Session Eight/July 28-August 1

Wendi La Fey
Portrait Painting in Oil

All Levels
Studio
5 Day class (9am-4pm)
Tuition: $275
Materials/ Model Fees: $50

In this course, students will learn all of the secrets, tips, and techniques that Wendi has gleaned over the years to create life-like and dynamic portraits in oil. The class will explore the creation of a portrait, from the initial plan and preparation work, through every step of the process, including the finishing touches. Students will learn how to pose their subject, how to prepare a setting, and plan a dynamic composition that captures emotion and personality. They will learn how to paint from life (as well as the use of reference photos), how to choose which technique is best for a subject, how to light a subject for best results, and how to achieve life-like flesh tones. They will also explore the painting process itself - including how to visualize, block in, develop, and finish a painting through a combination of demonstration, instruction, and lots of practice. This class will benefit painters of all levels by introducing basic rules of thumb, as well as ways to fine tune even the most advanced techniques.

Local Eureka Springs artist, Wendi La Fey (Beauford), is former president of the Taos Society of Portrait Artists. She is a member of Women Artists' of the West, the Portrait Society of America, and an associate member of Oil Painters of America. She holds a B.F.A. from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. Wendi has owned and operated several galleries, and currently owns Hummingbird Gallery at the Art Colony in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. She has performed dozens of live public portrait painting demonstrations, and her work has been on display in several museum shows and exhibitions. Her award winning portraits are often described by viewers as being "so life-like that it feels as if the person could walk right off the canvas".