Block-In Bootcamp: Seeing with the Eye, Seeing with the Mind

Date: Thursday 27 February, 2025 – Sunday 2 March, 2025

Time: 10am – 5pm

Tutor: Patrick Byrnes

Cost: £560

Location: Raw Umber Studios, 16 Nelson Street, Stroud GL5 2HN

About the course

In this four-day portrait drawing workshop participants will strengthen foundational block-in skills while working from the live model. If we consider that the “realism” of realistic oil painting is found in the formal element of drawing (shapes and values), then the linear block-in serves as the supportive armature for all that is built upon it, and the need for powerful, confident block-in skills becomes paramount. Working from life offers a unique challenge to the development of these powers of interpretation— with a subject that is in constant motion, a set of optical and conceptual tools is required to create a drawing that is at once specific, sculptural, structural, and sensitive.

Focused on building fluency with core concepts and strategies (such as picture plane inclinations/measurements, abstract shapes, abbreviation, line quality, perspective and anatomy), this workshop is intended for drawers and painters at all levels of experience who are seeking to improve the likeness, specificity, speed, and confidence of their portrait work. 

About the tutor

Patrick was born in Busan, South Korea in 1984 and raised in La Grange, Illinois. He earned his undergraduate degree in Art History and English from the University of St Andrews in 2006. Patrick moved to New York in 2010 to train under Jacob Collins at Grand Central Atelier. Following the completion of his studies in 2014, he worked as an instructor of painting and drawing in the atelier’s full and part time programs. In 2017 Patrick relocated to Paris, France, where he now lives and works. His work is exhibited at galleries in New York and Massachusetts. www.patrickbyrnespaintings.com

“Excellent tutor – explained everything well. Very generous with the amounf of information he shared” – Linda Green

Materials list

GRAPHITE: pencils or lead with lead holders in a range from 2H to 2B (Patrick recommends Tombow and Staedtler brands)

DRAWING PAPER: 8-12 sheets of smooth white or off-white drawing paper, between A4 and A2 size (Patrick recommends Strathmore, Stonehenge, Arches, and Canson brands)

ERASERS: 1 kneaded eraser and 1 hard rubber eraser (Patrick recommends the Tombow brand “Mono Zero” eraser stick)

—

There is a maximum of 12 participants and the tutor will customise the course according to your individual needs.

Any questions? Pop us an email on info@rawumberstudios.com.