​Expressive Portraits

​What does the human face mean to you in an era of digital photography, filters, and impressionable headshots?  In this course, you will learn to go beyond representation through a variety of materials and approaches in rendering the human form in this 6-week live-virtual session created for ALL SKILL LEVELS.

​The course will begin with the basics of proportion and placement of the features of the face, and will progress beyond replicating a photograph.  We will cover four different approaches to creating an expressive and unique portrait.  The first 2 weeks will cover the foundations of portraiture using pencil.  We will progress from here to include understanding different mediums through a variety of approaches, including:

• ​Optical blending

• ​Subtraction

• ​Gesture

• ​Chiaroscuro

• ​Mixed-Media/Collage

• ​Arbitrary color

​Timeline

​Week 1

• ​Introduction, materials, structure of the course

• ​Understanding placement of the facial features and proportions

​Week 2

• ​Proportions continued

• ​Profiles

​Week 3

• ​Mark-making

• ​Gesture

​Week 4

• ​Lighting the portrait and references

• ​Understanding value

• ​Building value with watercolor

​Week 5

• ​Optical Blending

​Week 6

• ​Mixed Media and the portrait

​Materials (not included in course)

• ​Watercolors

• ​Brushes

• ​Pens

• ​Pencils

• ​Eraser/kneaded eraser

• ​Watercolor pad

• ​Sketchbook

• ​Water

• ​Tape 

• ​Mixed-Media Supplies: modge podge, markers, tissue paper, found objects

• ​*Optional: blow dryer, pastels, oil pastels

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​Questions? Email Ingrid.Shults@gmail.com