Event start date: 02/07/2026
Location: Raw Umber Studios, 16 Nelson Street, Stroud GL5 2HN
Regular BP Portrait award exhibitor Anastasia Pollard will teach you how to paint a portrait, either with a limited ‘Zorn’ palette or a full colour palette, depending on your goals and level of experience.
Painting a portrait can be overwhelming at first. In this course, you will learn a structured, reproducible approach, starting by blocking in big shapes and then gradually moving to the details. You will gain confidence in tackling this complex subject and improve your observational skills along the way.
This three-day workshop is ideal for artists of all levels who would like to gain experience in painting the portrait from life in oils. No experience is necessary.
What will I learn?
- How to create a portrait from start to finish
- How to achieve a realistic likeness
- The importance of gesture and anatomy in portraiture
- The importance and principles of drawing, values, edges and colours
- How to mix colours and paint realistic flesh tones
- Which brushes to use when, and how
Participants will work on a single portrait over the course of the three days. Depending on your experience and goals you will have the choice of one of the following:
a) using a limited palette (the ‘Zorn’ palette). This constraint of using only red, yellow, black and white lets you create surprisingly accurate flesh tones, while simultaneously reducing the complexity of colour mixing
or
b) using a full colour palette
“Great setting, great teacher, great support; hard to fault. I would have loved it to go on longer… As it is, it’s challenging yet accessible to all. I couldn’t be happier. Even the couches are great!” – Christopher Ronus
“The studio was amazing and the facilities tea coffee biscuits lovely clean toilets. And washroom for brushes. Anastasia took the course which was painting a portrait model from life using a limited Zorn pallet.” – Susan Mortimer
Who is the tutor?
This course is taught by Anastasia Pollard. Anastasia studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Florence Academy of Art. Her work has been included in the annual exhibitions of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and has featured in the BP Portrait Award in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2017. Anastasia is a member of The Royal Society of Portrait Painters.
How many students will there be?
There is a maximum of 12 participants, and the tutor will customise the course according to your individual needs.
For more information and to register visit the Raw Umber website