Material List and FAQ for Portraiture Series I & II
Students may work in oil, acrylic, watercolor, or soft pastel
What is the difference between Series I and Series II?
Series I: Portrait Foundation Students begin with reference review, format choice, thumbnails, drawing, and a simple value plan before moving into paint or pastel. The focus is on structure, proportion, placement, likeness, and learning to see the portrait as light, middle value, and shadow.
Series II: Portrait Development Students build on Series I by strengthening likeness, refining values and color temperature, developing edges, clothing/background/figure elements as needed, and making finish decisions. Students may continue a portrait from Series I or begin a new piece using the same process.
Series I is the best starting point. Series II is for students who completed Series I or have enough portrait experience to continue independently with guidance.
Materials to bring:
-reference photos: clear crisp details of the face, good lighting, color, printed 6”×8” or larger or digital (tablet or phone). Photos can be of just the face, torso or full body
-substrate/painting surfaces 9”x12” recommended min 8×10, max 11×14
-sketchbook, pencils, erasers for value and compositional studies
-palette for color mixing
-paint (more details below)
-brushes: synthetic brushes are recommended. Oil and acrylic students may want a small range of filberts, flats, and a few rounds. Softer synthetic filberts are especially useful for skin passages. Watercolor students may use their preferred watercolor brushes; flats and rounds are the most useful.
General Color Note:
Color names may vary by medium and brand. Students do not need exact matches in every medium. The goal is to work with colors that are close enough to support a limited portrait palette: useful lights, middle values, and darks; warm and cool reds; yellows/ochres; blues; browns; neutrals; and flesh-tone or near-flesh-tone colors where appropriate.
Oil and Acrylic Color
Recommended basic colors:
• Titanium White
• Yellow Ochre or Yellow Ochre Light
• Alizarin Crimson Permanent
• Ivory Black
• Ultramarine Blue
Optional colors
• Pyrrole Red or Pyrrole Red Light - optional warm red
• Cobalt Blue Hue or Cerulean Blue Hue - optional cool blue, only if preferred or already owned
Watercolor Students
White is not needed for watercolor. Watercolor students should bring appropriate watercolor paper and their preferred watercolor brushes. Rounds and flats are the most useful. If students are not working on a watercolor block, Gatorboard or another firm board is useful for supporting the paper, along with artist tape or clips. Amy's available Gatorboard surfaces should be helpful.
Suggested watercolor materials:
• Watercolor paper, 9 x 12 recommended; minimum 8 x 10, maximum 11 x 14
• Gatorboard or other firm support board, if not using a watercolor block
• Artist tape or clips
• Watercolor palette
• Water container
• Paper towels or rag
• Preferred watercolor brushes; rounds and flats are most useful
• Limited portrait palette similar to the class palette: Yellow Ochre or Yellow Ochre Light, Alizarin Crimson. Permanent, and Ultramarine Blue
• Optional: Pyrrole Red or Pyrrole Red Light; Cobalt Blue Hue or Cerulean Blue Hue, if already owned or preferred
Pastel Students
Pastel color names vary widely by brand, so exact color names are not required. Pastel students should bring a useful portrait range from colors they already own: light, middle, and dark values; warm and cool reds; warm and cool yellows/ochres; blues; browns; neutrals; and flesh-tone or near-flesh-tone colors. A large new set is not required. The class will focus on value, temperature, layering, and purposeful color choices rather than using every color available.
General Supply Note
The supply list should stay general enough that students can use suitable materials they already own. Students can check with Amy about what Art Paint Draw carries or recommends. If a specific question comes up before class, Mary can confer with Amy as needed.
Note from Art Paint Draw: Table easels, water jars, paper towels, loaner brushes (oil and acrylic only), and general drawing supplies are available to use in our classroom, as well as artist tape and gatorboard for watercolor during class. We also carry all supplies needed in the store with students receiving 10% off all purchases.