Portrait Painting in Oil: Intermediate

Service Description

Alla prima portrait painting in oils - this class will be challenging, but equally rewarding, offering extensive opportunities for students to practise their technique. This course will develop students' skills in portraiture using an Alla Prima approach and the use of a limited palette. Students will work on a series of simple portrait sketches of 1 - 2 sittings, before working on a final portrait for 3 sittings. For the final portrait, students may choose either to develop a head and shoulders portrait to a higher degree of finish or work on a larger (eg half length) portrait sketch. The course will include a demonstration, a refresher on proportions of the head, as well as keys to obtaining a likeness. Emphasis will be given to careful observation from nature and broad, confident modelling of form. Course Structure Week 1) Introduction, refresher on proportion, demo sketch Week 2) portrait sketch 1 Week 3) portrait sketch 2 Week 4) 3 hour demo by Lewis. This will be projected onto the wall and you will not paint this week. Replace your paintbrushes for popcorn week 4! Week 5) portrait sketch 3 Weeks 6&7) portrait sketch 4 Weeks 8,9&10) final portrait 5 Materials • Sketchbook • Drawing pencil • Heavyweight smooth white paper, around A3 size • Charcoal ◦ willow charcoal / Nitram graded charcoal & compressed charcoal sticks or pencils • Eraser • Kneaded eraser • Knitting needle/kebab stick • Chamois (shammy cloth) • Plumb line and bob • Small mirror • Black mirror (a smartphone screen is perfect) • An old fan brush or (clean) makeup brush Painting (weeks 2 – 10) • Brushes - ◦ A selection of good quality natural hog hair brushes in a variety of shapes and sizes, for example – ▪ long flats sizes 0, 4, 6, and 10 ▪ filberts sizes 0, 4, 6 and 10 ▪ pointed rounds sizes 1, 4 and 8 Ideally, you would have 3 of each brush • Palette for mixing colour • Palette knife • Jars with lids • Paper towel or rags Oil paint Essential • Lead or titanium white (or both) • Yellow ochre • Vermillion, or an equivalent such as anthraquinone scarlet (I use Old Holland Bright Red) or cadmium red • Ivory black • Transparent oxide red OR burnt umber Oil paints (recommended) • Cadmium yellow lemon • Alizarin crimson • Cobalt blue Solvents and medium • Gamsol / Sansodor DO NOT USE white spirit or turpentine • Cold Pressed Linseed Oil / Refined Linseed Oil Supports: • A3 Clairefontaine Linen Canvas Pad • Final portrait can be painted on a linen canvas if you wish, 50x60cms

Cancellation Policy

We will provide a 50% refund if you give written advance notice up to 30 days before the course start date. 0% refund 30 days before a course starts. Please note there is an administration fee of £5 payable in respect of such refunds to cover payment processing fees. You will need to inform a member of administration staff in writing by emailing EDS at info@edinburghdrawingschool.co.uk. Additionally, if you withdraw for any reason after the course has started you will not be entitled to a refund. We are a small business and we depend on every booking to ensure that classes can go ahead. If a student is unable to attend a class due to illness, then EDS must be informed immediately so that the tutor can be notified. If you are missing a class because you suspect that you have developed Covid-19, please let us know immediately so that we can alert fellow student and tutors. Non-attendance of classes/workshops does not automatically mean a refund, however EDS will assess the circumstance

Contact Details

• 13A Great King Street, Edinburgh, UK

  + 0131 556 0971

  info@edinburghdrawingschool.co.uk