From Strong Portraits To Fully Resolved Contemporary Paintings
COMPLETE is a self-paced program that takes you from realist portrait foundations to paintings where background, composition, colour, and figure truly work together.
ENROL TODAY ⟶
How many times have you stopped in front of a canvas, not knowing where to go next?
Or you spent days refining the portrait — and then stared at the background, completely lost?
How often have you dreamed of creating paintings that could hang in a gallery?
Most realist schools teach you structure, likeness, technique.
But painting doesn't end there.
The background, the surface, the materials, generating ideas, developing a personal visual language — all just as important, all just as learnable.
COMPLETE teaches the creative process in its entirety.
Inside, you'll learn both the realist techniques and beyond.
You'll learn how to give your portraits depth and emotional impact — and then how to take those skills further, experimenting with materials and compositions, taking risks, pushing boundaries, until the work takes a completely new shape.
“Rosso teaches all the classical foundations of portrait painting, then gives them a contemporary twist. I went from stiff portraits to contemporary work with ‘crazy’ backgrounds.”
Sharon Blake, UK
"I'm definetely finding my own style thanks to you! ... I always feel stuck with the background but creating texture and patterns with stencils spoke to me. Also, simplifying my palette realizing that just a touch of right colour could cool everything down changed my approach"
Saniya, France
“After years away from the easel, I thought my painting days were behind me. Rosso’s guiding presence, experimental approach and focus brought the painter in me back.”
Paula Michele Wagoner, Florida
COMPLETE is built on over 15 years of studio practice.
I trained briefly at a classical atelier — and quickly realised that if I wanted to create the kind of work I was drawn to — bold, contemporary, impactful — I would have to figure the rest out myself. So I locked myself in the studio. Years of experimentation, failures, and breakthroughs. When things finally clicked, my work changed radically — collectors started buying, thousands of artists began following me on Instagram and asking to learn from me.
COMPLETE is the culmination of that process, refined, streamlined, systematised — so that you don't need years of trial and error to create work you love.
My work, when the method clicked:
I structured COMPLETE to closely mirror my own artistic journey. Inside, you'll learn exactly the tools, the mindset and method that helped me refine, loosen up and transform my portraits into contemporary paintings where realism and abstraction merge.
This is what we'll cover:
REALIST PORTRAITURE
Master the classical foundations that make portraits convincing: head structure, plane analysis, and how to mix realistic skin tones for any complexion—from porcelain to deep brown and black.
Through 7+ complete portrait demonstrations, you'll develop the technical clarity to paint faces that actually resemble your subjects and feel alive on canvas
ABSTRACT BACKGROUNDS in MIXED-MEDIA
Learn to build layered mixed-media grounds using unconventional tools—gold leaf, spray paint, stencils, acrylics over oils—that give contemporary figurative work its distinctive edge.
You'll discover how texture and abstract pattern elevate rather than compete with your subject.
BLENDING FIGURATIVE WITH ABSTRACT
This is where classical skill meets contemporary vision. You'll learn to merge figure and background so they feel intentional—not separate elements forced together—and push beyond conventional centered-portrait compositions.
12+ hours of complete painting demonstrations showing how to plan, execute, and finish work confidently — shaped by your own decisions.
Each module builds on the last to guide you step by step, but you’re free to pause, repeat, or skip as needed.
Click below to see every lesson and demo inside COMPLETE
Explore the full curriculumCOMPLETE is for painters who:
✔ Love portraiture and want to learn how to capture likeness, proportion, and personality
✔ Struggle with backgrounds and don't know how to make them work with the figure
✔ Want to introduce mixed media into their work
✔Are curious about how paintings are actually made — from the first idea to the last brushstroke
✔ Want to explore and develop a personal style
✔ Are ready to experiment — mixing traditional techniques with contemporary, unconventional approaches
“Rosso teaches all the classical foundations of portrait painting, then gives them a contemporary twist. I went from stiff portraits to more alive, contemporary work with ‘crazy’ backgrounds, lost edges, and bolder colour. I can’t believe how much I’ve learnt so far and how motivated I feel to work hard and experiment” (Sharon Blake, UK)
Here's everything inside COMPLETE:
✔Instant access to 60+ hours of step‑by‑step video lessons and demos
✔Lifetime access to all current and future content inside COMPLETE
✔Downloadable references, guides, and checklists you can keep
✔Assignments and exercises to help you apply each concept
✔A certificate of completion at the end of the program
✔Access to the artist community
✔Subtitles in multiple languages
✔Alumni discounts on future programs
✔Email support
AFTER YOU ENROL,
YOU CAN MOVE THROUGH THE CURRICULUM AT YOUR OWN PACE
Questions I get asked often:
What skill level is this for?
How long do I have access to the program?
Is it good for acrylic painters?
I mostly paint abstractly — will this still help me?
What makes this program different than any others?
How do I know which program is right for me?
Can I upgrade to the Master Path later?
Can I enrol now and start later?
If you prefer to receive feedback and live interaction with me personally, check the MASTER PATH.
It offers the same curriculum as COMPLETE with live monthly sessions, personalised critiques, and extra topics.
Explore the Master Path
Since launching in 2024, over 350 artists of different levels and backgrounds have enrolled in Rosso Art School — radically changing how they approach painting. Here's a sample of what they've created:
Here's how they describe the experience:
“Rosso teached me the human form but also the hidden colors - all the colors out there that you cannot see with a quick glance, and that opens your eyes to a whole different way of looking at the figure...It's nice to have a community where you can go and share ideas. Put yourself out there, you can grow, it's pretty amazing” (Justin S, US)
“It has been an amazing experience. I have learned so much. Her method is mind blowing. What I learned is also the brush work, the patience, experimentation, not to be afraid" (Sabine R., Hawaii)
The link below will take you to a page with more paintings and stories from students
Visit The Student Gallery
If your paintings aren't clicking — if the portraits aren't convincing, the background feels disconnected, the work feels like someone else's — it's not that you're not talented or creative enough. It's a technique problem.
Powerful work is built on awareness and mastery. When you know your tools and understand your process, something shifts — your vision becomes clearer, your path simpler, your confidence grows, and your work starts to reflect who you really are. Not someone else's style. Yours.
That's how COMPLETE is meant to help you.
Ready To Enrol?
It’s time to start creating work you truly love, and people respond to.
"I am very grateful to have met you. You are helping me take my work to another level. I can’t wait to see where it comes out. Thank you!!"
Craig Palmer, Florida (Master Path)
"I love your explanation of the axes and plane shifts on a face and although I paint portraits your method shone a whole new approach to portrait painting. Thank you for explaining this in such a clear way!!"
Janet Moule, US. (Complete Program)
"I have learned so much and created so many new artworks, and they have gained a whole new level of depth and expressiveness. Thanks to your guidance, I finally dare to paint faces and hands — something I never thought I would feel confident doing."
Martina Schubert, Germany
"I’m still on the drawing realism section as I’m savouring every morsel of information and I can’t believe how much I’ve learnt so far and how you have motivated and excited me to work hard and experiment. When I’m not doing the art I’m thinking about it !"
Jill S, US
Meet Rosso,
painter and founder of rossoArtSchool
I've been painting professionally for over 15 years from my studio in London (UK). My work has been exhibited internationally, featured in major art publications, and won several prizes.
In 2024 I founded Rosso Art School — to teach everything I'd spent years figuring out on my own. Over 350 artists worldwide have enrolled since.
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