Portrait Painting

Portrait Painting

Adult Class | Registration opens Monday, July 6, 2026 8:00 AM EDT

All levels welcome.
9/8/2026-11/10/2026
6:30 PM-9:30 PM EDT on Tue
Download iCalendar
$325.00
$295.00
$72.00
$20.00

Portrait Painting

Adult Class | Registration opens Monday, July 6, 2026 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:
- The basic structure and anatomy of the head/face
- Simplifying form to planes
- Alla prima techniques for portrait painting
- Drawing the features as homework assignments

  • - Palette with enough surface to mix colors (can be disposable)
    - (2) #4 filbert bristle brushes (Silver Grand Prix Extra Long preferred or Blick Masterstroke)
    - (2) #6 filbert bristle brushes (Silver Grand Prix Extra Long preferred or Blick Masterstroke)
    - Gamsol and container with lid
    - Viva paper towels (smooth not waffle)
    - 12 x 16 stretched canvas (1 for each class)
    - Palette knife

    Suggested palette:
    - Ultramarine Blue
    - Cerulean Blue (can be Hue)
    - Viridian
    - Sap Green
    - Titanium White
    - Cadmium Yellow Light
    - Yellow Ochre
    - Raw Sienna
    - Cadmium Orange or Cadmium Orange Hue
    - Cadmium Red Light
    - Permanent Rose
    - Cobalt Violet
    - Burnt Sienna
    - Raw Umber

David Heshmatpour

Dave (he/him) is a multidisciplinary visual artist working in painting, sculpture, drawing, and digital photography. He earned a degree in Applied Science, specializing in welding technology, before graduating with a BFA specializing in painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 2020. He lives and works alongside his very good dog Ruskin in Philadelphia.