Drawing and Painting The Head – Self Portraits - online

Drawing and painting self-portraits, looking at yourself in the mirror, is a grounding, challenging and invigorating experience. You are in good company as many of the great painters in history made Self Portraits. You are free to invent and take risks, as there is no one to offend or judge the likeness other than yourself. It is a chance to contemplate, scrutenise and explore how to capture more than just a likeness; to convey with feeling the mood of the gaze, to enjoy the sculptural qualities of the subject and materials. During this 3 day course Emily will have a large mirror in her studio so that she can draw and paint herself, live on camera, to demonstrate and also work alongisde you. She will lead you through processes that help you become confident at manipulating the materials so that they become the subject. She will suggest ways of layering marks and shapes taken from observation to help you invent more expressive ways of making the features of the face. A fleeting glance, the tilt of the head, rubbing through, redrawing and editing provide a fertile ground, with its layered materials and moments, to offer you powerful images that hold your gaze.

By the end of the 3 days you will have lots of drawings and painted studies that will be full of good material for many paintings. You will also have begun at least two paintings. Emily will encourage you to continue these paintings after the course has finished.

Artists’ work that might inspire you: Matisse, Picasso, Chantal Joffe, Maggie Hambling, Stephen Chambers (‘The Court of Redonda’ series), , Bonnard self portraits, John Skinner, Frank Auerbach, Katie Sollohub, Francis Bacon, Dennis Creffied, David Bomberg and the Rembrant late paintings.