Alla Prima Portrait Painting (Online Course) Winter 2025 w/ Al Gury

January 22 to February 19 (Wednesdays), 6:00 PM to 8:30 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.

DEMO: https://youtu.be/2CJ8_7XZP8Y

Course Description

This hands on course takes the student through the skills, practice and information to improve their portraits. Each class will address an aspect of portraits: structure, getting better likenesses, master copies, anatomy, color choices and mixing, styles of portraits and expression. Art history, video demos made by the instructor, Q&A and a weekly project assignment, critiqued by the instructor, will be part of each class. This is an enjoyable weekly exploration presented by a master portrait instructor.

Course Outline

Weekly Class sessions on Zoom

1. Introduction, Q&A, Materials and Palettes, a Visual History of Portraiture, Structure of the Head and Portrait Drawing, Getting a Likeness, the Master Copy, Brush Drawing, Video Demos.

2. Q&A, Review of First Projects, Use of Photographs, Use of Color, Limited Palettes, the Value of Colors, Underpaintings, Video Demos.

3. Q&A, Review of Projects, Understanding Complexions and Color Mixing, the Full Palette, Video Demos.

4. Q&A, Review of Projects, Varieties of Composition in Portraits, the Self Portrait, Video Demos.

5. Q&A, Review of Projects, a Visual History of Expression in Alla Prima Portraits, Contemporary Portraiture Video Demos.

Weekly projects

*Portrait subjects can be from life, photographs or a master copy.

Class 1. An alla prima portrait focusing on getting a likeness and structure. Alla prima brush drawing with highlights. Subject reference: Mastercopy, photo or life.

Class 2. A limited palette alla prima portrait study focusing on understanding color mixing, value and brushwork. Subject reference: Mastercopy.

Class 3. Full color portrait study, focusing on mixing varieties of complexion colors. Subject reference: Mastercopy, photo or life.

Class 4. Full color alla prima portrait study focusing on composition and the self portrait.

Class 5. Full color alla prima portrait study focusing on expression and style of choice.

Course Materials

We will discuss materials in the first class meeting.

Basic classic palette for oil, acrylic or watercolor and pastel.

Yellow Ochre

Raw Umber

Burnt Sienna

Ivory Black

Cadmium Yellow Light

Cadmium Red Medium

Permanent Rose

Ultramarine Blue

Chromium Oxide Green

Dioxazine Purple

Titanium White

Additional optional colors:

Burnt Umber

Mars Violet

Green Earth

Cadmium Orange

Phthalo Blue

Cadmium Green

Cerulean Blue

Zinc white

Lead white

Surfaces:

Gessoed painting surfaces, 8X10-11X14, watercolor and pastel pads of choice.

Basic color surfaces are white, gray, tan. These can be opaque or transparent imprimaturas.

Containers for oil and thinners or water (Preferably metal or heavy plastic. Not glass because they break)

Palette for mixing colors (Disposable, wood, metal, etc.)

Linseed oil for oil paints

Brushes for oil, watercolor or acrylic. (3-4 well shaped and flexible bristle brushes)

Paper towels

View finder for compositional choices

Sketchbook for thumbnail sketches.

Pastel or watercolor paper if needed