I’ve been teaching an expressive portraits class on Friday nights. In the first few classes we talked about common pitfalls including the blueberry pancake effect of features floating in the middle of a round face shape. We practiced how to measure proportions quickly, how to see the three dimensional aspects of a face, what makes a good reference photograph (or real life pose), and how to navigate your way through a difficult angle, such as the person looking up. After all that, I figured it was time to let loose a little. I had everyone grab some wet media and something to scribble with. I didn’t have any ink, so I made some with coffee and a bit of leftover clothing dye. My drawing tools for the evening were a chopstick and a paper towel. Other students used household tools like a mascara brush, garden sticks, and bamboo skewers. Hooray for adaptability! We all made a pile of portraits, and enjoyed a very fun evening while our portraits just got better and better.
For the expressive portion of our Expressive Portraits class, we drew some funny and seriously moody old fogies, including Marlon Brando and my puppy – the funniest character challenge of them all, and a playful way to end an evening.
Artworks by Mimi Torchia Boothby, Shima Bhamra, Sophie Frieda, Liz Hejlsberg, Katie Jo Keppinger, Kim Jackson, and Anne Walker.
We’ve opened this class up to newcomers! If you have some experience drawing, you are welcome to jump in for a 2 or 4 week slice of this ongoing portraits session. It will be great to see you!
This is our last post in our list of Faves from the 30 Day Challenge. We received hundreds of creations throughout the month. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED! The next 30SAL post will include prizes and awards for our tip pics, and special recognition for the artists who completed all 30. Below are some …
A Supermoon happens when a Full Moon or New Moon coincides with the Moon’s closest approach to Earth. The moon has not been this close to the Earth since January 26th, 1948. The next time a Full Moon is even closer to Earth will be November 25th, 2034. [image_with_animation image_url=”3045″ alignment=”” animation=”None Clouds come from time …
DRAWING FROM OBSERVATION I like to draw from observation. I like to study what I see, and experiment with how I see it. My goal is not realism, my goal is to find and discover. Every time I look at something, even something I’ve drawn before, I see things I didn’t see before, things I …
[image_with_animation image_url=”8958″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Alex Walker, an Especially Enjoyable student in my Intermediate Studio class, decided to work on making his brushwork more direct and decisive by doing a study of John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Henry James. Since his pilgrimage to see it in London brought the sad news that the painting …
Marlon Brando, some grumpy old fogies, and my puppy
I’ve been teaching an expressive portraits class on Friday nights. In the first few classes we talked about common pitfalls including the blueberry pancake effect of features floating in the middle of a round face shape. We practiced how to measure proportions quickly, how to see the three dimensional aspects of a face, what makes a good reference photograph (or real life pose), and how to navigate your way through a difficult angle, such as the person looking up. After all that, I figured it was time to let loose a little. I had everyone grab some wet media and something to scribble with. I didn’t have any ink, so I made some with coffee and a bit of leftover clothing dye. My drawing tools for the evening were a chopstick and a paper towel. Other students used household tools like a mascara brush, garden sticks, and bamboo skewers. Hooray for adaptability! We all made a pile of portraits, and enjoyed a very fun evening while our portraits just got better and better.
For the expressive portion of our Expressive Portraits class, we drew some funny and seriously moody old fogies, including Marlon Brando and my puppy – the funniest character challenge of them all, and a playful way to end an evening.
Artworks by Mimi Torchia Boothby, Shima Bhamra, Sophie Frieda, Liz Hejlsberg, Katie Jo Keppinger, Kim Jackson, and Anne Walker.
We’ve opened this class up to newcomers! If you have some experience drawing, you are welcome to jump in for a 2 or 4 week slice of this ongoing portraits session. It will be great to see you!
Expressive Portraits
Fridays 6:00-10:00pm PST
Join us!
There’s also a digital portraits class starting on Saturday mornings. Check it out!
Portrait Painting with Procreate
4 Saturdays 10:00-1:00pm PST
Starts this Saturday!
And now… puppies!
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This is our last post in our list of Faves from the 30 Day Challenge. We received hundreds of creations throughout the month. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED! The next 30SAL post will include prizes and awards for our tip pics, and special recognition for the artists who completed all 30. Below are some …
Supermoon
A Supermoon happens when a Full Moon or New Moon coincides with the Moon’s closest approach to Earth. The moon has not been this close to the Earth since January 26th, 1948. The next time a Full Moon is even closer to Earth will be November 25th, 2034. [image_with_animation image_url=”3045″ alignment=”” animation=”None Clouds come from time …
20 Minute Increments
DRAWING FROM OBSERVATION I like to draw from observation. I like to study what I see, and experiment with how I see it. My goal is not realism, my goal is to find and discover. Every time I look at something, even something I’ve drawn before, I see things I didn’t see before, things I …
Looking Closely at JS Sargent’s Portrait of Henry James
[image_with_animation image_url=”8958″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Alex Walker, an Especially Enjoyable student in my Intermediate Studio class, decided to work on making his brushwork more direct and decisive by doing a study of John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Henry James. Since his pilgrimage to see it in London brought the sad news that the painting …