3 Day Portrait Workshop - October 4-6, 2024
October 4-6, 2024
10:00am to 4:15pm daily (with 45 min for lunch)
Tutors: Sally Ryan & Ben Ryan
In this workshop, participants will develop a single portrait painting of a live model over three days. It is suitable for students with any level of experience.
Students will start by creating a portrait drawing, which will be transferred to a canvas or board. We will then take paintings through a set of stages from an initial block in through to a carefully-modelled oil portrait. All aspects of this process will be discussed and demonstrated, and individual feedback will be tailored to the needs and interests of each student. Concepts covered include drawing, proportion, gesture, tone, colour-mixing, paint application, materials and more.
It is strongly recommended that complete beginners focus on drawing for the workshop, as good draughtsmanship is always at the core of good painting.
MATERIALS
For drawing:
- A2 size cartridge paper
- HB+2B pencil
- Kneadable eraser
For painting:
- Brushes – we recommend bringing brushes in a range of shapes and sizes. We tend to use primarily hog-hair filbert brushes, at least initially. We also recommend bringing a few softer brushes for softening edges. It is also useful to have a few flat brushes, as well as some small round brushes for details. A soft fan brush can also be useful for softening edges.
*Brushes must be in good condition. In terms of brand, for the hog-hair brushes we quite like the following brands: Isabey, Rosemary, Robert Simmons Signet, Escoda, Da Vinci. Some of these are only available online.
- Board/canvas – approx. 14x16 inches or a bit larger. Working to a smaller size may be restrictive.
We recommend toning your surface with a mid-tone neutral grey colour (raw umber with white for instance). It must be dry prior to the class. This can be -done with oil paint or, if you’re using an acrylic-primed canvas, acrylic paint. Acrylic paints are not to be used during the class though.
- Palette Knife – Metal, not plastic
- Wooden Palette (the studio is also able to supply palettes for use during class)
- Paper towel
- Rags (old T-shirts etc. are good
Pigments:
The following oil colours are essential –
- White (Cremnitz/Lead/Flake OR Titanium)
- A bright yellow (e.g.Cadmium Yellow, Cad Yellow Pale or Cad Yellow Lemon)
- Yellow Ochre
- Cadmium Red Light (or Vermilion)
- An earth red (e.g. Transparent Red Oxide, Burnt Sienna, Venetian Red, English Red)
- Alizarin Crimson or Alizarin Claret
- Raw Umber
- Ultramarine Blue
- Ivory Black
*We mostly use Michael Harding and Old Holland paints but they are expensive because they have higher levels of pigment than student quality paints. Any artist quality paints are acceptable -Windsor & Newton, Gamblin, Rembrandt etc - do not buy oil paint sets.
For our workshops, students can use studio paint at a cost of $10 per day.