Portrait Painting From Photographs

There is a big difference between making a painting OF a photo and making a painting FROM a photo.

It is rare that artists can paint from start to finish working entirely from life, making photo reference a necessity. In this five-day workshop, Edinburgh Atelier of Fine Art Senior Instructors Ewan McNaughton and Lea Vaughn will teach you how to negotiate the pitfalls of working from photo reference, and make your paintings look more vibrant and eliminate flatness.

Whether you are a traditional oil painter or a digital artist, beginner or advanced, this workshop will strengthen your understanding and help you in making better decisions in your painting process.

Topics covered will include:

Composing a portrait

The limitations of the camera

How to take useful reference pictures.

Taking Commissions and related considerations

Understanding what we SHOULD see and compensating using logic and knowledge.

Theory of light on form

Colour mixing and creating harmony.

Individual critiques of your previous portraits (if you have pictures)

WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU

Oil Paints

Titanium white

Cadmium yellow

Yellow Ochre

Raw Umber

Cadmium red

Burnt Sienna

Burnt Umber

Alizarin Crimson

Ivory Black

Brushes

A range of bristle and soft hair brushes from big to small, any shape according to your preference and style. The more brushes the better!

Canvas

40 x 50cm (16 x 20 inches) acrylic primed canvas or board

Extras

Palette

Odourless Mineral Spirit. We recommend Gamsol.

Small glass jar with lid (for solvents)

Paper towels 

Optional but not essential

A digital camera or phone camera.

An iPad or tablet to see your reference picture.

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