Skill Level: All Levels - Adults
Duration and Frequency: 2 Hrs, Weekly for 6 Weeks
Cost and Billing: $398.
Enrollment: March 3-April 9; 6pm-8pm
You must commit to 6 weeks as there are no make ups and each session builds to your final piece.
Whose face do you know best? Yours.
That makes you the perfect model for learning how to draw—and paint—a portrait.
In this supportive, step-by-step class, we’ll begin with a few playful warm-up exercises designed to loosen your hand, quiet self-doubt, and banish the fear of the blank page. You don’t need to “know how to draw” to begin—just curiosity and a willingness to experiment.
From there, we’ll move into drawing with graphite and painting with soft pastel in a relaxed, painterly way. Along the way, you’ll learn the essential building blocks that make any two-dimensional image come alive: composition, light and shadow, mark-making, and—once we transition to pastel—color.
You’ll also learn simple, reliable measuring techniques to help you see more accurately and create a strong visual likeness.
We’ll walk before we run, starting in black and white. Working in graphite allows us to clearly see values and subtle gradations from dark to light. Then, we’ll leap into soft pastel, translating those values into warm and cool color to create a vibrant, expressive self-portrait.
By the end of the class, you’ll not only have a finished portrait—you’ll have practical tools and confidence you can carry into any future drawing or painting.
MATERIALS AND FEES
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Special materials are Included in the class price.
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Bring your own sketchbook for note taking (optional)
BILLING AND CANCELLATION
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This Class is currently running for six weeks only. March 3-April 9. If there is interest in continuing it will be listed as an intermediate class.
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Makeup classes are not available for missed sessions due to scheduling constraints.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
After training at the School of Visual Arts in NYC and a career in illustration, Deborah turned to painting what she loved best - people and animals. Working in pastel, charcoal and graphite, she uses composition, light and candid poses to emphasize emotion and the subject’s personality.
Deborah has been fortunate to have the opportunity to teach art for three winters at a small independent school in southern India and to serve as the Art Instructor at Bridgeport’s Watermark Senior Living Facility, as well as offering private lessons and leading numerous portraiture and combination art and yoga workshops.
Deborah is currently Co-Chair of the Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists; and a member of the Black Rock Artists Guild, the Artists Collective of Westport, American Women Artists and the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club.
She has been an award winning exhibitor in juried exhibitions throughout Connecticut and New York City.Deborah’s work can be seen at
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http://debhowlandmurrayportraits.com/
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