Portrait Drawing: From Sketches to Sustained Studies

Explore and learn to draw the forms and structures of the human head, facial features, and body dynamics and discover the connection between the ‘character’ and the ‘face’. Using a variety of drawing mediums from pencil, charcoal, ink and wash to collage, via quick sketches and sustained drawings, students will investigate a range of subjects starting with the skull and plaster casts, to the live model and self-portrait.

Noel Thurgate challenges you to find out “What holds the key to a likeness?” He references historical and contemporary portraits to provide insight into artists’ approach their portrait subjects, their methodologies, and use of materials. He welcomes entry level students and caters to more experienced students to enable experimentation with new materials and techniques.  Noel provides the scope to explore compositional possibilities that the sitter/model and surroundings may present, during the sustained and in-depth studies.

* Please note that there is no class on Saturday 7 June due to the long weekend.

* NAS Short Courses are open to students of ages 16 years and over. The NAS Art Club is open to students from ages 15 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. 

Noel Thurgate is an artist with over 30 years’ experience in teaching drawing, including nine years as Head of Drawing at the National Art School. His work draws inspiration from the figure and the landscape, and his outdoor and studio drawings explore and develop the underlying abstract qualities found in nature. Noel has exhibited since 1975 in shows ranging from the Young Contemporaries, the Archibald Prize and the Kedumba Drawing Award to numerous solo exhibitions, and his work is held in state, regional and institutional collections.

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

• 1 x 4B and 1 x 6B graphite pencils
• 4 x sticks willow charcoal 10mm
• 2 x sticks compressed charcoal
• 1 x medium and soft charcoal pencil
• 1 x sepia or sanguine Conte pencil
• 1 x white Conte pencil
• Block rubber
• Soft cloth
• 1 x Aquarelle graphite pencil
• 1 x Aquarelle black pencil
• 3 x sheets good quality drawing paper e.g. Stonehenge 150 gsm A2 size or bigger
• 10 x sheets of A2 cartridge paper
• 1 x sheet of A2 Canson paper mid tone grey

Enclosed footwear is essential in all studios on campus.