Portrait basics – 6 weeks

Start Date: Wednesday 7/01/2026 (Weekly)

Time: 02:30pm

Duration: 2.5 (total 10 ) hrs

Price: £380.00

Ability: All Welcome

Tutor: Rachel Labovitch

Tickets Available: 6

About this course

Learn the Basics: Portrait Drawing & Painting in Water-Based Oil Paints

A 6 week course starting Wed 7th Jan 2026 -10th Feb 2.30pm - 5.00pm

Join portrait artist and experienced tutor Rachel Labovitch for a friendly and supportive 6-week course designed especially for beginners looking to explore portraiture through both drawing and painting in water-based oil paints.

Whether you're completely new to art or just starting to explore portraits, this course gently guides you through the essentials of portrait drawing and painting. You'll learn about facial proportions, how to work from reference photographs, the basics of water-based oil painting, and how to develop an expressive and realistic portrait step by step.

Rachel's warm and encouraging teaching style makes it easy for beginners to build skills and confidence, with clear demonstrations, individual feedback, and plenty of hands-on practice in a welcoming studio environment.

The 6 sessions will focus on working from photographs and ref supplied

Course Overview

Each week introduces key concepts and techniques, progressing at a pace suited for beginners. We will work from high-quality photographic references provided by the tutor, using both drawing and painting materials, all supplied for you.

Week 1: Getting Started with Portrait Drawing

• Understanding the basic structure of the head and skull

• Explore planes of the face and how light affects structure

• Tonal drawing using shading and values

Focus: Building observation skills and working in a general to specific technique when building the head

Week 2: Drawing Features in Depth

• Break down key features: eyes, nose, mouth, ears

• Practice drawing individual features with attention to form and tone •

Facial proportions and placement of features

Focus: Understanding and drawing believable, expressive facial features

Week 3: Painting – From Drawing to Canvas

• Water mixable oils - palette, setup, and safe handling

• Zorn palette and basic skin tone mixing

• Block in studies of the head using warm and cool mixes

• Preparing your ground for painting next week

Focus: Preparing your canvas and painting structures of the head with confidence

Week 4: First Layers of Paint

• Transferring your drawing to canvas

• Developing likeness and emotional presence

• Understanding values and contrast in painting

• Blocking in light, mid, and dark tones

Focus: Creating a strong underpainting and understanding facial form in paint

Week 5: Developing Depth and Expression

• Re-drawing where necessary

• Building form with glazes and layers

• Practice tonal transitions using your limited palette

• Adjusting colour temperature: warm and cool tones in the skin

• Exploring edge work: soft vs hard transitions

• Focus: Bringing your portrait to life with depth and realism

Week 6: Finishing Touches & Individual Critique

• Adding highlights, color shifts, and subtle detail using smaller brushes

• Balancing the portrait: composition and atmosphere

• Final critique and individual feedback

• Guidance on next steps for your portrait journey

Focus: Completing your portrait with confidence and a personal touch

Included:

All painting and drawing materials (including water-based oils, brushes, and canvases)
Reference images provided
Group and individual support throughout

What to Bring:

A3 cartridge paper sketchpad
Pencils and an eraser
Apron or clothes you don't mind getting paint on

Book Your Place

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Reviews

“Taking the time to learn in the inspiring environment of Colne Road Studios was such a treat! The group was welcoming and supportive and Rachel is an extremely talented and generous teacher, sharing her skills and knowledge to give us fresh perspectives and a wealth of useful advice and feedback. I felt my ability and interest in drawing had been revived after many years dormant, learning how to observe as well as how to draw. I would encourage anyone willing to pick up a pencil to have a go, and have already signed up to Rachel’s next course! “CB March 2025

‘I decided to do the Drawing for Beginners class at Colne Road Studios as I have recently started painting for the first time since school and felt that doing a beginner drawing class would aid me with this in looking at image and form. That and the fact that I hadn’t picked up a pencil to draw since I was a teenager. The course exceeded my expectations. The group were lovely and from very different backgrounds – some beginners, some already dabbled, and a couple were professionals who used drawing in differing forms in their careers. Rachel Labovitch is an exceptional tutor. She is informative in her teaching approach bringing in examples of other artists as we went along meaning that new or well-known works of art were discussed and techniques explored. She is positive, supportive and very encouraging. I left each class feeling inspired and even did ‘homework’ during the week to practice what I’d learnt – something I didn’t do at school. I would highly recommend this course to anyone and everyone – if you think you can’t draw, you’ll be proved wrong and you’ll start to notice the world around you with fresh eyes.’ LA Feb 2025

Can I park nearby ?

A CPZ is in force from Mon to Sat 8.30 – 6.30pm
Limited paid spaces available in surrounding roads with Ring Go cashless Parking

Max stay 4 hours during operational hours

Holly Road Car park, behind Marks & Spencer TW1 4HF

Mon to Sat – 8am to 6.30pm.
This car park is accessible and free to park in outside of these hours. Max stay 4 hours during operational hours – walking to the Studio approx 9mins

Are your courses just for adults or do you offer any courses for children ?

At the moment the courses at Colne Road Studios are designed for adults over the age of 18 . The aim is to create a relaxed environment, provide a bit of an escape and switch off from every day responsibilites. We are not able to accommodate children in our classes, nor do we provide children’s classes at this time.

Enrolment deadline

To secure a course, please book at least 8 days before the listed course start date.

Any course with no bookings 8 days prior to it’s start date will then be removed from the website .

Courses with fewer than 3 participants may be cancelled, with 5 days’ notice given to those who had enrolled.

You will be notified by email if this happens, unless you would like us to text you instead, but please let us know.
A refund for the full course value will then be made.
Please bare with us . This might take 5-10 days to come through.

Where is my course taking place ?

100 Colne Road Twickenham TW2 6QE. map ref

WHAT3WORDS : location kind.cook.honest

What is your refund policy?

All of our longer courses are exchangeable up until 28 days prior to the start of the course. After this, you are able to change your booking to a different course for a £20 admin fee. Please note that from 14 days prior to the start of the course, your booking is non-refundable and non-exchangeable.

Our refund policy is strict because it enables us to pay ourselves and our tutors a fair wage, and remain accessible as a studio.
Every time we are asked to to accommodate a refund request, we would be forced to lower our staff wages or increase our prices – both of which we really want to avoid. We hope you understand that this is why there are no exemptions to our refund policies.

What if the course is cancelled by Colne Road Studios ?