THIS ISSUE ALMOST GOT MY ASS CANCELED!
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The October 2024 issue of PORTRAIT PAINTER features a duel, a scuffle to the death, between Jean-Léon Gérôme and your's truly.
Utilizing Gérôme's The Bacchante, 1853 as a foil I deliver a resounding smack of my snot streaked mitten to wipe the smirk off of the face of Classical Realism.
Perchance you might ask why am I prosecuting Gérôme? Gérôme was an affable fellow, I would have enjoyed a frothy beverage or several with him, but he was out-of-step even in his time, the late 19th Century.
It is Gérôme's pedagogy and aesthetic, namely, the Bargue method developed in 1866/1877 for Gérôme's students, that today's Academies are predicated.
We live in a time that cries out for giants of painting. Our age of alienation and loneliness is fecund ground for expression. And illustrative, academic painting modes will not cut it.
I might also have hoisted myself with my own petard.
The November issue of PORTRAIT PAINTER will be released on October 29, 2024. Back-issues are $27. You’ll never want to miss getting it free!
Painting Alla Prima Portraits from Photographs
My upcoming Portrait Painting Zoom Class begins Tuesday, November 12 and 19th, 2024 at 18:30 PST for two sessions. $160
Alla Prima is loosely defined as first strike. That is, the portrait is done in a single session.
Painting alla prima is not painting manically. Instead it is a process of painting with a succinct economy of means -- every brush stroke counts!
For the learning process the alla prima portrait is spread over two sessions. The first session is structural: You begin with striking the arabesque (the big shape) and establishing the facial proportions. From there you proceed to a 'dry' coloring-in. These are your training wheels.
The second session is the construction of plastic facial forms with a sculptural sensibility. To wit, you will learn how to apply your brush strokes and color with a sympathetic concordance to the underlying anatomical forms, thus rendering a convincing 3-dimensional portrait that is as fresh as hot biscuits.
Also included is the ultra-high resolution video recording of the workshop that is your's to keep for future reference.
Write: michael-britton-workshops@artacademy.com for the full syllabus, supply list and to register.