This Online Portrait Workshop will concentrate on learning how to draw and construct a fine expressive portrait. You will learn the simple basic proportions of the head and to develop and sharpen your eye to see the placement of the major features. We will work in Bistre Conte and/or 2B compressed charcoal as it is very flexible and useful in learning this process. You will learn some fairly easy steps in getting the proportions and structure of the head using photos of strong character models that show off the structure and planal changes of the head along with a strong light and shadow pattern to work from. We will work on how to break the head down into simple value patterns and with the use of lost and found edges make a compelling portrait. We will go over the generic structure of the individual features of the face, those being the eye, nose, mouth and ear so you get a strong understanding of these features. You will learn how to see and interpret the forms and values to get a strong likeness. Mastering the discipline and training of the mind and eye to do a good portrait will translate and help you in other areas of your art as you will become more accurate and confidant in observing and editing the important elements, whether you are doing a still life or a landscape. I will give plenty of group demonstrations and individual attention over the three days. We will work from photos..I have a great selection I have taken over many years and you can work from your own, but I need to OK them to make sure that the lighting is good on them. This will be a fairly focused and intense three days and you will work hard, learn a lot, indulge our humorous side and we will have a lot of fun doing it! The materials are quite simple and little expense for learning and doing so much.

Please click on Enroll Now to view the required supplies

Gage Academy of Art acknowledges the Coast Salish Peoples as the original inhabitants of this area and connecting waterways. We understand the land that Gage occupies is unceded territory and that today many Indigenous peoples live here and without their stewardship, we would not have access to this space. We honor the Coast Salish Peoples’ sovereignty, rights to self-determination, culture and ways of life. Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have called this territory their sacred land. We commit to learning, educating others and repairing the legacy of historically harmful relationships between non-Native and Native peoples in King County. In doing so, we will be honest, and recognize the experiences of Native peoples to include genocide, forced relocation, forced assimilation, and land theft. We also acknowledge Native peoples are survivors, present in today’s world, thriving. We encourage everyone here today to ask themselves: what can I do to support Indigenous communities?

In an effort to be transparent, Gage is contemplating this call to action and re-working how to best support Indigenous communities.

click here to chat