Alla Prima Portrait Workshops Start Off Strong
Today, we kicked off the first Saturday Alla Prima Portrait Workshop, which is our weekly 4-hour workshops that will take place every Saturday in March. Read more about the class here.
Today, we kicked off the first Saturday Alla Prima Portrait Workshop, which is our weekly 4-hour workshops that will take place every Saturday in March.
Alla prima painting is a master technique that is also called “direct painting” because painters apply the paint directly to the canvas without creating an initial base layer. Because we don’t use an underpainting in alla prima, it is a much more spontaneous approach. It is also called “wet-to-wet” painting because painters can mix colors right on the canvas itself, making it a great chance to experiment with colors.
I love painting alla prima because it is where I challenge myself to be fast and loose, but, to be very honest, I was a little nervous to teach the alla prima workshop because even when I paint alla prima things can get messy quickly. Nevertheless, these brave and fearless students in today’s workshop proved how important it is in alla prima to be bold and have fun!
What I think helps students today was starting off with an organized palette. Students made sure to organize their alla prima palette by mixing important base skin tones and colors on one side. With their palettes organized, this group of students had the confidence to made bold choices with their brush strokes.
Our model this week was Sarah, a local musican. She is the singer and song writer for the band Molly Ringworm. It was so great to have her here today to kick off our workshops.
If you’re interested in joining next week or later this month please sign up at the link below:
Bold Strokes: Another Portrait Workshop in the Books
Check out the results of the color course in this week’s portrait workshop. These students in this group took some real initiaive with their paint palettes.
The color course in our Portrait Workshop was a huge success. It was a joy to walk students through the challenge of mixing and applying color. This was a group that took some real initiative too!
A few students came about an hour early to start to mix colors and organize their palette. I think this was a huge help. I would recommend this to any new students. I always mix my own palette before any model arrives.
I think it is so important that students mix their own colors because the act of mixing the colors is so important. It is almost meditative. We start to psyche ourselves up for a productive portrait session.
I will be suggesting this to any students in next week’s alla prima workshop.
I am so grateful for my students because they not only open my eyes to opportunities in my teaching, but also in my own work.
Multitasking to help these students with their work actually pushed me to simply my own work. I learned that to get my own work done in this class, that I had to do a lot with only a few marks. It reminds me not to overwork my painting. One big, confident brush stroke is better because our eyes fill in the rest!
This session got me so excited for the alla prima class next week. I hope to see you all there!
Join the alla prima class here:
Portrait Underpainting Workshop
Read some of the tips and tricks that students learned for how to create a balanced portrait from a model.
We jumped back into the studio for another 2-day portrait workshop. Students worked to create their underpainting using just one color: raw umber.
We added this paint and also wiped it away to create the illusion of three dimensional forms. Students enjoyed how this method gave them deep shadows and bright highlights.
Some students did joke in this class that they wished we could use white paint to make the highlights really stand out. I challenged students to only use one color, but using thin layers of white is also not a bad method in some other underpainting methods. If we had used black and white paint, we would be creating what is called a “grisaille.” It is also a viable method for starting a painting. Maybe I could teach another workshop on this!
While painting today, this dedicated group worked hard to study the model and build strong proportions. Some tricks we worked on:
Stepping back from the canvas: We work hard on our painting and this means we can get right up close to the canvas, but checking the proportion means stepping back. I shared a story about the famous portrait painter John Singer Sargent. They say Sargent wore out a rut in his studio floor because he constantly moved back and forth from his easel. I reminded students to step back and compare their work to the model. It also helps to squint your eyes so you only see shadows and light without any identifyiable feature.
Checking angles: We held our brushes out with a straight arm to mark the angles of the model’s face with out brush. We then kept our arm straight and steped back to the canvas to see if our marks matched.
Comparative measurements: The are tricks to make sure we have everyting in proportion. I gave students a handout with printed guide for these. For instance, our face is always divided into equal thirds. Our eye is the same size as the empty space between our eyes.
I think each student creatd a beautiful underpainting that will set them up for success tomorrow’s session.
This is our last underpainting session for February, but our Alla Prima workshops start next week. Sign up for the first session, or the next, or all of them! Just click the button below:
Portrait Workshop Day 2: Color
See how our talented students set up their palettes and mixed their colors to bring their portraits to life in the second day of our 2-day Portrait Painting Workshop. Read more to learn how they stay organized.
Our portraits came to life in the second day of our 2-day Portrait Painting Workshop. It was amazing to see these taleneted students learn how to mix their paint colors and apply them to the canvas.
I personally enjoy the second day of the workshop because I get to share the color recipes that have served me well for each of my portraits in the studio. I supplied each student with their own paint, but it was up to them to combine the colors themselves. I think this stage is also just a great warm up.
When I mix colors before a portrait commission, I get to relax and warm up. The nerves melt away while I focus on the colors transforming in front of me. I also feel more prepared because I have set myself up with a solid palette: a dark skin tone, two mid-tones, and a highlight.
One cool trick that you can see in the video above is that we divided our palette in half. I liked how it organized us into a left and a right space.
The left side of our palette served as our tool kit of colors. There, we had the paint from the tube (arranged from cool to warm) and we had the skin tones (all arranged from dark to light). The left side is what kept us grounded. We could always pull from the left side and find a cohesive color.
The right side, on the other hand, was our space to experiment. Yes the model’s cheek is light skin tone, but is it also warmer? Yes the model’s chin in shadow, but is it also cool? What colors can I add in these features to make the skin feel more alive but also keep it cohesive? There are no perfect answers, but the right side served as our place to guess and experiment while looking at the model.
Students in this workshop went out of their comfortzone, and came away with some strong portraits. They all felt proud of their work and were very excited to leave with their own finished painting.
The second day of the workshop is focused on color. The Alla Prima workshops I am running every saturday in March will also focus on color.
Instead of doing an underpainting beforehand, we will start what is called “direct painting.” We will mix our colors and then they go right onto the canvas. With a new model each class, this Alla Prima painting series is sure to be exciting.
Thanks to every student who made this calss possible!
I hope to have you join us in March. If you’re interested in joining, please click below:
Portrait Workshop Day 1: Success
Students in today’s Oil Portrait Painting Workshop captured proportions and values from our live model in the studio. Check out the video from today’s class at the link below.
Participants in the Oil Portrait Painting Workshop created successful underpaintings today! Underpainting is a traditional technique from the Masters that students today used to capture proportions and values from our live model in the studio. While we painted together, I shared some tips and tricks about how to study the model and find comparative measurements that lead to balanced proportions.
I also taught students how to finding the darkest shadows and the lightest higlights by guiding them through the “wipe-out” method. This method literally allows us to wipe away the raw umber paint to create smooth highlights.
Oil painting and portraits can be intimitating to all levels, but I teach the wipe out method because it reminds us that the paint can always be moved around. We can always make changes. We can always improve.
I set aside the first class day to only work on the underpainting because we can tackle all the basics in a relaxed and supportive environment.
That is also why I recommend that new students start with the 2-day Underpainting workshop. It works great for anyone who is new to painting from a model or new to oil paints in general. It can help build confidence before diving into a faster paced alla prima worskhop.
These students today created successful underpaintings that will now set them up for success! Tomorrow, we will make a new layer on top to create skin tones. I’m so excited to guide students through my color recipes in tomorrow’s hands-on color mixing class. Stay tuned for Day 2!
I’ll be hosting another underpainting workshop next weekend, but after that, it is on to alla prima on March 1.
I’d love to have you join us soon!
Sign ups are live on my website here:
New Palette-New Adventures
Working with a limited palette is great for color, but I don’t want to limit my space. Introducing my newest studio tool.
I enjoy working with a limited palette when it comes to colors, but not when it comes to space. This new Sienna wood palette felt like a luxury purchase, but it’s going to give me the space I need to open up my painting practice in so many ways.
My paint will move smoother across the tempered glass, and I will move more smoothly back and forth from my easel.
Plus I can even move outside the studio. I’ve been itching to try more plein air painting. This palette came with attachments for an outdoor tripod easel. Once the warm weather finally comes, I’ll be on the move.
I often second guess spending for higher end products like this, but I’m confident now that I made the right choice to keep taking up more space.
The seller still has two palettes left! Check out the link here:
Portrait Painting Series
Oh brother! Welcoming legendary musician Michael Auble to the studio.
Besides being a musical and overall genius, Michael is my brother and it was a true joy to paint him in the studio last week.
For the first time in these 2 hour sessions, I felt like pulling out a full sized canvas.
Going big in only 2 hours is not easy, but something about Michael’s elegance and intelligence called for it. He is a generally well dressed guy, but it’s not for any outward validation. I admire how Michael knows who he is cares so much to express it in every facet of his life.
Infact, Michael is so comfortable in himself that he came up with this pose naturally. He also came up with the title:
“Man with boot”
When I saw the shine on his Chelsea boot I hat to stop the clock. I did a few thick globs of white and got that perfect shine.
I like how universal this title feels even though Michael is very special to me. Maybe it means we can all be a little more like Michael.
Please be sure to check out his music here: