Painting Workshop in Brighton

I recently attended an excellent painting workshop in Brighton run by the very talented artist, Chris Guest. Chris creates cutting edge portraits with a modern twist mainly in oils. Here is an example of his talents:-

I’ve been meaning to attend one of his regular workshops to tune up my use of oils. His workshops are often held in tattoo shops around the UK/US which fits with the nature of his usual subjects. When a workshop came up in Brighton at Death’s Door Tattoos I quickly signed up.

I think I was the only tattoo virgin in the room so it was great to paint alongside some very talented tattoo artists! We each selected a photo reference from Chris’ archives and transferred these to our art boards using graphite pencils. Chris then showed us how to commence with the background and dark areas to get the structure. He also showed us how to take time mixing the flesh tones on the palette testing the match on the photo reference by dabbing a small amount on… as colours often look different on a blank canvas.

The workshop was excellent value at £75 for around 5 hours solid painting. Chris provided easels, paints and boards….we just brought our own brushes and snacks! I came away with a lot of excellent tips which I’m already applying to my portrait work.

Here is the painting I achieved at the workshop which I have had framed. It’s amazing how framing a piece helps distract the eye from any flaws!!!!