How to Build a Portrait, with Ricky Vasan

How to Build a Portrait, with Ricky Vasan

Six Thursdays, from noon-2pm: 2/8, 2/15, 2/29, 3/7, 3/14, 3/21 in-person at the Kathryn Schultz Gallery

$305 CAA Members; $325 General Admission

(this rate includes a $65/student materials fee)

Maximum number of attendees: 15

Registration close date: February 1, at 5:00PM

In this class we will learn how to "build" a portrait. Through the lens of contemporary portraiture, we will learn to mine our own personal lives and experiences to create a portrait that not only successfully captures a likeness but also a narrative.

The six weeks of the course will be divided into sections of formal skill development and more
conceptual narrative exploration. We will consider various methods of drawing and capturing a likeness trying to find your
individualized visual language for representational drawing and painting.

Included in the cost of the class: each student will receive a 18x24 drawing pad, large drawing board, rulers and different drawing tools, pens, pencils, conté, charcoal etc for experimentation.

February 8: Session 1
● Introductions,
● 15 minute freehand drawing warm up exercises.
● Exploring different black and white media.
● Drawing from art historical references.
 

February 15: Session 2
● Exercises building upon exploring art historical references eg upside down reference
drawing.
● Demo on basic anatomy for portraiture.
● First shape based planar portrait exercise.

February 29: Session 3
● Working from a live model.
● Quick Sketches from live model ranging from 2 to 10 minutes
● Demo on measurement and considering relative proportions.
● 30 to 45 minute long final model drawing

March 7: Session 4
● Three value collage drawings.
● Students are encouraged to bring in their own references
● Work on thumbnailing a final drawing.

March 14: Session 5
● Working on final portrait drawings.
● Demo on mark making and using unconventional ways of adding texture.

March 21: Session 6
● Quick sketches from a digital screen as a means to start a regular portrait drawing habit
● Review of Final Drawing

About Ricky Vasan | Ricky Vasan is a representational painter currently based in Boston Massachusetts. He will receive his BFA in painting from Massachusetts College of Art & Design. Vasan has been exhibiting in local galleries in the New England area and has received the George Nick award, The Rob Moore Grant in painting and The Kofi Kayiga auction award. His painting ‘Two Aliens Share a Beer’ was also awarded best in show for the Cambridge Art Association’s 2022 National Prize Show. Recently Vasan was an artist in residence at Galerie ISA, Mumbai where he will have his debut solo exhibition in January 2024. Vasan draws from his inter-cultural experiences and aims to produce work that speaks to a diverse audience, he is interested in representing his personal truth on the canvas while taking into account formal and conceptual considerations derived from the complex history of painting. ​