today's Oil Portrait at the Hawkesbury Community Arts Workshop, 60 minutes

RAS Portrait Course week 6

this week we continued on the same way with some 1 & 3 minute sketchesto warm up and concentrate on just getting the head structure and angles of the head in various head positions.
Followed by a longer sketch and then just doing one position for the rest of the session.

getting some things ready for the Hawksbury Art Fair

RAS Portrait Course week 5

continuing on with Robert as our sitter this week

RAS Portrait Course week 4

Robert was our sitter this week and again we started with some 1minute and 3 minute sketches in various positions, followed by a longer drawing and then one pose for the rest of the session. We will repeat the same pose next week for those that want to finish their paintings.

Graeme

This week at the regular Saturday afternoon  monthly portrait group at Richmond Art Supplies, Graeme, who is usually a regular attendee as an artist, switched roles and became this month's sitter!

RAS Portrait Course week 3

We had Elissa back again this week and started with with 1 minute, then 3 minute, a 20 minute and then some longer poses, again using watercolour...  different papers can produce different results

RAS Portrait Course week 2

This week I arranged the model, Elissa who is an art student who also models and we worked through a series of 3 minute head studies, a 20 minute one and a  longer pose where some drew, or painted with oils or watercolour.

RAS Portrait Course Week 1

RAS Portrait Course, Week 1,  started with a little uncertainty, phone calls had not been returned... I was not sure that it really was going ahead, how many might be there? what to bring? and what about a sitter?
My plan was to start with short, 3 minute head studies which I think would be a really good way to warm up and  focus on the structure of the head and not details and with a variety of angles you don't get in a conventional sitting, follow up with a longer drawing and then do a painting for the rest of the session.
When I arrived, Christine who oversees the RAS there said that a model hadn't been arranged, but she managed to grab a member of another group who was just leaving... who could only stay for half the session.
Not quite as I had hoped but we still did manage, short sketches, a longer sketch and a short painting... and I sat for a study for the rest of the session. Not very many in the class but hopefully it will pick up. This week we used oils, but there was a consensus to give watercolours a try next time.

I have been asked by the Royal Art Society of New South Wales to run their Wednesday afternoon Portrait Painting course this term at their location in Lavender Bay. I don't have any art school training and so I considered this for a while before deciding to go ahead with it.

The confidence that I can do this comes mainly from the three Portrait workshops I have done with Susan Cesarini, David Kassan and Evert Pleog, the numerous portrait demonstrations in front of live audiences (about 17), and the  portrait  and life drawing groups I attend regularly, the involvment with online forums such as Wet Canvas all building on the desire from a young age to follow this passion. I may not have reached yet the standard I want to achieve, but I do feel I have something I can contribute to others development in most areas regarding portraiture.

 My idea of this course will be more 'What they don't tell you in Art School!' than a formal academic approach, and the goal of the course will be to enjoy the experience of developing and improving individual skills and confidence in the art of Portraiture.

The principle medium used will be oil paints but the course will not be limited to one particular method or style and the intent will be to build competence, confidence and originality in being able to portray a likeness in a variety of mediums and methods.

The focus will be on developing confidence to paint 'alla prima' with short poses but will also include developing a more finished result over longer poses.

Some of the topics to be covered will be

Materials, Paints, Grounds, brushes etc.

Structure of the head, how to depict with painting and drawing.

Alla Prima Painting in oil paint.

Building up a painting over more than one sitting.

Using other Mediums, Pencil, Pastel, Watercolour.