Tutor- Alison Harper
Tuesdays, 6–9 pm
Fee £320
Location: Essential School of Painting
Art materials included in your fee with the exception of canvas which you can buy at a discounted rate in studio.
Step into the world of pastel portraiture and uncover how this vibrant, expressive medium can transform your drawings. Over eight inspiring weeks, you’ll explore pastels, from capturing the subtleties of skin tones to conveying mood and character through gesture, tone and colour.
Places are limited — early booking is advised.
Working with dry pastels on Fabriano Tiziano pastel paper, under expert guidance of Alison, you’ll learn to see and render the human face with fresh sensitivity, discovering how pastels uniquely balance immediacy and depth. With hands-on exercises and personalised feedback, you’ll build confidence in mark-making, layering and composition, while developing tools to translate light, texture and expression onto paper. You’ll work with a range of pastel materials and surfaces, discovering how the medium’s immediacy can infuse your portraits with feeling and presence.
Bhupen Khakhar by Alison Harper
Alison Harper
Ian Hamilton 1975 Pastel on paper by Sandy Moffat
Whether you’ve sketched faces for years or you’re new to drawing from life, this course nurtures your technical confidence and creative exploration. By the end of the term your pastel portraits will not just reflect likenesses — they’ll resonate with presence, colour and emotion that feels uniquely yours.
What you’ll explore:
- Observational drawing skills focused on the head and features
- Techniques for expressive use of soft and hard pastels
- Harmonising tone, colour and atmosphere in portrait drawing
- Creative approaches to composition and mark-making
About Alison
Alison is an exceptional multi-talented artist and graduate of the prestigious Glasgow School of Art and is known as one of ‘The Glasgow Girls’ and is the artistic director and one of two co-founders of the Essential School of Painting. The holder of multiple awards including the commonwealth scholarship. Alison has exhibited widely both in the United Kingdom and internationally >>> read more
