Drawing The Expressive Portrait In Charcoal! December 6 & 20, 1-5 PM EST
 
In this class, we will pay homage to the Tronies, as typified in Rembrandt's expressive linear drawings and prints. Focusing on expression, line work, and the linear nature of drawing, we will nevertheless aim to tie these concepts in with the reality of getting a likeness.  Working from photo reference, we will explore how to balance form, reality, and fancy into one seamless and unified whole. 
 
The charm of charcoal drawing lies in both its simplicity and its very forgiving nature. Come delve into the psychology of the draftsman, the linework, and the strategy towards "letting go" and giving your hand the permission to execute what the brain wants without any fumbling. Here we leave behind the stomp/tortillion and work with a variety of brushes, charcoal points, and white chalk. 
 
In this two-day workshop, Teresa will talk about and demonstrate her approach to drawing the human portrait in charcoal. Simple paper and vine charcoal will mostly do the trick. You may even have all the materials at home already. However, if you would like to explore further with marks and line widths, I will be encouraging you to try a variety of charcoals and chalks. The tools that she will be demonstrating with will be willow and vine charcoal, white chalk, compressed charcoal pencil, and clean brushes dedicated to smudging and manipulating charcoal: Canson Mi-teintes or Rives BFK for the paper. 
 
A zoom recording will be made from the lessons so that students can re-watch the video, for up to two years.