5 Day Painting the Self Portrait in Oil

Service Description

Working from life is key in learning to paint the portrait. This course will develop your eye in understanding the dynamics of light and shadow on the human form, using the sight-size technique. The canvas will be set up next to you, and a mirror opposite in order to transfer the light shapes across onto the canvas, as they are in life. Painting the self-portrait will tackle facial structure, proportions, atmosphere, composition and expression. Grace is a graduate of Charles Cecil Studios in Florence where she was also selected to teach. She was the winner of the Members Choice Award in the Scottish Portrait Awards 2019 and was commissioned to paint the Lord Clerk Justice of Scotland in 2021 which is hanging in Parliament Hall. This course is suitable for teenagers (14+) and adults, and those with a desire to paint in oil. You can be a complete beginner or advanced, Grace will be teaching each student independently with individual critiques. If you are unable to commit to the full five day experience you are more than welcome to join for either three or four days too at £285 and £380 respectively! Please drop us an email or give us a call to enquire. Materials List: Oil paints: I use a mixture of Zecchi's own-brand and Windsor & Newton. Limited palette: Yellow ochre, cadmium red light, raw umber, titanium white, burnt umber, vermillion hue, ivory black. Brushes: I recommend a mixture of hog-hair and sable filbert and flat brushes, sizes 2,4,6,8,10 and one larger 1-inch-wide brush for backgrounds/clothing. Stretched canvas: 50cmx60cm. Please arrive having primed your canvas. Paper towels. Small jars to store solvents. Medium: I use equal parts Zest It turpentine and Canada balsam, and two parts sun thickened linseed oil. Windsor and Newton also do a perfectly good ready-made medium. Thinner: Zest-It turpentine or Spike Lavendar. Palette/white tile. Plumb-line. Ruler.