Exploring Portraiture Through Print

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Join this online course with artist Scarlett Rebecca and explore portraiture through print and drawing.

Using our temporary exhibition, Glyn Philpot: Flesh and Spirit as inspiration, you will create striking images of yourself and your fellow classmates.

Over the weeks, as you get to know each other better, you will develop an understanding of each other’s spirit and personality. This will be explored through different printmaking techniques. You will explore a different process each week, including monoprint drawing and monotype and kitchen lithography. In the final week you will combine these techniques for your final work. There will also be a group critique to discuss your work and time with each other.

Each week a tutorial video will be released to the group introducing a new print process. You will then have time to practice this process before the Tuesday evening Zoom session. The Zoom sessions will be practical making sessions. Participants will be printing in their home studio set ups, working from the model on screen, photographs, or other reference imagery.

Throughout the course the participants will share their progresses, inspirations, and feedback on a private community forum on slack.com.

Price

£125 with materials box.

£95 without materials box.

Fresh print being pulled from press with image of a person's head

Weekly breakdown

Week 1: Introduction to the course and Monoprint drawing tutorial

We start with fast monoprint drawings in a ‘portrait club’ setting, as a way to introduce ourselves to the group. Each participant will take turns sitting still and chat to Scarlett about themselves. Meanwhile the rest of the group will create quick monoprint drawings of them.

Week 2: Monotype tutorial

In week 2 we will make longer, more considered prints using the monotype process. Participants will be encouraged to share a photograph of themselves with the group for them to work from. The goal is to portray aspects of their personality with included objects and choice of clothing.

Participants will also be able to work from a supplied set of portrait photographs.

Week 3: Kitchen Lithography tutorial

Using the kitchen lithography process we will be exploring self portraiture, working from photographs, a mirror and the prints produced by other participants.

Week 4: Combining processes tutorial

In the final week we will consider how to combine the previous week’s processes. Participants will work on individual projects developed from the past week’s prints. We will end with a group feedback discussion, reflecting on the work that was produced, and the connections that were made throughout the course.

What is included in the price?

– A printmaking materials box delivered to your home

– Six detailed video tutorials to watch during the week before the Zoom session

– Weekly 2-hour zoom workshops with guided tasks for you and your fellow students to practise what you have learnt, ask questions, and share your prints with each other. This will be overseen and tutored by Scarlett Rebecca, with informal, relaxed and attentive guidance for every student on the Zoom session.

– An invitation to join the online community forum on slack.com to share your prints, inspiration and feedback with the other participants of the course

Table with 2 balck and white prints of men's heads with a pot of brushes behind

Materials

As part of the full price course, you will receive a materials box including all the basic materials you will need for the course.

Provided in the materials box:

A5 Plastic plate x 2
Chocolate selection
Chinagraph Pencil
Cellulose Sponge
Printmaking inks x2
Farbriano printmaking paper x20
A4 cartridge x10
Pie Zie paper x10
Newsprint
Tissue Paper
Greaseproof Sheet
Pair of gloves

All students will need to source some additional materials:

Aluminium foil
Sticky tape
Printing Roller
Palette knife*
Paintbrush
Sharpie/Indian ink/oil pastel*
Cola/lemon juice
Vaseline*
Low odour white spirit or vegetable oil to clean up with
Rags/newspaper/kitchen towel to clean up with
Approx A3 sheet of acetate/clear pastic for registration*
Wooden spoon, baren or printing press

*Recommended

If you join for the discounted rate you will not receive a materials box and will need to source all the materials above.

Woman using a printing press holding up a fresh print

Artist bio

Scarlett Rebecca is a printmaker based in North Wales. She teaches regularly online and at workshops around the country. Her work is mainly with lithography and relief print processes, focussing on stone lithography, a form of printmaking deemed to be ‘endangered’ by Heritage Crafts.

Scarlett has exhibited widely since 2017, both within the U.K. and internationally.

Visit her website for more details.