There is so much interest in portraiture now and I love being able to offer classes in this genre. It's my favourite! So I’m happy to announce a brand new online portrait workshop at The Winslow Art Center as well as the return of a workshop that had a large waitlist when I taught it in the spring.
Both are detailed below:
Portraits with the Masters
Tuesdays Sept. 16 - Oct. 7
online at The Winslow Art Center
Master copies are invaluable to becoming a stronger, more intentional painter and Portraits with the Masters is centered on them.
I’ve found that painters feel a bit squeamish about copying work, worrying that it’s a sign of moral or creative laziness, but I aim is to firmly dispel that notion!
Master copies have made me the painter that I am. I’m largely self taught, having plowed through a few how-to books and a small number of workshops, none of which helped me paint precisely how I wanted to paint. Over the years I’ve made many master copies. When I find an unforgettable, magical painting, I’ll copy it to try to find out what makes it so compelling. Usually, I make small copies, but sometimes I work large, trying to capture some of the energy of the original brushwork as in this 30 x 40” distillation of Sorolla’s The Bath, Javea which hangs over my bed and which never ceases to amaze me -not for my efforts in colour and brushwork, but for the insights into Sorolla’s composition, colour and value control that I gain from it every single time that I see it. Sorry for the low quality image but you get the gist:)
In this workshop, we’ll focus on portraiture.
To prepare, I copied - briefly and without the appropriate tiny, crisp brushes - a piece by Euan Uglow that I’ve always loved for the colour and close value in the flesh tones. I was surprised by the mixtures that made these hues - so much earthier than I expected - and loved using black with abandon.
Then, I tried a portrait from my own references with Uglow in mind.
Uglow worked slowwwly and from life. Mine was done in an afternoon from a photo, but I still learned from the process. I like the edginess of his work. He was unabashedly firm at the perimeter of forms and that crispness is exciting to try for me since my perimeters are mush:). Even the shadowed eye sockets are outlined which is not something I’d ever think to do, but his example gave me permission.
I also liked trying to be very decisive about the hue and value of each shape, simplifying to essentials, especially in the sky and hair. The skin is definitely influenced by Uglow’s which is a wonder of warms and cools: purples, greens, and peaches.
In all, it was an exercise in painting in a way that’s not my own. I got to feel what it was like to make decisions that I wouldn’t normally make and to discover how I felt about them on my canvas.
I keep all of my master copies as reminders that there are so many more ways to paint than the one way that keeps coming out of my brushes. They are teachers and inspirations.
In Portraits with the Masters, we’ll do 2 master copies. I’ll choose one artist to copy (though not the specific portrait) and each painter will be able to choose the second one for themselves; picking a portrait that holds magic for them.
Then, we’ll take what these copies have taught us and apply them to our own portraits, incorporating some of what we’ve explored into our own style and subject matter.
You can find the full course description and registration here.
Portraiture: Playful and Unexpected
Mondays, Sept. 15 -Oct. 6
online at The Winslow Art Center
This is a workshop that had a huge waitlist in the spring so jump on it quickly!
It’s a class that stresses experimentation in palettes, stylization and composition, while keeping the basics of portraiture firmly in the forefront. I have the traditional painter’s obsession with form and accurate proportion and this workshop will emphasize that.
To read the full course description and to register, click here.
As always, the classes are recorded and will be available for 60 days after the final lesson.
Each class has a private message board to upload homework and ask questions, and each piece that you upload is addressed in a low-pressure critique. I also add a bonus, week 5 critique class that is about 1.5 hours long in which I cover the homework from week 4.
I hope you’ll join me in one of these workshops!
Happy painting!
**At the time of writing, the course images on The Winslow site are not shown on the correct workshops, so please disregard the fact that my Uglow-inspired woman is on the Portraiture: Playful and Unexpected course. The course descriptions and titles are accurate and the image mix up will be corrected shortly:)