Learn how to paint a portrait by copying a work of art from an old master with Jacques Viljoen in this two day workshop. Portrait painting is a language, and that language is best learned by studying the work of those who have mastered it. From Velzaques to Van Dyke, learn the basics of portrait painting by copying a reproduction of an artwork in a one-to-one ratio. If you are new to portrait painting, you will learn far more this way than copying a photograph or tackling a portrait from life.
Date: Friday, 1st and Saturday, 2nd August – 2025
In this day and a half workshop, Jacques will walk you through the basics of drawing the face and give guidance on how to approach a copy in a way that reflects how one would go about portrait painting from life. You will learn how to mix paint and how to arrive at the correct colour value. This will help speed up your process of working in your practice.
Times Day 1: 9am – 4pm
Intro Demo and materials Lecture:
Time to shop for any materials you dont have yet and have lunch
Painting
Times Day 2: 9am – 12pm
Morning painting session
Place: The Deckle Edge @ 13 Brickfield Road, Salt River
Workshops space limited booking essential
What attendees will learn:
In this workshop we will cover the basics of portrait painting: from proportions to anatomy to
comparative measurement, you will learn how to construct a head. For those who are new to
painting, you will learn about mixing and applying paint. Since this is a copy of a painting,
you will have the old master to guide you along the way, instead of the distorted complexity
of a photograph, or the infinite difficulty of painting from life. This workshop will help solidify
your skills so that when you do go and create your own portraits, you will have a reference
point to start from. We will begin with a simple drawing in raw umber before continuing to
work by massing-in large colour values, working from general to specific
Materials provided by Fila & The Deckle Edge
Maimeri Classico Oil Paint (Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Permanent Madder Deep, Permanent Carmine, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Lemon Yellow,Burnt Sienna, White)
Daler-Rowney Brushes – enough for 6-7 people without sharing Flat #1, #2, #6, #8 Filbert #4
Recommended Materials List (Students to bring their own materials from home or purchase prior to the workshop there will be some Maimeri oil paints and some brushes on the day:
Deckle Edge has a range of supplies available at various price points.
Oil Paint For Expanded Limited Palette (recommended brands Schmincke, Gamblin, Winsor & Newton and Maimeri):
Raw umber
Ivory Black
Cobalt Blue or French Ultramarine
English Red or venetian red, or Burnt Siena
Cadmium Red (Light) or Vermillion
Yellow Ochre
Titanium White
Brushes:
Assortment of long-handled flat and filbert brushes, both soft synthetic and hogs hair. Please bring as many brushes of various sizes as possible.
Support: A3 Stretched canvas or panel
Portable Easel: The Deckle Edge supplies many types of portable easels. Just make sure that the easel allows you to work standing up. A limited number of spare easels will be made available to borrow on request.
Palette
Please bring a pallet to mix your paint on. The bigger the better. Choose from the following options:
● Hand-held wooden palette – Large size only: 30cm x 20cm minimum.
● Disposable paper palette – available in store. Recommended for beginners. Large size only.
Alternatively, a pochade box is fine if you have a way of connecting it to your easel and raising it to eye level
Palette Knife
At least one medium sized metal teardrop or diamond shape palette knife for mixing paint.
Oil / medium
For this workshop, attendees will be encouraged to avoid using medium or oil with their paint to promote thick and direct paint application. It is recommended to have some on hand though. Choose between:
– Walnut oil – viscous, does not need turpentine added
– Linseed oil – needs to be cut with 50% turpentine
Container with lid for medium
Paper Towel or cloth
For cleaning brush while painting
Cleaning materials
For those who wish to clean their equipment at home, make sure you have
● Turpentine
● Sunlight liquid
● paper towel
We will cover cleaning and preserving brushes in the intro
* Each attendee will get a 10% Deckle shopping coupon to use on the day.
Recommended age: All welcome from 15 years and up.
About the facilitatior:
Jacques Viljoen is a professional representational artist, known for working exclusively from life. He holds a BA in fine art from UCT and is currently in his third and final year at The Florence Academy of Art in Italy, where he is studying advanced painting. He is represented by Chander House in South Africa and has exhibited at the South African Portrait Awards finals and the Royal Society of Portrait painters in London. In 2023 he completed a full year’s residency at The Iziko National Gallery of South Africa, where he primarily copied master’s paintings.
T’s & C’s
If you need to cancel your workshop booking, please let us know by 11 a.m the weekday before the workshop. To help us support the facilitator, late cancellations will not be refunded. A credit for future events could be granted at our discretion.
R1,500.00
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