Winter 2027 – Observational Oil Painting: Figure and Portrait

Tuesdays, January 12 – March 16, 2027, 10:00 – 12:30pm

with J. Jordan Bruns

It’s said that one painting from life is worth ten from a photo. This class focuses on strengthening observational color-mixing skills and developing a practical understanding of anatomy while working from the live figure. Students will expand their understanding of how to build a painting over multiple sittings, explore alla prima techniques, and learn the pros and cons of each approach. Please note that there is a $60 model fee, paid in class.

This is an intermediate to advanced level Art Clinic.

Schedule of Classes:

Class 1) January 12 – Loomis Method – Portraiture

For our first class, we will go over the Loomis Method for plotting the portrait.  This is very useful because it is universal and fixes some of the more common problems with portraits such as placement of the eyes and ears.  Yes, mouths are still hard, but at least we will put them in the right spot.  We will use 2D images for practice.

Class 2) January 19 – Portrait Drawing Day (1 of 1)

This week we will have a live model and do some collaboration portraits.  This sounds crazy, but I would like us to work as a group on drawing our model.  What will happen is that we will rotate one easel counterclockwise each time the model breaks (every 15 minutes).  You leave your drawing behind and work on your neighbors drawing each rotation.  The drawing no longer belongs to the neighbor so you will be asked to make revisions and corrections and add to the drawing.  That way, we will be drawing from each point of view of the model even if we are drawing on the portraits of our fellow students.  We should be able to get 3 total drawings this way.

Class 3) January 26 – Color Mixing – Palette Layout

This week is a lecture/demo week, and we will not have a live model.  There are lots of topics that I would like to go over with you including choosing a palette that works well with the model, the layout of these colors and what to mix before you paint a portrait.  We will also go over techniques for avoiding drawing the “thingness” of the subject matter and focus on the shape/color/value.  Bring your paints though, I have color mixing exercises for us to complete before the day is finished.

Class 4) February 2 – Figure Painting (Day 1 of 2)

Class 5) February 9 – Figure Painting (Day 2 of 2)

–No Class Date Feb 16–

Class, 6) February 23 – Figure Painting (Day 1 of 2)

Class, 7) March 2 – Figure Painting (Day 2 of 2)

Class, 8) March 9 – Figure Painting (Day 1 of 2)

Class, 9) March 16 – Figure Painting (Day 2 of 2)