Drawing: Intro to Portraits
Adult Class | Available
Ready to try portrait drawing but not quite ready to dive into a full figure class? This four-week introduction offers a welcoming way to begin. Through guided exercises and demonstrations, students will explore the fundamentals of portrait drawing, including proportion, structure, value, and likeness. The class will culminate in a portrait drawing from a live model, giving students an opportunity to put their new skills into practice.
What You Will Learn:
- Understand the basic proportions and structure of the head
- Use value and shading to create the appearance of three-dimensional form
- Develop a portrait with greater accuracy, expression, and likeness
Who This Class Is For:
Beginners and students looking to learn the fundamentals of portrait drawing, including proportion, shading, and likeness. Questions about whether this class is right for you? Email adulteducation@fleisher.org.
- - 9 x 12" drawing pad or sketchbook with good-quality white drawing paper
- 2B graphite pencil with eraser
- 0.3 or 0.5 mm mechanical pencil with 2B lead (or similar)
- Kneaded eraser
- Mono Zero or similar precision eraser
- Pencil sharpener
Barbara Zanelli
Barbara graduated with a B.F.A. in Illustration from Syracuse University in 1999, and immediately moved to NYC. She met success in shows at Figureworks Gallery and Get Real Art, but felt drawn to study classical painting in Florence, Italy. She lived there for one year studying drawing under Mario Pachioli. Then in 2004, she moved to Philadelphia on a full scholarship to study with Nelson Shanks at Studio Incamminati. It was here that she developed her portrait painting, drawing and color theory skills. She left the atelier in 2006 to work on a series of large paintings depicting figures of Greek mythology and began to explore landscape painting. After travelling and painting extensively, Barbara returned to Incamminati to finish the Professional Program in 2015 and served as a teaching fellow for two years. In addition to Fleisher, she currently teaches painting and drawing at Studio Incamminati, Wayne Art Center, Main Line Art Center, Abington Art Center, Journey’s Way, and Repenning Fine Arts in Audubon, NJ. You can visit her website to view more artwork at barbarazanelli.com.