Teaching the Zorn Palette Portrait

Demo no. 1, 8 x 10", oil on canvas

NFS

Whew! What a weekend. I just spent an exhilarating three days working with a fantastic group of artists, exploring the Zorn palette and honing our portrait skills. We were hosted by one of the gems of Eugene, Oregon Art Supply. As my students remarked over and over: taking a painting class in an art supply store is like being a kid on Christmas!

Above is my demo from the first day of class. Nothing breaks the ice like a little performance painting! 

In the afternoon, we did some one-hour sketches - and lots and lots of mixing with our limited palettes of Cadmium Red, Yellow Ocher, Ivory Black, and Titanium White.

Student work, 1 hour sketches

I've said it before on this blog - I love to wield the timer while teaching. True to form, the next morning, I had them do 30 minute sketches! To prove it could be done, simply but effectively, I turned in my homework:

 

 30 minute Zorn palette sketches, oil on paper, approx. 6x8 inches. From photo reference. Painted by me.

And here is my demo from the day - A 30 minute start on the left, and a few more details added later on:

Students hard at work, painting our lovely (and statue-still) model Jennifer:

 

After surviving the timed-painting torture/warmup, they dove into some larger paintings for the rest of the day:

 On the third day, we rested. Just kidding!

Demo no. 3, 12 x 16", oil on canvas, sold

 On the third day, with yet another lovely and patient model, we painted up a storm. Here's my demo, approximately 2 hours. I can't believe I didn't get a shot of the students' paintings. They were phenomenal. 

It was three days of hard work, every minute was fun, and I can't wait for the next time! Lucky for me, another session of Painting the Zorn Palette Portrait is happening November 8-10th. Call Oregon Art Supply to reserve your spot. Tuition is $200, plus a $30 model fee. Only 6 spots available, so don't wait if you'd like to join us in November!