Portrait Drawing for Teens
Lara Saunders
July 14 – 18, 2025 (Monday – Friday, 10am – 5pm)
Schedule: 10am – 1pm workshop; 1-2pm lunch; 2 – 5pm workshop
Limit: approx. 10 students
Age range: 13 – 18 years old
Tuition: $575
All interested students must apply.
Early admission applications due by February 25, 2025 at 11:59pm EST.
Notification by March 5, 2025.
*Applications will continue to be reviewed on a rolling basis until workshop & wait lists are filled. Notification within 7-10 days.
Upon acceptance, register within 48 hours to confirm spot.
Course Description
In this course, students will be introduced to drawing the portrait in graphite through direct observation of a live model. We will explore the essential tools needed to construct a proportionally accurate portrait. By drawing the same pose throughout the course, students will learn to carefully study the structure of the head and understand how light affects volumes. Emphasis will be placed on the methodology of working from life, including building a linear block-in, familiarizing students with the anatomy of the skull, and fully rendering the forms of the face.
The first two days will be dedicated to the block-in phase of the drawing. During this stage, students will learn the importance of using comparative measurements, massing large abstract shapes, identifying anatomical landmarks, and triangulating points to create an accurate block-in with correct likeness and proportion. Once a solid block-in is established, the class will proceed to cover the fundamentals of conceptualizing how a single light source interacts with the face’s forms and how to properly model using graphite. Through concepts such as value hierarchy, value compression, and three-dimensional thinking, students will learn to render shadows and model the forms topographically.
Daily demonstrations and individual critiques will be provided by the instructor.
This workshop is ideal for beginner to intermediate artists aged 13–18.
