Foundations of Portraiture: Draw & Paint

Service Description

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a firm foundation in the basics of head drawing, and to give an introduction to portrait painting in oils. The course will focus on developing students’ understanding of the structure of the head through constructive line drawing from life, before progressing to drawing in tonal masses as a preparation for painting, and finally to painting in monochrome. This course is aimed at beginner artists and those wishing to brush up on their head-drawing fundamentals. It focuses heavily on drawing, since drawing is the foundation of visual understanding, and the bedrock upon which painting skill is built. As such, the course is highly recommended as a precursor to the “Portrait Painting in Oil: Intermediate” course. Course Structure Week 1) Introduction; Proportions of the Head and Neck; The Skull Week 2) The Skull (cont.) Week 3) Constructive Head Drawing 1 Week 4) Constructive Head Drawing 2 Week 5) Constructive Head Drawing 3 Week 6) The Planes of the Head; Intro to Drawing with Tonal Masses Week 7) Drawing with Tonal Masses 1 Week 8) Drawing with Tonal Masses 2 Week 9) Painting the head in monochrome 1 Week 10) Painting the head in monochrome 2 Materials EDS provides Drawing, weeks 1 - 8 • 3B Drawing pencil • Heavyweight smooth white paper, around A3 size • Charcoal ◦ willow charcoal / - compressed charcoal sticks or pencils • Eraser Student provides: • Kneaded Eraser • Sketchbook • Nitram graded charcoal • 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 9&10) • Brushes - ◦ A selection of good quality natural hog hair brushes in a variety of shapes and sizes. I recommend long flats, filberts and pointed round brushes. Make sure you have at least one medium sized (around 1cm wide) and one large (around 2.5 cm wide) brush (2 or 3 is better) • Palette knife • Jars with lids • Paper towel or rags Oil paints: • Lead or titanium white (or both) • Ivory black Solvents and medium • Gamsol / Sansodor DO NOT USE white spirit or turpentine • Cold Pressed Linseed Oil / Refined Linseed Oil Supports: • A3 Clairefontaine Canvas Pad, canvas board or stretched canvas

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