The Portrait Sketch with Patrick Byrnes

In this five-day workshop, artists will learn to create alla prima portraits that evince the beauty and humanity of the model with freshness, sensitivity and lively detail. Using a lucid step-by-step approach, participants will paint five portrait sketches of five different live models. Patrick will guide artists with daily demonstrations and in-depth personal critiques through each stage of the process – from creating a strong likeness with accurate drawing, to color mixing, modeling form and finishing details. Cranial anatomy, materials, paint handling, and the physics of light will also be discussed throughout each session. While this workshop is mainly geared towards painters with some previous experience in oils, artists who prefer to create portrait drawings in graphite or charcoal are also encouraged to participate. Each day brings a new portrait model. Workshop instruction combines guided group demonstrations with personalized one-on-one critiques.

Participants will learn how to create convincing, sensitive portraits through a coherent, rigorous development of their technical skills in drawing and painting.

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Bio

Patrick was born in Busan, South Korea in 1984 and raised in La Grange, Illinois. He earned his undergraduate degree in Art History and English from the University of St Andrews in 2006. Patrick moved to New York in 2010 to train under Jacob Collins at Grand Central Atelier. Following the completion of his studies in 2014, he worked as an instructor of painting and drawing in the atelier’s full and part time programs. Recently, Patrick relocated to Paris, France, to become a principal instructor at the recently founded Paris Academy of Art. His work is exhibited at galleries in New York and Massachusetts.

www.patrickbyrnespaintings.com

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Materials

Support

5 panels or stretched canvases, minimum size 30x30 cm panel: New Traditions brand C13 panels, or double-primed boards such as Ampersand Gessobord; could also be linen glued to panel canvas: tightly stretched portrait-grade linen canvas (e.g. Claessens Belgian Linen 13/Artfix 84C/any smooth Belgian linen)

Tools

• Palette: wooden or disposable
• Solvent in an airtight container (only Odorless Mineral Spirits is permitted, e.g. Gamsol or Turpenoid)
• Refined Linseed Oil
• Palette Knife
• Paper Towels
• Small Mirror

Pigments

• Titanium White or Lead White
• Yellow Ochre
• Raw Sienna
• Cadmium Red
• Burnt Sienna
• Alizarin Crimson
• Ivory Black
• Raw Umber and/or Burnt Umber
• Viridian and/or Ultramarine Blue

*Most professional-grade brands are acceptable, such as Winsor & Newton, Gamblin, Charvin, Williamsburg, et al. I personally use a mix of Michael Harding, Old Holland and Rublev brand pigments.

Brushes

Invest in a variety of hairs, shapes and sizes. I work with a mix of hairs (synthetics, mongoose, sables, and bristles) in a variety of shapes (flats, rounds, filberts) and sizes (from 0 to 12). For beginners, I would recommend starting with a selection of good quality but inexpensive synthetic flat or round brushes (sizes 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10)

Drawing Materials

• GRAPHITE pencils or lead with lead holders in a range from 2H to 4B (I recommend Blackwing and Tombow pencils, and Staedtler leads for lead holders)
• CHARCOAL both vine and compressed charcoal in a range from soft to hard (I recommend fusain nitram sticks and General’s brand pencils)
• WHITE CHALK pencils (I recommend General’s brand charcoal white pencil and Faber Castell “Albrecht Dürer Weiss White”)
• DRAWING PAPER white or lightly toned paper, minimum size 40x30 cm (I recommend Strathmore 400 series medium surface drawing paper or Fabriano Artistico 140 lb smooth, hot press watercolor paper; other recommended brands include Stonehenge, Arches, and Canson Mi-Teintes)
• ERASERS 1 kneaded eraser and 1 hard rubber eraser (I recommend the Tombow brand “Mono Zero” eraser stick)
• SHARPENER (sand paper + utility knife)
• MIRROR a small, handheld mirror