedback from a curator - Olga Karlsson (Premium plan)
- Expert critique from an academically trained fine artist.
Join our international and artistic community
- Connect with like-minded artists, share advice and feedback.
- Join daily discussions on drawings and art-related topics.
- Enjoy a welcoming space moderated by our Community Manager and Support Team.
Certificate of completion for Premium Plan
Upon completion of the course for the students of Premium plan we issue a certificate. The certificate could be used as a proof of your qualification's upgrade at work (if it is related to arts) and for your private affairs as a recognition of your mastery in painting.
CHOOSE YOUR PLAN
Early bird offer
Standard Plan
- 9 video lessons in Full HD by Sergiy Lysyy
- 3 watercolor works by the end of the course
- 24/7 access from any location, at your own pace
- LIFETIME access to the video lessons
- Access to the moderated students' community on WhatsApp
- Final project (your own painting)
Premium Plan
- 9 video lessons in Full HD by Sergiy Lysyy
- 3 watercolor works by the end of the course
- 24/7 access from any location, at your own pace
- LIFETIME access to the video lessons
- Access to the moderated students' community on WhatsApp
- Final project (your own painting)
Standard Plan
- 9 video lessons in Full HD by Sergiy Lysyy
- 3 watercolor works by the end of the course
- 24/7 access from any location, at your own pace
- LIFETIME access to the video lessons
- Access to the moderated students' community on WhatsApp
- Final project (your own painting)
Premium Plan
- 9 video lessons in Full HD by Sergiy Lysyy
- 3 watercolor works by the end of the course
- 24/7 access from any location, at your own pace
- LIFETIME access to the video lessons
- Access to the moderated students' community on WhatsApp
- Final project (your own painting)
Risk-Free Learning. We Care About You
100% guarantee
If after 1 to 2 lessons within the first week this approach is not for you, you get your money back. *within 14 days after payment
Freeze for Premium plan
Start date is not convenient? We freeze the course (1 time free of charge).
Freedom and Flexibility
Access any time. Go at your pace. Smartphone, tablet, or laptop.
Materials
You probably have most of what you need
- Paints: ROSA watercolors (Royal Blue, Orange, Neapolitan tones, Lavender), plus Holbein, Daniel Smith, Mijello / Mission Gold (Horizon Blue, Turquoise, Cobalt Turquoise)
- Brushes: a universal round (GrandArt or similar), a Chinese calligraphy brush, classic rounds size 12 to 14, a strong synthetic round, a flat brush for washes and sky, a large soft brush for water, and a small brush for fine detail
- Paper: Saunders Waterford, 300 gsm or heavier
- Extras: palette, graphite pencil, spray bottles, hair dryer, melamine sponge, masking fluid, paper towels
These are suggestions. Use what you already own
FAQ
Still have questions?
Our team is here to help. Not sure which plan is right for you? Just reach out — we'll guide you in a few minutes.
Contact us
You have looked at a Venetian canal, or San Marco at night, and thought it was too much to paint. Too many windows, too many details, too much going on. It was never about the details. It was about the tone you covered and the light you lost.
«It may seem very complicated, a million details. But everything is very simple» —
Sergiy Lysyy