Note: If you have booked, joining instructions will be emailed to you 2 weeks prior to the course start date. Please check filtered mail at that time.
Course via Zoom and a community platform
Dates - Saturdays in May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 at 1530 - 1830 (3hrs) London time
Fascinated by faces and the stories within? Join me on a course which teaches you my methods of portrait fundamentals and builds toward my expressive use of colour and mark-making in the acrylic medium. The course will be across 5 weeks, offer 5 x 3hour zoom classes and a group sharing platform allowing comment and inspiration.
Week 1 – Preparation and approach
In this first session we look at how I choose reference, lay out a palette and prepare surfaces. We will then be painting our first faces – building up shapes and forms using an intuitive approach I enjoy using.
Week 2 – Pride with proportions and angles
Building from the preparation in week 1, we’ll learn about scale and simple ways to convey features and capture the character of a subject. We will use under-painting to approach different angles of the head with more confidence.
Week 3 – Mark-making and expression
We will explore the marks we can make and look at the effects created in applying them. We make stylistic choices to express the feeling and character of the face on the surface.
Week 4 – Colour control
Fundamental to form, composition and mood, I show you how I use colour to bring my portraits to life. We’ll be very select about mixing colour and its application to achieve the results you want.
Week 5 – Bringing it all together
The final session will see us review the weeks of the course by making a final painting which incorporates the course concepts. You will have gained experience through my methods of creating faces in the acrylic medium by the end of the course and this final lesson.
Materials – recommended to have some dry and some wet:
Acrylics (Primaries yellow, red, blue then also white - will be enough to mix)
Paper A4 and A3 size - mixed media paper for the acrylics – heavy weight 200gsm or more
Some (5 should be enough) wood boards or canvas panels at around A4 or A3 size or in imperial sizes:
Small canvases: 8″x10″ and 11″x14″
Medium canvases: 16″x20″ and 20″x24″
White gesso artists primer for acrylic painting
A palette and glass or jar for water
Palette for paint, at least a fine brush (4 or 6) and something broader (perhaps a 12) should be fine but a selection of different sizes would be great.
Suggested: a selection of different general dry media such as pencil crayons or markers.
Format: 5 x Zoom classes of 180 minutes with demos, Q&As and community forum on Discord
(all classes - Saturdays 1530-1830 GMT) - all classes recorded so you can catch up or watch again – available for 12 months after the course.
Who is it for: Artists of all levels
Participants must be 18 years of age or over
Pricing:
Standard tier £150 - includes all of the above
Feedback tier £200 (10 places available) - includes all of the above + personalised weekly feedback and private discord channel
Previous courses I've taught:
FIGURES Clothed A fashion focus course
CATS Double workshop
FACES Vivid edition
FACES the Gambrell way
SUMMER Drawing course
FORM Drawing course
SHAPE Drawing course
Bring play into your work 1 & 2 (with Riso chan)
Bring colour into your work (with Riso chan)
FIDA - Fashion illustration lecturer
DOMESTIKA – Expressive pastel portraits
What students have said about my courses:
Student from the FIGURES Clothed course : 'You truly are a great tutor, Chris. You put so much heart and soul into preparing content that addresses specific learning needs, choosing appropriate reference images, and cultivating a supportive community. Am truly truly grateful' and 'Honestly, to me, you've redefined what is
"possible" regarding online art education'
Student from FACES course 'Student from the 'FACES' Course: 'This is definitely the best art course I've ever taken' .
Student from the SUMMER course: "I have to say this class has some of the most useful information on color I've heard in a long long time. Will definitely rewatch it! Thank you for a great class."
Student from the SHAPE course: "You actually, really teach, with a clear curriculum." and "please do more classes! I've taken tons in the past few years, and you are, hands-down, the best Zoom teacher I've seen.'
Student from the SHAPE course: "I really like your approach because you didn't reference other teachers - it is truly unique and more valuable. I appreciate all the pre work you do, your powerpoints and videos. I will be referring to them again and again and I will be back for more."
