Secrets to Better Portraits (Online Course) Summer 2024 w/ Nicole Santiago

June 22 to July 20 (Saturdays), 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Eastern Time

**All sessions are live and will be recorded, students do not have to be present. All recordings will be available to students for 3 months after the final session, after 3 months the recording will be deleted.

Please check your email spam/junk folder for your Zoom invite.

Course Description

Regardless of your experience level, whether beginner or pro, this course is designed to provide useable and practical advice to push your portraits to the next level. I’ve taught figure painting/drawing at the college level for decades. This course distills my college-level portrait lessons into a 5-week intensive course, formulated to focus on the most essential elements for the quickest skill acquisition.

In this course, we will explore:

- Head Anatomy.

- Mass Shape Conceptions of the Head.

- Value.

- Color – With a Particular Emphasis on Flesh Variations.

Course Outline

Week 1

- Anatomy & Portrait Systems (Loomis, Hale, Reilly) – Part 1

- Lecture & discussion

- 1-shot painting or drawing

Week 2

- Anatomy & Portrait Systems (Loomis, Hale, Reilly) – Part 2

- Drawing demo

- 1-shot painting or drawing

Week 3

- Light reveals form - value structure

- Painting/rawing demo

- 1-shot painting or drawing

Week 4

- The intricacies of flesh color – Part 1

- Painting demo

- 2 day painting/drawing

Week 5

- The intricacies of flesh color – Part 2

- Continuation of the previous day’s demo

- 2 day painting/drawing
 

Course Materials List

Charcoal (soft vine or soft willow)

Eraser (plastic, gum, or kneaded)

Drawing paper 12x9 or larger

Painting surface appropriate to medium (canvas, paper, or panel)

Palette (Glass, plastic, disposable, or wood, preferably grey or wood-toned)

Palette knife (Spade or trowel shape – small and medium size)

Array of Brushes (recommend filberts sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10)

Solvent (if working with oils)

Rags or Paper towels

Paint colors (oil, acrylic, or gauche):

- Titanium or Flake White

- Cad Yellow Light

- Yellow Ochre

- Cad Red Light

- Alizarine Crimson or Quinacridone Red

- Chromium Oxide Green or Terra Vert

- Viridian Green Or Phthalo Green

- Ultramarine Blue

- Phthalo Blue

- Ivory Black