Painting Portraits in Oils from Life

This two-day masterclass in oil paints is taught by Royal Society of Portrait Painters arts, Sam Dalby. Dalby has recently been awarded First Prize at the Scottish Portrait Awards in 2022 for his painting ‘Meeting Daniel’ and has extensive teaching experience.

During this course, you will be shown how to construct a portrait using oil paints. On the first day, we will use oil paints to start in monochrome. During the day, we will cover the basic principles of composition, lighting, and draughtsmanship and see how these can be used to strengthen the structure of your portraits.
For the second day, you will learn how to mix colour from observation. The function of the basic palette of colours will be explained to you, giving you confidence when you mix colour form life. From there, you will be taught how to move the painting from its monochrome beginnings to a full colour portrait.

Course Details

• 10th - 11th July 2026 (a two day event)
• 10am - 4pm
• £185 per person
• Held at The Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate
• The maximum class size is 6
• Materials are not provided; a materials list will be sent to you and is available below
• Easels are provided
• You will be working from a live model
• No experience required
• This venue does not have a car park, but street parking is available
• Wheelchair accessible venue

About Sam Dalby

Sam is an artist who paints portraits and still life. His practice is based on a solid understanding of draughtsmanship and oil painting techniques. Sam has exhibited with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters since 2010, and was elected to full membership in 2013. He has also exhibited with the BP Portrait Award, the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize, Hampstead Art Prize, and won first prize at the 2022 Scottish Portrait Awards.

Oil paints required:

• Titanium White
• Cadmium Yellow Deep
• Venetian Red
• Crimson (or any alizarin crimson substitute)
• Cobalt Blue (or French Ultramarine)
• Lemon Yellow

Your canvas

A small canvas/canvas board/panel/piece of oil painting paper. I suggest around 30 x 25cm. This should have been previously primed with any coloured ground applied that you prefer. I usually have a thin, very translucent wash of an eased-down red/brown, but you might prefer another colour. If in doubt, leave it white, but make sure it is well primed.

You will also require

• A palette
• A palette knife
• A set of brushes (a handful of filberts and rounds in various sizes from large to small)
• Cotton buds
• Paint rags
• Sansodor odourless solvent for brush cleaning (please ensure odourless)
• Cold-pressed linseed oil

Cancellations & Refunds

If you choose to cancel your booking the following cancellation fees will apply:

4 to 6 months 100% refund
2 to 4 months 70% refund
31 to 60 days 50% refund
30 days or less No refund

Refunds will be processed to your original payment method within 3–5 business days once the cancellation is confirmed.​​ Please contact [email protected]

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