Workshops - W2602A: Portrait Vignettes

Using classical and contemporary imagery, snippets of portraits will be painted on small, 4 inch round mini panels to create cropped vignettes of portraits, featuring eyes and mouths, or any feature desired. Catherine will guide participants through the process of mixing and assessing skin colours, the application and development of these mini vignettes. The isolation of the features gives the participant lots of time to observe and develop their image, without the pressure of creating/finishing the entire face. Can be a fun gift or conversation piece and the size makes it manageable, for anyone.

Date: Friday February 27, 2026 – 9:30 am – 3:30 pm

Course Fee for non-members: $183.75

Note: Fee includes two small 4 inch round prepared panels.

Materials List:

• Reference Image:
  • You can bring your own images for the vignette, just make sure that they are clear and good resolution. We will be working on small 4 inch round panels, so make sure the image is cropped appropriately for that size. I will bring some images and pre-prepared tracings that you can use of more standard, historical images (Girl with a Pearl earring, Bougereau etc) It does
    help to have some kind of plan, especially if you want to do someone more personally connected to you. You don’t have to rigidly adhere to the reference, but if you’re a beginner it helps to have an idea of where you want to go.
• Paints:
  • Oil and acrylic are both acceptable for this workshop.
  • Colours: Titanium white, Cadmium yellow light or Azo yellow light, Cadmium red Medium or pyrrole red med or Quinacridone red light/med, Permanent Crimson or Quinacridone magenta, Yellow Ochre, Burnt umber, Burnt Sienna, Raw umber, Viridian green or phthalo green, Phthalo blue, Ultramarine blue, Ivory Black (lamp black)
  • Other colours are nice to have if you can afford to:, Cadmium yellow lemon or a lemon yellow, Cadmium yellow medium or Hansa yellow deep, Cadmium orange or pyrrole orange, A convenience green; sap green, cinnabar green, permanent green, Raw sienna if you love landscapes, Manganese violet or dioxazine violet, Transparent red iron oxide for portraits
• Support:
  • I will be providing the 4 inch circular panels for this class, prepared with 4 coats of gesso and a keyhole installed on the rear, so you can hang the piece(s) once it’s completed.
• Brushes:
  • Bring an assortment, be aware that once you’ve used a brush in oil paint, it’s not a good idea to switch back to acrylic etc.
  • A couple of small round brushes for detail, some ½ inch flats for general painting, and /or ½ inch filberts and maybe some slightly larger brushes for the background (no larger than an inch usually) You might want some firmer brushes (synthetic and or hog hair) and some softer brushes (can also be synthetic or natural hair i.e. sable, synthetic mongoose)
• Other Tools
  • Palette for laying out your paint; can be a paper tear off palette, plastic, foam plate, wood palette but give yourself lots of room to mix paint Palette knife for mixing paint and or applying paint (small diamond shape is fine)
  • Paper towel or shop towel
  • Tracing paper (I often have this if you don’t have any)
  • Transfer paper (carbon paper)
  • Green tape
  • A foam board (20 x 30 inches approx.) to support your colour copy and painting so you can look at both side by side on your easel (dollar store)