Portraiture with Mathew Lynn / Term Class

Suitable for all levels

Choose your own adventure using your desired medium and approach in this portraiture class with award winning artist Mathew Lynn. Across nine weeks learn the traditional aspects of realism to achieve a technical likeness as well as how to evoke those intangible qualities that create a sense of someone’s being.

You may choose to move through realism more quickly and spend time experimenting with contemporary portraits. Mathew will help students learn to look at and ‘see’ subjects in less representational ways and combine elements of observation and abstraction into a new kind of harmony.

Students will start by working through drawing studies and move on to translating this work into painting. Mathew believes it is important to explore these two processes, and what is distinctive about them.

This course will cover:

Traditional aspects of realism, including:

• The importance of initial drawing and sketches for identifying proportions and essential familiarity.
• Transferring that information onto canvas.
• Understanding and knowing when to use a white or coloured ground.
• Drawing immediately with paint for freshness and energy.
• Blocking in and ‘drawing’ with planes.
• Understanding the use of large brushes to quickly achieve form (and to also handle some fine details with dexterity and brevity).
• Moving quickly and efficiently through this process so you can concentrate on the person, not just the technique.
• Knowing when and where to use finer brushes.
• Learning about the variety of dynamics, effects and marks you need for different areas to convey flesh and realism.
• Understanding blending and efficient ways of manipulating your surfaces.
• Understanding the core colours that can render most flesh tones, and how to use them.
• Understanding the importance of body colour (using opaque pigments) to create physical presence.
• Understanding the use of transparent pigments for a range of glazing techniques and adjustments.
• Understanding body language, and how to translate these cues.
• Understanding and reminding yourself constantly to tune into the intangible quality of your chosen subject, and that all these technical elements are only there to serve their likeness and essence.

Contemporary portraiture including:

• Learning how to look at and ‘see’ your subject in less representational ways.
• Learning how to make a new hierarchy of information and stimulus emphasising feeling.
• Understanding how to combine elements of observation and abstraction into a new kind of harmony.
• Learning how to work through studies and experiments (sometimes quite rapidly) to get closer to your vision.
• Learning to experiment with and expand your sense of colour, mark making and process.
• Learning how to let your painting and the pure qualities of paint be your guide.

Materials List

If you haven’t painted before (or not very much), start by choosing a particular medium and work your way through each detailed list. The main colours below are crucial for portraits and flesh, but are also good for basic rendering of most things, and you can augment with your own favourites. Oil painters need more brushes, because it’s important to keep your mixed colours separate on each brush!

Mathew likes his students to always have an A4 sketchbook/paper and pencils (or range of drawing materials) handy for quick studies on the go, and for helping when a painting gets stuck.

Oil Painting

Note: you must use an odourless system for oil mediums and solvents!

Colours:

(Essential for rendering basic skin tones, but also most things)

• Titanium White
• Ivory Black
• Yellow Ochre
• Indian Red (red ochre)
• Burnt Umber
• Ultramarine Blue
• Cadmium Yellow Light (or cheaper equiv)
• Cadmium Red (or cheaper equiv)
• Alizarin Crimson (or cheaper equiv)

Also, these additions can be very useful (or any other colours you like):

• Phthalo Blue
• Phthalo Green
• Cadmium Orange (or cheaper equiv)
• Cobalt Blue
• Magenta

Art Spectrum is a good basic artist quality range.

You don’t need to buy the expensive version of a particular colour, but you will notice the difference.

Brushes:

It is crucial to have a good range of brushes for a variety of marks and purposes. Oil painters need more brushes because it’s best to keep each colour you use on a separate brush.

As a guide you should always try to use the biggest brush possible for a particular passage of painting, this will build your fluency and sense of energy in your work, and will stop you from getting bogged down unnecessarily. In time you will develop your favourite range, and specific types for specific things!

Note: Oil painting brushes are larger and have a different numbering system to water colour brushes.

In general, it’s good to have this range of sizes and numbers, which you can spread across various types of hog bristle brush, as described below:

• #12 x 2
• #10 x 2
• #8 x 2
• #6 x 4
• #4 x 4
• #2 x 2
• #1 x 2

Brush Types:

Cheap Hog Bristle ROUND – it’s better to have this type predominantly in your range. A round brush is much more versatile generally, and these cheaper ones can be used for most of your blocking-in and preliminary work, which can be more punishing on brushes. They also have a very rounded shape, so can be excellent as a dry brush and blender for manipulating the wet paint surface.

Good Quality Hog Bristle ROUND – the most versatile brush, because the better quality ones come with a point. They can be very gestural and expansive, and then very accurate for finer marks, from moment to moment, which will help you with your fluency and speed.

Good Quality Hog Bristle FILBERT – this is a fantastic brush combining a rounded shape with a chisel profile, like flat brushes. It’s good to have a couple of these in your medium to small sizes. Some people might like to use them exclusively.

Cheap or Good Quality Hog Bristle FLAT – flat brushes can be very difficult, because you will always be fighting with the pronounced sharp chisel shape that it makes, nevertheless it’s nice to have some of them for particular uses. Some people like to paint exclusively with these types of marks, so it’s no problem if that’s your preference!

Synthetics in a variety of shapes – can be great for particular uses and types of painting, especially if you are working small, or your work is extremely fine.

And please bring any other brushes that you like to use!

Mediums & Solvents

Quick-drying odourless medium and odourless solvent is the easiest option. My personal favourite is Galkyd medium and Gamsol solvent. You can use Linseed Oil as a medium, but the drying is much slower. You will use both at various stages of your work. 

Other Materials

• Palette, could be disposable - make sure your palette has plenty of mixing space.
• Double Dipper, for separate medium and solvent. Get the open style with the widest openings, so you can get your brushes easily in and out.
• Rags, paper towels, cotton buds
• Spare containers for solvent, or mixing things on the go.
• Palette knife
• Anything else you like to make marks with or push paint around.
• A canvas or canvas board (or a few of them). Oil painting paper is fine, but can be more difficult to work on and transport.
• It is always a good idea to wear disposable Nitrile gloves (non-latex and tougher) when painting and handling oil paint and mediums.
• Use odourless artist quality solvent for clean-up
• I recommend taking your brushes home wrapped in glad wrap to clean and wash. Clean brushes with solvent and then wash with soap AFTER EVERY SESSION. Try not to come to class with hard brushes! Quick drying mediums are very hard on brushes.

Acrylics

Colours - same advice as the oil colours above, Matisse (Flow or Structure) are good artist quality options. Bring in your normal range and your favourites also!

Brushes – follow the basic range above, but you’ll only need one of each size because you are constantly washing your brush. Buy the better quality Hog Bristle brushes in ROUND or FILBERT. You may prefer to have all synthetic brushes for more control, at least for the brushes you use most.

Bring any acrylic style brushes you like!

• Medium – can be a basic Acrylic Painting Medium, Gel Medium, Impasto Medium etc. I personally like to use just water, like gouache.
• Acrylic palette/s with a flat surface, or just an A3 piece of perspex
• Spare containers and a water container
• Rags, sponges, paper towels, cotton buds, scraper, or anything else you like to use.
• A canvas or canvas board (or a few of them), you can also use heavy water medium paper
• It’s best if you can discard unwanted acrylic paint by scraping onto paper towel, not washing everything down the sink.

Watercolours & Gouache

• Gouache may have some different names but refer to the oil/acrylic colour for reference. I find Gouache wonderful for studies.
• Watercolour colours follow a different system and can be quite specific, favouring particular transparent pigments, but you can use any that you have and Mathew can give you advice on this.
• Or simply use a basic watercolour or gouache set
• Appropriate palettes for colours and mixing
• Water container and extra containers for mixing
• Rags, paper towels, cotton buds
• Synthetic watercolour brushes in a range of sizes: fine, medium and a large, also a mop type brush. Other water media brushes such as a wide flat brush, bring all your favourites!
• Watercolour paper or watercolour pad

Terms and conditions

Please choose carefully as fees are non-refundable. Refunds of course fees will only be given if the course is cancelled or a place is not available in the course. Payment of course fees implies that you have read and agree to the WAC Terms & Conditions which are available online.