From Gesture to Shape: Portrait Painting With Oil Pastel (Online Course) Summer 2026 w/ Samir Rakhmanov

July 10 to July 31 (Fridays), 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM, Eastern Time

**All sessions are live and will be recorded, students do not have to be present. All recordings will be available to students for 3 months after the final session, after 3 months the recording will be deleted.

Please check your email spam/junk folder for your Zoom invite. Our business hours are 10:00 AM through 5:00 PM. All course information and email correspondence will be sent during business hours. If students purchase a course, workshop, demo or recording outside business hours or during the weekend the course information or recording will be sent the following business day.

Course Description

This course focuses on using oil pastels for portrait painting. Throughout the program, students will explore the medium through quick sketching as well as developing a fully resolved portrait. They will learn to see and capture gesture, depict the human figure with expressive color and mark-making, and develop an eye for painterly edges and convincing form. By the end, students will understand how to use oil pastel to complete a finished portrait, including the hands.

Course Outline

Week 1 - Introduction to Portrait Sketching with Oil Pastel

The first class introduces students to oil pastel and the fundamentals of portraiture. A live presentation will cover the development of portrait painting over time and the key aspects of building a portrait. The first demonstration will guide students through creating a quick portrait sketch in oil pastel.

Photos for sketching will be provided.

Week 2 - Seeing Color in Portrait Painting

The second class focuses on color—how to create expressive, vibrant portraits using contrast, temperature shifts, and decorative approaches to color. Students will work from life to paint more playful and colorful portraits.

This exercise must be done from life.

Please prepare several colored draperies (red, green, blue, yellow, etc.) to use as backgrounds.

Week 3 - Building Solid Form

This class explores how to construct a realistic portrait using oil pastel. The focus will be on sculpting form, establishing strong lighting, and emphasizing the volume of the head. Students will practice developing solid, believable forms with the medium.

Reference photos will be provided.

Week 4 - Portrait with Hands

In the final demo, students will see the full process of creating a portrait that includes hands—a more complex compositional task. We will discuss setting up the pose, balancing the relationship between the head and hands, simplifying forms, and maintaining harmony across the image.

Students will create their own setup from life. If longer sittings are not possible, working from a photo of your setup is acceptable.

Homework review and feedback is done during classes on Fridays. Students should submit their homework on Padlet by Thursdays.

Course Materials List

Oil Pastels

Recommended brands: Sennelier, Van Gogh (Talens), Holbein, Mungyo Gallery, Kuelox

Fixative for oil pastels or general acrylic fixative (varnish)

Example of a basic oil pastel color set based on the Sennelier color chart

Possible Surfaces

Paper, cardboard, canvas (small grain or flat texture), wooden board, MDF, plywood

Materials for Underdrawing

Charcoal, graphite, eraser

Palette Knife

Water-Soluble Paints (optional,+ brushes)

Gouache, watercolor, acrylic, etc.

Other Materials

Tissues or paper towels for cleaning hands

Thinners (turpentine, white spirit, Gamsol, etc.)

Draperies for colored backgrounds (red, green, blue, yellow, etc.)

Mirror for self-portraits

A person to pose for you, or at least someone you can photograph for reference