Summer Art School - Portrait Drawing and Painting from Life

Portrait drawing and then painting from a live model is an orchestration of soft and hard edges, mixed with careful observation. In this four-day course, Damien will guide you through his entire process of creating impactful portraits. Students will be able to submerge themselves in a comprehensive and in depth look at the engaging practice of painting a portrait as the class has a maximum of 8 people.

Drawings will be formed in graphite pencil as accuracy is needed to get a good likeness in a portrait. Graphite allows this while letting the user create a large range of values.

Oil painting will be the focus but there will also be room to discuss the use of acrylic paint. The workshop will cover colour mixing and theory, brushwork, and ideas around composition including anatomical structure and proportion.

Tutor: Damien Kurth
Four Full Days

Bring your own nibbles and lunch. Cafe nearby. Tea and coffee supplied. You are welcome and encouraged to bring your own materials. Contact will be made to discuss this in more detail.

Damien is a professional tutor and artist of renown. He holds a Master of Fine Arts, Elam School of Fine Arts, and Bachelor of Fine Arts, Otago Polytechnic.