Way.........back in July---I started what is now one of my favorite online classes taught by one of my favorite artists Sharon Tomlinson---A Diary of Faces. It wasn't a self-paced class--it was a weekly class being taught 'live' by Sharon--she was working along with us. It was all about studying famous painters from different countries-- going for their painting style--not necessarily copying them, but learning different techniques and ways of portrait painting.
I was able to keep up with the class for 3 weeks, until I just got too busy with my show season, but in that 3 weeks, I LOVED it, and I learned that I could do things with my pencil and paint that I never would have tried (like trying to paint what I saw from another image). I have to admit that I was very intimidated by the other students--I have never seen such a bunch of naturally talented artists--I almost didn't want to continue....but I did....and I learned something new with each painting...
She is inspired by Georgette Chen's Portrait of Malay Woman. At first, it was attempting the same face as the original, but then, for me--it was more about the clothing--trying to achieve the look of folds and shadows.
And the next week..
...was Nicolae Grigorescu--Portrait of Alexandrina Filonescu.....with this one--I went for the same effect as in the original--a very loose painting style, and limited palette (which is hard for me!) I almost gave up on this one, but I'm so glad that I didn't.
And the next week, I wandered just a bit--we were studying a Danish painter, but I decided on another one--
....Peder Severin Kroyer--This is his wife Marie, whom he painted a lot. On this one I was practicing that dreaded profile, and also I was trying to achieve the angle of her head resting against the back of the chair--a little fustrating for me again--but I kept going.
So then I stopped, and now (in December), I've picked up my "Diary" again, which is actually a gessoed-over children's board book (which I intend to fill with nothing but these faces). This time I went to England...
She's my favorite inspired by Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Santa Lilies. With her--it was the hand--they're killers for me. Now I always thought, just because of his name, that Rossetti was from Italy. But after reading about him, I found that he was born in England with Italian parents--another bonus from this class--I found that I love researching these master painters.
So the class is over now, but it's always accessible for all of the students.....BUT, also, Sharon is offering it now as a self-paced class HERE in 2 parts--this was an amazing 18 week course--so you can either take the first 9 weeks or the last--or both. I also want to mention that she teaches a lot of different painting techniques especially with different skin tones--it's just a Wonderful class that I highly recommend--it challenges you, and it doesn't matter what your skill level is either--I learned how much I enjoy this process--and the best part---it's just for me and my 'diary'--so if I'm not happy with a particular painting--it doesn't matter--I'm still learning. It's really true--the only way you can learn is from making mistakes.
P.S. Don't forget about my Etsy sale HERE--from now until Dec. 31, you can get a 15% discount by entering the word JOYFUL in the coupon code when checking out--there's still time for Christmas!