Weekend Portrait Workshop (10 Hours) with a Portrait Model - Untutored

Dates: 8th & 9th May 2027
Times: 10am - 4pm
Location: Enniskerry
Skill Level: all levels welcome

Draw or Paint from Life. No Instruction. No Pressure. Just Practice.

Take the pressure off "getting it right" and spend the weekend sharpening your ability to observe proportion, gesture, and presence in real time. Working from a portrait model across a full 10-hour weekend, you'll draw without instruction in a supportive environment — free to embrace mistakes as data and develop a personal visual language unbound by academic formulas.

Working from life is uniquely valuable: nothing compares to the depth of observation, responsiveness, and immediacy that comes from studying a living, breathing subject in real time. It hones your ability to simplify complex forms, detect subtle relationships, and work quickly — building the visual memory and confidence essential for all artistic growth. Our Friday portrait sessions are a firm favourite on the weekly schedule, and this workshop gives you extra time with the model to really immerse yourself in the experience. Over time, these untutored sessions become the most valuable part of your artistic routine, building a confidence and fluency that no amount of theory can replace.

A sitter (female/male, clothed) will pose in a single, sustained long pose for the entire session.

This allows you to work on a more finished drawing or painting over the full session, with a consistent pose throughout.

BOOKING INFORMATION

• What Will I Learn On This Course

  • Proportion & Gesture – Capture the essence of the figure quickly

  • Anatomical Structure – Refine your understanding of the human form

  • Simplification – Break down complex forms into manageable shapes

  • Visual Memory – Build the ability to retain and recall observed details

  • Confidence – Work quickly from life without fear of "getting it wrong"

  • Personal Language – Develop your own approach free from academic formulas

• Materials Needed

  Materials are not provided – please bring your own.
  Choose your preferred medium(s) – drawing or painting:

  • Paper – A2 or A3 drawing paper/pad (not spiral bound recommended)

  • Drawing materials – Graphite pencils (2B, 4B, 6B), willow charcoal (medium and thick sticks), soft pastels, ink, or any medium you prefer

  • Erasers – Kneadable eraser, putty rubber

  • Optional extras – Coloured pencils, markers, graphite sticks

  What we provide:

  • Easels and drawing boards

  • Chairs and benches

  Odourless solvents only if necessary

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