Portrait Drawing for Teens
Lara Saunders
July 8 – 12, 2024 (Monday – Friday, 10am – 5pm)
Schedule: 10am – 1pm workshop; 1-2pm lunch; 2 – 5pm workshop
Limit: 10 students
Age range: 13 – 18 years old
Tuition: This workshop is underwritten by a generous donor covering 40% of tuition for students accepted into the workshop. Subsidized tuition is $525. Full payment of $525 is due within 48 hours of acceptance.
All interested students must apply.
Early admission applications due by February 25, 2024 at 11:59pm EST.
Notification by March 5, 2024.
*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.
“I began my studies at GCA when I was in high school. At that time, art was an interest for me, but I was unaware of how much I could pursue in this field. Through a friend, I was able to visit GCA and the first time I saw cast drawings I was blown away. It felt like I finally knew what style of art and training I wanted to study. I immediately joined a part time class with Justin Wood, and delved into the training that GCA and its incredible teachers had to offer. This style of training led me to decide that art is something I wanted to pursue seriously.”
-Rachel Li, GCA instructor, Alumni and Core Student 2014 – 2018
Course Description
In this course, students will be introduced to drawing the portrait in graphite from the direct observation of a live model. We will discuss the fundamental tools that are needed to construct a proportionally sound portrait. By drawing the same pose through the entirety of the class, students will learn to carefully study the structure of the head and understand how the fall of light affects volumes. Emphasis will be placed on the methodology of working from life by building a linear block in, becoming familiar 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 portion of the drawing. During this stage, students will learn the importance of using comparative measurements, massing in large abstract shapes, finding anatomical landmarks and triangulating points to create a block-in accurate in likeness and proportion. Upon finishing a solid block-in, the class will continue with covering the fundamentals of conceptualizing how one light source interacts with the forms of the face and how to properly model using graphite. Using concepts of value hierarchy, value compression and three dimensional thinking, artists will learn to flatten shadows and topographically model across the forms.
Daily demonstrations and individual critiques will be provided by instructor.
This workshop is ideal for beginner to intermediate skill level artists from ages 13-18.
“I began my studies at GCA when I was in high school. At that time, art was an interest for me, but I was unaware of how much I could pursue in this field. Through a friend, I was able to visit GCA and the first time I saw cast drawings I was blown away. It felt like I finally knew what style of art and training I wanted to study. I immediately joined a part time class with Justin Wood, and delved into the training that GCA and its incredible teachers had to offer. This style of training led me to decide that art is something I wanted to pursue seriously.”
-Rachel Li, GCA instructor, Alumni and Core Student 2014 – 2018
