To paint a portrait is to consider the human condition and to reflect upon our own existence, it is deeply personal and as varied and exciting as the people we paint and the painters that paint them

CBPP

  • Tutor, James Bland NEAC CBPP
  • February 23rd/24th
  • 10.00 – 4.00
  • £340/2days
  • Tea and Coffee is available throughout the day and a light lunch will be included
  • Suitable for intermediate students, using oils
BUY

What to expect on this Portrait Painting Course with James Bland

This is a busy two day course with the talented James Bland. There will be a variety of models over the time you are with us.

Day 1

Morning: tonal study using dark and light paint, commencing with a demonstration from James.

Afternoon: quick head study using a simple chromatic palette, demonstrated

Day 2

All-day portrait painting, commencing with a one-hour compositional drawing before moving on to the canvas

Materials

recommended oils:

  • titanium white
  • cadmium lemon
  • cadmium yellow
  • cadmium red
  • permanent rose or alizarin crimson
  • ultramarine
  • viridian
  • burnt sienna
  • ivory black
  • yellow ochre
  • burnt umber

other materials:

  • assorted canvases or panels (min. 3), from small to medium/large size
  • sansodor or zest-it de-mineralised white spirit/solvent and two sealable jars
  • a range of hog’s hair or stiff synthetic brushes
  • smaller soft brushes
  • hard palette or tear-off palette pad
  • flat palette knife
  • painting rags
  • charcoal/drawing materials
  • Sketchbook/A2 pad cartridge paper
  • Apron

James Bland is a very experienced tutor and highly regarded amongst his peers. We feel fortunate to have him with us. James is modest to a degree that makes it tricky for a course copywriter to share information about him. To sidestep this dilemma I have below a description of CBPP.

One of the selective groups of which James is a member, Contemporary British Portrait Painters , says this about themselves:

There are probably as many ways to paint as there are artists, so there is no “right way to paint”. If there was there would never have been a Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Picasso or Hockney. So we don’t want to be prescriptive about the way you produce your art, for us the finished result is largely all that matters. What we do want, is to represent the best in contemporary British portraiture and encourage the practitioners of it, as they explore this captivating and endlessly intriguing subject. To paint a portrait is to consider the human condition and to reflect upon our own existence, it is deeply personal and as varied and exciting as the people we paint and the painters that paint them!

CBPP is a place to showcase some of the best British practitioners of this wonderful field of painting and a place to learn and support one another in what we do. After all, whatever stage we are at, we are all learning. We are mostly professional painters and full membership of the group is by invitation.

CBPP website