Portraiture: People and Pets with Jeffrey Gatrall
Five Saturdays, January 11 - February 8, 10am to 1pm
Cost: $200-$275 sliding scale*, plus materials
Learn to paint portraits in acrylics from a photograph! If you have a photo of a favorite person (or a favorite pet!) that you would like to turn into a painting, this class will show you several methods for achieving that. Whether you photo is a print, or a file on your phone, all the methods for using photos as reference for a painting will be discussed. The first class will center around how to go about choosing a good photo to work from, and how to get the image onto the canvas, panel, or paper. If you already have a particular photo you would like to use, please bring it to class. If you would like help choosing a photo, please bring all of your likely candidates with you. The remaining weeks will be for actually doing the painting.
For questions or to register, please email programs@nohoarts.org. If registering, please include your full name, mailing address, and phone number. Payment may be made in advance via PayPal here or by check to “NCFA” mailed to the Northampton Center for the Arts, PO Box 366, Northampton MA 01061.
*Payments on the upper end of the sliding scale help support our ongoing commitment to accessibility and sliding scale models. If financial assistance is needed, participants may apply for Community Fund support.
Jeffrey Gatrall received his BFA in painting from Rhode Island School of Design, and spent his senior year abroad in Rome as part of the school’s European Honors Program. The following year he completed the Scottish Post Diploma at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee, where he studied painting under Alberto Morrocco, and print making under Sheila Macfarlane. After deciding to enter the realm of commercial art, he had a thirty-five year career, primarily in animation, where he worked for Warner Bros., Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Universal, and Atari, among others. For the last fifteen years Jeffrey has been devoting his time to painting. He participated in NCFA’s En Plein Air Festival during the time the Center had no physical location, and he’s shown work at Historic Northampton. Jeffrey maintains a studio in Easthampton.
Supply LIst:
PAINTS:
This is a list of the basic acrylic colors you will need. By all means, get a small, inexpensive starter set of colors, just to get going. You can always buy the colors individually in tubes later, once you know what you are comfortable using. The starter sets will have most, if not all, of the colors on the list.
• Alizarin Crimson
• Cadmium Red Medium
• Cadmium Yellow Medium
• Hansa Yellow
• Cerulean Blue
• Ultramarine Blue
• Burnt Sienna
• Titanium White
• Ivory Black
Additional, but not necessary, colors.
• Yellow Ochre
• Raw Umber
• Phthalo Green
• Dioxazine Purple
PAINTING SURFACES:
This is a partial list of suggested surfaces that will take acrylic paint well. Acrylic paint will stick to most things, including wood, plaster, cement, and glass - with varying degrees of permanence - but this is a practical list of affordable and portable surfaces, to help you get started.
• PAPER
MIXED MEDIA PAPER - comes in pads of various sizes and textures. I would suggest the rougher textured paper, the thicker the better, as it will warp less and present fewer problems than the smooth variety.
Try to find a pad that specifically says it will handle paint.
The pad size should be from 9 X 12 up to 16 X 24 or so.
•CANVAS
STRETCHED CANVASES and CANVAS COVERED PANELS - also come in various sizes and are sold in packs.
The size should also be from 9 X 12 up to 16 X 24 or slightly larger.
Depending on your preference, canvas surfaces can be used as is, or you can apply one or two coats of Gesso, sanding lightly between coats, to get a smoother finish.
BRUSHES:
• ACRYLIC BRUSHES will be marked as such, although some brushes are sold as suitable for oils AND acrylics, or suitable for watercolors AND acrylics. Plain, synthetic brushes, meant for just acrylics, is all you need. Inexpensive brushes are often sold in packets.
You will need three flat brushes, small, medium, and large, for blocking in and general painting. You will also need three round brushes, also small, medium, and large, for detailing.
OTHER MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT:
• PAPER TOWELS - for blotting water or paint from your painting, wiping brushes, and for general clean-up.
• A MIXING TRAY, PALETTE, or STA-WET PALETTE - for mixing paint. Some people use an old ceramic plate, or aluminum pie pan.
• PALETTE KNIFE - mostly used for scraping off an unwanted section of your work, or for cleaning your palette. It can also be used for painting, if you are so inclined.
• A PLASTIC JAR with a LID - that you will fill with water, for washing out brushes. The jar should be fairly big, like a large size peanut butter jar. Some people like to use two jars
- one for washing out brushes, and one with just clean water to mix with the paint.
• PENCILS - should be erasable. They are useful for quick sketches, lightly blocking in your composition, and for writing down notes or ideas.
• A PORTABLE PENCIL SHARPENER
• A KNEADED ERASER - to avoid getting red eraser marks, or eraser dust, on your paper or canvas.
• A SMALL SKETCHBOOK or NOTEBOOK
- for taking class notes, making quick sketches, or jotting down ideas.
• A LIGHT, PORTABLE BACKING BOARD OR DRAWING BOARD - if you are working on paper and want to have a firm surface to work on.
• MASKING TAPE - for holding down the edges of mixed-media paper, if you are painting on individual sheets on a backing board.
If you have any questions regarding materials, please email me at:
Looking forward to seeing all of you!