I'm proud to announce that this week my August oil portrait painting workshop, "Portrait Painting: The Real Deal", is featured on the School of Visual Arts' Continuing Education home page. (See above.) In my opinion, all workshops are not created equal. This workshop is about transforming the way you see and cultivating the understanding that merely copying what's in front of you will not result in a great life-like work of art. Many instructors (as well as students) feel that if you can pick up a trick or two then your time spent in the workshop has been a success. Don't count me among them.
I believe that in two weeks time you can experience a contextual shift in the way you approach making art and that the level of your work can grow exponentially as a result.Here is a comment from a former workshop attendee, the outstanding sculptor, Roger Owens.
This workshop is an unusually dense and thoughtful course of instruction - well worth taking twice - even for copious note-takers like myself. I processed the information differently and more completely the second time. It exceeded my expectations and my expectations were very high. It might have taken a decade or two for me to learn, on my own, what Marvin delivered in one week. Benjamin Franklin said it best: "Learn of the skillful; he that teaches himself has a fool for his master." -Brian Owens
Here is a link to more student feedback.Due to my heavy work schedule, I now limit myself to teaching just one oil portrait painting workshop each year. If you miss this one, then you'll have to wait until August 2019. It's going to be an incredible workshop.
Course description:There's more to painting a great portrait than capturing a likeness; it's about creating the illusion of life. Portraiture should reveal the character of the sitter and exude a lifelike essence. Whether you are just starting out or very experienced, whether you choose to paint from live models or work from photo references, what you can learn in this course has the potential to transform your art. Taught by an award-winning portrait artist, you will learn how to analyze, interpret and vastly improve your ability to capture a convincing and telling representation of your sitter.
Based on the idea that logic, not frivolous rules and superficial techniques are at the core of the greatest portraits ever created, a mindful approach that is both broad in scope, yet simple to comprehend will be taught. Working from live models, you will discover a simple and straightforward way to draw accurately and easily replicate any color you see, particularly the subtle translucent tones of the human complexion. You will also learn to model form and simulate the effects of luminosity, depth, and atmospheric space. All the information covered in this course will be fully demonstrated and explained by the instructor.
NOTE: A Sunday afternoon field trip to The Metropolitan Museum of Art is included. Please bring a notebook and pen to the first session. A complete supply list will be sent to you prior to the start of the workshop.
Marvin Mattelson is now conducting his classes and workshops online in 1080p Full HD through his Fine Art Portrait Academy. For further information, or to register for an upcoming offering, please follow this link to his teaching page.
