Masterclass: Tonal Drawing Portrait Masterclass with Damien Shen

Join award-winning First Nations artist Damien Shen in this masterclass to take your rendering techniques to the next level! Damien will share techniques honed throughout his practice, empowering participants to construct a drawing of a skull from beginning to end. Be guided through each stage of the drawing process and develop skills in charcoal and pastel rendering that can be applied to portrait drawing.

Begin by transferring a provided skull outline to the paper, allowing ample time to focus on technique working with pan pastel sets and charcoal pencils with blending tools. Pan Pastels are very painterly allowing you to create very delicate marks and veils whilst also having the ability to block in large areas quickly. Discover this new medium and learn how to create a dynamic sense of light, dark, and form in your portrait drawing.

Drawing upon his Ngarrindjeri and Chinese heritage to create works of intense personal meaning, Damien's training as an illustrator is reflected in the precision of his rendering and narrative concept.

Masterclass includes

All required materials – reference imagery, pan pastel, drawing tools and quality paper

Light lunch - There is an opportunity to advise of any dietary requirements when making your booking.

You will walk away with

A portrait drawing on quality paper

Other important information

Please arrive 10 minutes early to avoid late starts and allow time to find an all-day carpark.

This Masterclass will take place outside the gallery under marquees. Please wear weather appropriate clothing. 

FAQs:

Is this workshop suitable for me?

Beginners welcome. No prior drawing experience necessary as the skull outline will be traced and the rendering techniques broken down step by step.

Experienced drawers will also benefit from learning techniques in rendering as well as learning the new medium of pan pastel.

What can I bring?

Old clothes/apron

Weather appropriate clothing

Water bottle

What's the refund policy?

Refund available up to 48 hours before the start time of the masterclass.

Please note: when purchasing your ticket, the Gallery absorbs all related booking fees, however, refunds will include the ticket price less the Humanitix fees (which consists of the payment processing fee and the service fee combined)

What's the cancellation policy?

Minimum bookings required for workshop to proceed. In the unlikely event that the workshop is cancelled, participants will be given sufficient notice along with a full refund.