Explore portraiture with award winning artist Wendy Barratt, using charcoal techniques to create expressive likenesses.
In this one-day workshop, you’ll learn how to capture a likeness, working from photographic references while exploring tone, texture and mark-making in charcoal.
In the afternoon, you’ll have the opportunity to work on a longer piece using the techniques covered in the morning session, with guidance on how to work confidently with this versatile medium. Wendy will share tips on drawing from photographs, encouraging you to balance observation with creativity.
During the day, you’ll also have the chance to visit the Caroline Walker: Mothering exhibition, where you can see the ways in which Walker uses photography as part of her artistic process, as well as the William Nicholson exhibition, which offers a fascinating insight into portraiture across his career.
Whether you’re new to portrait drawing or keen to build your skills, this workshop offers a supportive space to explore techniques and develop your artistic style. By the end of the workshop, you’ll have created a series of expressive studies and a final portrait to take home.
You can pre-order a delicious lunch from Pallant Café for £13, which will be delivered to you during the break. A menu will be provided at the start of the workshop for you to make your selection. If you’d like to include lunch, please add this option at checkout.
Wendy Barratt
Wendy Barratt is an artist who is fascinated with representing the human – both in portraiture and life drawing. Her portraiture is made primarily in oil paint whereas life drawing becomes an experiment in mostly dry media. She is the winner of Sky Portrait Artist of the Year 2023.
She studied graphic design in Manchester back in the early 80s and has been working ever since as a designer, until a few years ago when she launched herself as a full-time artist. Throughout her career, she has spent a lot of her spare time in the life room honing her artistic skills as well as passing on her love of drawing and painting onto others through teaching.
Recently she has seen her paintings accepted for the Royal Society of Portrait Painters annual exhibition as well as having work exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery. Commissions include large portraits which were used as major props for the ITV Crime Drama series The Long Call. Wendy is a member of the Contemporary British Portrait Painters and her self-portrait was selected for the Herbert Smith Freehills Painting award show at the National Portrait Gallery in 2024.
