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Direct Portrait Painting: Simplifying with a Limited Palette

Sharpen your observational skills and lift your portrait work in this dynamic, figure-focused oil painting course. Working from a live model, you'll explore color harmony, value control, and expressive brushwork. Built for artists with some experience, the class emphasizes confident technique and capturing the sitter's unique presence.

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  • 18 and older
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  • 315 E 62nd St, New York, NY

Express Checkout – $450


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Start Dates (3) $450/person

  • Price includes $50 registration fee.
Show all 11 sessions
  • Thu, Nov 12 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Nov 19 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Nov 26 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Dec 03 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Dec 10 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Dec 17 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Dec 24 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Dec 31 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Jan 07 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Jan 14 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Jan 21 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
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  • Thu, Jan 28 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Feb 04 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Feb 11 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Feb 18 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Feb 25 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Mar 04 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
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  • Thu, Apr 01 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Apr 08 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Apr 15 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Apr 22 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, Apr 29 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, May 06 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, May 13 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
  • Thu, May 20 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm
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Class Description

Description

This intensive workshop introduces students to the alla prima portrait painting technique using a carefully selected limited color palette. Working directly from a live model, participants will develop essential skills in color perception, value control, and form construction applied efficiently and directly on the canvas. The focus centers on expressive brushwork, sophisticated edge control, and capturing distinctive character qualities within tight time constraints, typically completing studies in one or two sittings.

The course emphasizes practical techniques that strengthen observational abilities and foster confident, expressive painting approaches. Prior painting experience is necessary for maximum benefit from this advanced instruction.

Required Materials and Supplies:

  • Painting Surfaces
    • Pre-prepared oil painting surfaces, maximum size of 12 inches by 16 inches
    • Odorless solvent such as Gamsol or Turpenoid
    • Paper towels or cotton rags for cleanup
    • Mixing palette or painting knife
    • Non-white mixing palette measuring at least 11 inches by 14 inches
  • Brush Selection
    • Natural bristle flat and filbert brushes in various sizes; recommended sizes include number 2, 5, and 8, with two of each size for separating dark and light mixtures
    • One medium-large flat bristle brush, approximately one inch wide, for establishing initial masses
    • One large bristle flat brush, two inches wide, for toning and wash applications
  • Paint Requirements
    • Flake white (lead white alternatives include RGH, Rublev, Williamsburg, or Michael Harding brands)
    • Yellow ochre
    • Cadmium red light or naphthol red
    • Transparent oxide, brown or orange
    • Ultramarine blue
  • Optional Mediums
    • Rublev Velasquez medium for extending mixtures with slight translucency
    • Rublev Oleogel to increase transparency and flow while extending drying time
    • Walnut or cold-pressed linseed oil as additional working mediums
School Notes:

Please note, New York School of the Arts charges a $50 one-time registration fee for students who are new to their school. This is automatically added to the cost of your enrollment (and already included in the price listed on this course). If you are a returning student to NYSA, please let us know and we will refund you $50.

Refund Policy

Class Cancellation:

Classes and workshops are subject to cancellation if the minimum number of students required for a session is not met. Notification will be sent to registered students five days before the class is scheduled to begin.

Refunds:

To receive a refund, you must notify us in writing at [email protected]. There is a $15 administrative fee for each refund. 

  • In order to receive a full refund, students must withdraw from a class or workshop fourteen (14) business days prior to the first day of classes.
  • Students withdrawing from a class and workshop during the week before the beginning of the quarter will receive a 70% refund as school credit if within fourteen (14) business days of the start of the class.
  • No refunds will be made after the second class without medical documentation and no refunds will be made after a workshop begins.
  • Ceasing to attend class without notifying the school does not constitute withdrawal from class.
  • Refunds are issued in the same form as payment. Refunds are issued within thirty days from request in the form of the same payment. Registration and service fees are non-refundable.
  • Refund requests are also subject to a 5% CourseHorse processing fee.

Transfers:

All transfers must occur before the second meeting of class. Transfers from one course into another may incur additional fees, depending on the transfer. Transferring from one workshop to another is not permitted. There is a $15 administrative fee for each transfer.

Holidays & Canceled Lessons:

We are closed for Thanksgiving, winter, and spring break. If we must close due to the weather, we will send out an email. If classes are canceled, the instructor will work with the school office to schedule a make-up date. We do not refund/prorate for weather closure, and our make-up policy still applies.

In any event where a customer wants to cancel their enrollment and is eligible for a full refund, a 5% processing fee will be deducted from the refund amount.

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New York School of the Arts

The New York School of the Arts offers a multidisciplinary approach to arts education, exploring fine arts, design, architecture, and music. With a strong emphasis on atelier methodology and access to workshops, lectures, and critiques, students are equipped with the knowledge and connections needed for a successful career in the arts.

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New York School of the Arts
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