Portrait Drawing & Painting Classes and Workshops
Develop Your Skills Through Portraiture
Portraiture offers a way to study the human face while exploring expression, character, and artistic style. At Fallsview Arts, you can approach portraits through drawing, painting, and sketching in classes, workshops, and live-model sessions.
Explore Different Approaches to Portraiture
Depending on the program, you may work from a live model, photograph, self-portrait, or guided exercise. Topics may include:
Facial proportions and head structure
Features, gesture, and expression
Value, light, and shadow
Color and skin tones
Edges, likeness, and characterDrawing, Painting & Portrait Sketching
You can work with materials such as graphite, charcoal, Conté crayon, colored pencil, pen and ink, soft pastel, oil paint, acrylic, or watercolor.
From Quick Sketches to Developed Portraits
Short poses give you a chance to sketch freely and respond to the model in the moment. Longer poses provide time to study structure, refine a likeness, and develop a drawing or painting. Some sessions include instruction; others offer time to practice independently alongside fellow artists.
Fallsview Arts is also home to the NY / CT Sketchers Group, a Meetup community for artists interested in drawing and creative practice across New York and Connecticut. Select portrait sessions and other drawing opportunities are shared with the group.
Visit our calendar to see current portrait classes, sketch sessions, workshops, and live-model events.
Meetup Group: The Portrait Sketch
The Portrait Sketch is an informal Friday-night portrait drawing session at Fallsview Arts in Brewster, NY. Artists practice drawing from life through short portrait poses, observational sketching, and relaxed creative exchange.
The session is connected with the NY / CT Sketchers Group, an artist Meetup community gathering since 2018. Select meetups are now held at Fallsview Arts, with some sessions featuring artists drawing one another and others including a hired portrait model.
Artists of different experience levels are welcome to join for portrait sketching, practice, and community.
Workshop: Portrait Painting with Laurel Stern Boeck
In this portrait painting workshop with Laurel Stern Boeck, artists explore painting from life with an emphasis on sensitivity to light, form, color, and the subtle relationships that bring a portrait to life.
Laurel's thoughtful, observational approach encourages artists to slow down, look carefully, and respond to the sitter rather than relying on formulas. Through demonstration, individual guidance, and sustained work from the live model, participants investigate color relationships, edges, value, structure, and the development of a convincing likeness.
The workshop offers artists an opportunity to deepen both their technical understanding of portrait painting and their individual response to the model.
Beginning Portrait Drawing
Build a strong foundation for drawing the human face in this beginner-friendly portrait class. Artists explore proportion, structure, facial features, value, and the basic forms of the head through guided exercises and observational drawing.
Designed for students who are new to portraiture or would like a refresher in the fundamentals, the class emphasizes seeing clearly, simplifying complex forms, and developing a more confident approach to the portrait.
Beginner Portrait Drawing may be offered as a single-session intensive, mini-series, or multi-day class, depending on the season. No previous portrait drawing experience is required.
Open Portrait Pose
Draw or paint from a live portrait model in a relaxed, independent studio session. A longer pose gives you time to study the face, develop a likeness, and work at your own pace. All experience levels are welcome; instruction is not provided.
Classes for Every Level
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Painting Classes
Painting & Drawing classes for all levels in Westchester & Putnam County. Personalized instruction, multiple mediums, and a calm, inspiring studio at Fallsview Arts.
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Sculpture Classes
Whether you want to develop technical skill, try new materials, or grow your artistic voice, our sculpture program offers a welcoming, professionally guided path into 3D art.
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Event Space Rental
With restored historic architecture, professional lighting, ample wall space, and the soft ambiance of the nearby falls, the studio provides an elevated environment that enhances every piece.
