John Denaro Portrait Drawing Workshop.
As part of the Year 10 coursework unit ‘Face to Face’ students are invited to attend the annual workshop held within the academy. This is a one day workshop in which professional artist John Denaro guides pupils through the process of creating a large self portrait in charcoal & pastel.
Since 1992 John has worked with thousands of children and young people from a wide range of age and ability, and is adept at fine tuning his teaching to the needs of the individual, the Art Department felt it would be a great idea to ask John to work with our pupils in order to share his specialist knowledge.
“At the start John showed the group some examples of his ‘photorealist’ portraits and we were astounded at the level of detail he achieves in his work, and also a little nervous at what our own portraits would turn out like.” – Year 10 student.
The workshop offers pupils of all abilities an opportunity to develop new levels of skill and confidence. They are guided step by step through each feature on the face and how to personalize it so they achieve a good likeness. The finished portraits are now displayed around the academy and pupils look forward to being involved in the workshop as they have seen what can be achieved.