In Portrait Painting And Drawing, students will learn to draw and paint a portrait from the live model through both observation of the surface form of the face and understanding the structure underneath.  To capture a likeness, we will study the proportions of the face as well as basic anatomy of the skull and facial muscles.  Students will learn to assign a range of values and colors to match the skin tones in light and shadow, also learn to depict the textures of skin and hair. The instructor will demonstrate, in a slow step-by-step process—using the same drawing and painting materials as the students— who will follow along and develop their own drawings and paintings in a similar manner.

DRAWING SUPPLIES (you will only need these at first. Painting supplies are not necessary the day, or maybe even at all- depending on several factors)

•Drawing board

•A pad of Strathmore 400 series drawing paper, 18 x 24

•At least two of each: HB, H, 2H and 4H graphite pencils (I like the Staedtler brand that are painted blue and black at the back end…the ones made of real wood. Oher brands are fine though).

•Gray Kneaded eraser

•Tombow MONO Zero Refillable eraser. Here’s a link if you are not familiar with them… http://www.dickblick.com/items/21576-9330/

•X-acto knife or box cutter and extra blades for sharpening pencils (you can also bring sandpaper in addition to the blades)

PAINTING SUPPLIES: (don’t get these for the first day- they will come into play later)

• 9 x 12, canvas (smooth surface, or portrait grade pane or canvas) For the first class have one canvas, toned to a medium value #5, neutral tone. If we do other paintings together, we can go larger in size.

•Odorless Mineral Spirits

•Wooden Palette

•Linseed Oil or Medium made of 1/2 stand oil and 1/2 mineral spirits

•Little cup for medium (metal or glass)

•Paper towels

•Cloth rags

Brushes:

•A variety of Round and Flat brushes, ranging in sizes 1 – 12

• One large soft Fan Brush (Princeton brand brushes are good and relatively inexpensive but other brands are good too.)

Paints: *Note I use a large variety of paint brands. My personal favorites are Holbein, Old Holland and Williamsburg, however these tend to be expensive so I recommend buying Windsor Newton and/ or Gamblin which are also very good. Colors:

Black

Ivory White (Titanium and or Flake)

Raw Umber

Van Dyke Brown

Raw Sienna

Yellow Ochre

Alizarin Crimson

Ultramarine Blue

Cadmium Red or Vermillion

Transparent Red Oxide

Transparent Yellow Oxide

Burnt Sienna

Venetian Red

Naples Yellow

Caput Mortem or Mars Violet

Online Art Store: http://www.jerrysartarama.com

You can get these supplies at a discount on Long Island:

Blick Art Supplies
168 B Glen Cove Road
Carle Place, NY 11514

Robert Zeller founded The Teaching Studios of Art® in 2009. He received a BFA from the Boston Museum School and Tufts University and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art. He is the recipient of two Posey Fellowships, a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and he has curated and/or exhibited at galleries in Los Angeles, Houston, Paris, and New York.
Zeller is both a visual artist and a writer. He has written two books on art for The Monacelli Press/Phaidon — the upcoming New Surrealism: The Uncanny in Contemporary Painting (pub 2023-2024?- still in production) and The Figurative Artist's Handbook (2017). He also wrote the chapter on the permanent Surrealist photographic collection of The National Gallery of Victoria/ Melbourne Australia for the catalog/book accompanying the upcoming exhibition Photography: Real and Imagined (2023), which opens this fall. He has also written opinion pieces and exhibition reviews for The Brooklyn Rail and other online art magazines/blogs.