July 11 - August 15, 2026 (6 weeks)
Live online on Saturdays, 10:00am-1:00pm Eastern Standard Time (New York time)
The Zoom link will be provided. Recordings are available to registrants, so attending the live sessions is not required. Participants are invited to email progress each week by 12:00pm EST (New York time) on Tuesdays for feedback, which is sent to the class as a mid-week video.
Course description:
In this six-week online portrait painting course, we will explore the timeless beauty of the soft edge classical portrait. Working from images captured on film, students will learn how to create portraits with a quieter, more atmospheric quality—softening some of the harsher visual effects often found in modern photography while preserving structure, likeness, and form. A selection of different images will be provided to work from or you can work on your own project with the discussion from the class in mind.
The course will focus on painting techniques that help create a softer, more refined portrait without losing the strength of the underlying drawing or the hard work already established in the painting. Through two three-week paintings, students will explore various approaches to blending, edge control, transitions, glazing, and selective softening. Rather than simply smoothing everything out, we will study how to make intentional choices: where to keep an edge firm, where to let it dissolve, and how to create a portrait that feels both truthful and timeless. Emphasis will be placed on subtle value shifts, softened features, atmospheric transitions, and the balance between clarity and mystery.
Each session includes a targeted discussion, live demonstration, and constructive group critique. Open to all levels, this course combines disciplined observation with traditional painting methods, guiding students toward portraits that feel elegant, natural, and enduring.