Portrait Painting Course

£120.00

This is a Oil Painting portrait course. Using mediums other than oil is not advised.

In this Oil Portrait Painting course, students will be provided with a 3 hour video demonstration every week for 4 weeks. In the demonstrations, Lewis will go over his oil painting technique from start to finish.

Students will also be sent the photo reference that Lewis uses in his demonstrations. Students will be expected to complete their own portrait painting in oil from the reference provided, which will be due the following week.

Lewis will then send students a critique video, whereby he will trace over the students paintings, showing the student how to take their portraits to the next level. This intimate one to one time will allow for tremendous growth, as each student is catered to, taking their current level and goals into account.

Course start date: 7th July 2025

Course end date: 3rd August 2025

This is a Oil Painting portrait course. Using mediums other than oil is not advised.

In this Oil Portrait Painting course, students will be provided with a 3 hour video demonstration every week for 4 weeks. In the demonstrations, Lewis will go over his oil painting technique from start to finish.

Students will also be sent the photo reference that Lewis uses in his demonstrations. Students will be expected to complete their own portrait painting in oil from the reference provided, which will be due the following week.

Lewis will then send students a critique video, whereby he will trace over the students paintings, showing the student how to take their portraits to the next level. This intimate one to one time will allow for tremendous growth, as each student is catered to, taking their current level and goals into account.

Course start date: 7th July 2025

Course end date: 3rd August 2025

Equipment List

The following is a list of recommended colour palettes for you to choose from. There is no set colour palette, so choose any one you like. If you’d rather paint in purely black and white, that’s fine too. Colour will hardly be an area for critique unless you’re a more advanced painter that has their foundational components well grasped.

The Zorn Palette (Recommended for Beginners)

The Zorn Palette only uses 4 colours. Ivory Black, Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red Light.

The Warm/Cool Palette (Recommended for Intermediates)

This is a more open, but still fairly controlled colour palette, consisting of the following colours:

  • Ultramarine Blue

  • Cobalt Blue

  • Brilliant Yellow

  • Lemon Yellow

  • Yellow Ochre

  • Alizarin Crimson

  • Flame Red

  • Havannah Lake

  • Burnt Sienna

  • Burnt Umber

  • Olive Green

  • Windsor Green

  • Permanent White

  • Ivory Black

The Open Palette (Recommended for Advanced Painters)

A much more open palette, recommended more for advanced painters. It isn’t recommended Artists with less experience jump to this palette without first experiencing the first two in this list.

  • Titanium White

  • Flake White Replacement (Gamsol)

  • Ivory Black

  • Alizarin Crimson

  • Cadmium Red Light

  • Cadmium Orange

  • Cadmium Yellow

  • Cadmium Yellow Light

  • Ultramarine Blue

  • Cobalt Blue

  • Transparent Maroon

  • Transparent Red Oxide

The following is a list of other equipment you will need for this course:

  • Brushes - Bristle (Coarse haired) and Sables (Soft haired). A wide variety of Filberts, Flats, Rounds and Brights.

  • Surfaces - I prefer to use MDF boards (Or masonite for those outside of the UK) primed with a couple of coats of Acrylic Gesso (Winsor Newton or Liquitex). However, you can use Canvas panels or stretched canvas if you desire. Avoid the student grade canvas’s though, as they’re not great to work on.

  • Solvent - Gamsol (an odourless thinner).

  • Paper Towels (to wipe off excess paint from your brushes, and for some textural application if desired).

  • Q tips (for drawing the painting onto the canvas/board).

  • Graphite HB pencil (If you decide to draw freehand onto the canvas before you paint.

  • Palette (Glass or wood) A good solid palette that I would recommend would be New Wave Posh Palette Glass Grey 12x16 - Available on Amazon.

  • Spray fixative (Conte a Paris do a good one). For those of you who wish to draw the portrait onto your surface rather than paint it on with a brush or Q tip.

  • Kneaded Eraser - Again, if you’re drawing onto the surface with a pencil.

  • Standing easel or desk easel. Whatever you’re most comfortable with using.