Painting People: The Figure and Portrait – Thurs 14 Jan to 25 Mar 2021

This course will be taught by Alison Harper  and visiting artists including National portrait award winner Rosemary Beaton. Both painters have exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery and/or the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Course Fees: Termly £675 Two Term Fee £1215 (fee are pro-rata calculated for late entries)

This course is limited to 12 places only. As the September term has now started please contact the school for a pro rata calculation of the fees.

2 places remaining.

Book now to avoid disappointment

This course aims to explore the elements of portraiture and figure painting and drawing in both systematic and creative ways. During the course we will work from sources other than life including photographs, film stills, drawings, memory and imagination, aiming to explore experimental approaches to making images and being open to unexpected and expressive results building up to completing a body of work. At the end of the course you can showcase your work in our annual student exhibition scheduled for July 2021.

Course Timetable

• January Term: 14 Jan to 25 Mar 2021 – Half Term 18 February
• April Term: 22 Apr to 01 Jul 2021 – Half Term 27 May

About Alison Harper

Alison is the Artistic Director and Co-founder of The Essential School of Painting (ESOP). An exceptional multi-talented artist, Alison is a graduate of the prestigious Glasgow School of Art. She is one of the young female artists to emerge from the GSA known as ‘The Glasgow Girls’. The holder of multiple awards including a Commonwealth Scholarship, Alison has exhibited widely both in the United Kingdom and abroad. She was the invited artist to the Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition 2016. In 2017 she was a contributing author to the book ‘Drawing and Painting: Materials and Techniques for Contemporary Artists’ .  Alison was the Art Consultant to the BBC ONE Show ‘The Big Painting Challenge (Series 1 & 2)

Alison’s work is in The National Portrait Gallery, London; The Royal Academy, London; Leicester City Art Gallery; Stirling Museum; The Boundary Gallery, London; The Compass Gallery, Glasgow; The Collins Gallery, Glasgow, The City Arts Centre, Edinburgh, The Graphic Museum of Tokyo, Japan, The India Today Gallery New Delhi and in The National Museum of Kenya, Nairobi. Alison is a recipient of numerous Scholarships and awards including the Commonwealth Scholarship, Norwegian Government Scholarship, the Cheltenham Drawing Prize, Ruth Davidson Memorial Award and The Prince’s Drawing School Bursary Award >>> read more >>>

About Rosemary Beaton

Rosemary studied at the prestigious Glasgow School of Art graduating with a 1st Class BA Honours degree. As one of “The Glasgow Girls” she played a part in the resurgence of figurative painting that emerged at that time, culminating in Rosemary becoming the first scot and the youngest person to win  the prestigious (John Player) National Portrait Award (1984). Rosemary’s work has become synonymous with colourful and highly personal figurative works which combines supreme draughtsman-ship with an unusual and individual colour sense. The humour and odd juxtaposition of people and places is irresistible with the individual works displaying a celebration and a love of life that is rare and welcome at a time when painting per se and happiness as subject matter were and are on the defensive. She has exhibited widely in Britain and abroad. Her work is represented in a variety of  collections including the National Gallery and the BBC Art Collection, the latter organisation using her work in their productions “Tutti Frutti” and “Paris”.

Rosemary is a winner of multiple awards, prizes and commissions including The Summer Scholarship to Hospitalfield House, Arbroath and The Emmy Sachs Drawing Prize  and a commission to produce one of Glasgow’s largest stained glass window in Glasgow West End an Installation 11m high x 2.2m wide >>>read more>>>