Figurative and Portrait Drawing for Beginners

Discover how to draw from the figure, from initial sketches of life models to detailed portraits and sustained studies. Learn to see and draw anatomical structures and bring out the personality of the subject.

Evan Salmon approaches figurative drawing with different materials including graphite and charcoal and explores how these materials can change the character of a drawing. Through a series of drawing exercises, Evan teaches you how to map proportional values, understand tone, draw a likeness of a person and experiment with expressive mark-making techniques. Working in the studio with real life models, mirrors and props, students will develop skills in figurative portraiture and breathe life into their drawings.

*Short courses are open to students of ages 16 years and over.

*Drawing and painting short courses may be held in upstairs studios. If access to stairs is not suitable, please contact us at short.courses@nas.edu.au

* What to bring? Please refer to the list of required materials in the Art Materials field below.

Evan Salmon is an artist who works in the mediums of painting, drawing and printmaking and is known for his landscape paintings, portraits and still life. He has exhibited extensively in Australia for over thirty years, including at Watters Gallery. Across his career he has held 28 solo exhibitions and been included in numerous group exhibitions. His portraits have been selected for the Salon des Refuses at the S.H. Ervin Gallery 11 times between 2012 and 2024. Evan was highly commended in the 2024 Kedumba Drawing Award. He was awarded the NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize in 2015 and was a finalist in the Sulman Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 2006.

Evan’s work is held in the collections of the National Art School, National Gallery of Australia, NSW State Parliament, State Library of New South Wales, Artbank, University of Technology Sydney, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, University of Wollongong Art Collection, University of Wollongong in Dubai, Wollongong Art Gallery and private collections both in Australia and overseas.

He received a Diploma from the National Art School in 1991 and completed a Master of Fine Art (Research) at the College of Fine Arts, University of NSW in 2002. Evan has been a Lecturer in Drawing at the National Art School since 2017 and previously taught painting and drawing to Diploma students at various TAFE colleges between 2002 and 2016.

Students must supply their own art materials, please refer to the list below.

• 1 pad of A2 cartridge paper
• 2 x sheets of 190GSM Saunders Waterford paper (hot pressed, smooth), $7.65 per sheet at Parkers
• Set of graphite pencils from 2B to 6B
• Wolff's carbon pencil, 2B & 4B, $4.55 each at Parkers
• Willow charcoal
• Kneadable (putty) eraser e.g. Faber-Castel Knetgummi art eraser
• Firm white eraser e.g. Staedtler Tradition or Mars plastic
• Stanley knife (for sharpening) or pencil sharpener
• 2 bulldog clips
• Fixative spray
  

Covered footwear is essential in all studios on campus.