Portrait Painting (Tuesday)
Adult Class | Registration opens Monday, October 20, 2025 8:00 AM EDT
This beginner to intermediate course in oils (or acrylic) will approach portraiture from a sculptural standpoint, highlighting the basic bony landmarks of the face and skull and using color/value to define major planes and movements of each feature. Moving from large, simple shapes of the face under light, students will transition their thinking from flat abstraction into three-dimensional form.
What you will learn:
1. The basic structure and anatomy of the head/face
2. Simplifying form to planes
3. Alla prima techniques for portrait painting
4. Drawing the features as homework assignment
• Surfaces - medium to large surfaces (12x16-18x24). Just bring 1 or 2 surfaces to the first class. Surface material could be pre-stretched canvas, gessoed panels, canvas paper, gessoed cardboard, yupo paper. Canvas panels are a very convenient option
• Brushes - medium size for oil or acrylic. Suggest Flats (#8, #4) and Rounds (0-000). Either natural hair or synthetic. Bristles tend to work best with oil, and synthetics work well with acrylic. Brushes will be discussed in more in the first class, if unsure please just bring whatever brushes you already have on hand.
• Gamsol
• Oil medium if using oil paint. Suggest Alkyd mediums such as Liquin, Utrecht Glazing Medium (not Walnut Alkyd medium). These mediums are very easy to use and will be discussed first session.
• Large paper palette for mixing paint
• Palette knife
• Paper towels/rags (blue shop towels)
Paints - warm and cool of each primary (this is the suggested palette, but is not mandatory):
• Titanium white
• Ivory Black
• Burnt Umber
• Raw Sienna
• Ultramarine Blue
• Cerulean or Cobalt Turquoise
• Cadmium Vermillion or Permanent Red
• Cadmium Yellow Deep
• Cadmium Lemon
• Quinacridone Magenta
*Use middle expense brands like Gamblin, Utrecht, and Rembrandt. Stay away from "student grades", these paints have very little pigment in them and will be difficult to use.
Expanded palette (less expensive alternatives in parentheses):
• Cadmium Lemon (Cadmium Hue, or Permanent version)
• Cadmium Yellow Medium or Deep (Cadmium Hue, or Permanent version)
• Cadmium Orange (Cadmium Hue, or Permanent version)
• (Naphthol Red [preferred]) or Cadmium Red Light
• Quinacridone Magenta
• Ultramarine Blue
• Cobalt Turquoise Blue (Cerulean)
• Viridian
• Permanent green or Light Green
• Ivory Black
• Flake White or Titanium White
• Yellow Ochre (Light)
• Burnt Umber
• Cobalt blue
• Dioxazine Purple
• Raw Umber
• Raw Sienna
• Caput Mortuum
• Alizarin Crimson
• Indian Yellow Deep or Extra Deep