Portrait Sketch En Trois Crayons with Patrick Byrnes (Dec 2024)

In this four-day workshop, artists will create four portrait drawings from four different live models using the technique of trois crayons: red, black, and white dry media on paper.

Dating to the Renaissance and continuing in popularity today, trois crayons has been exploited to masterful effect by artists such as Parmigianino, Rubens, Boucher, Watteau, and more recently Anthony Ryder and Robert Liberace. Typically, black is used for the construction lines, shadows, and cold tones, red for the warm tones, and white for the highlights. Instruction will include a comprehensive demonstration from start to finish, as well as in-depth personal critiques with a particular focus on cultivating an organised, rational process.

Two distinct steps will be emphasised throughout: building an accurate linear block-in, then interpreting values, hues, and chromas to effectively create a sense of sculptural form and a strong aesthetic point of view. Cranial anatomy, colour theory, materials, line quality, resolution/abbreviation, edges, and the physics of light will also be discussed throughout the course.

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. After a year studying drawing at the Florence Academy of Art, Patrick moved to New York in 2010 to train under Jacob Collins at Grand Central Atelier, where he subsequently 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
-BLACK, RED, and WHITE pencils.
I recommend coloured pencils for their versatility and control as tonal and graphic tools— Prismacolor brand color pencils (in black, white, and terra cotta/scarlet red) work especially well for this technique. Alternatively, charcoal or graphite, white chalk (e.g. General’s white chalk), and traditional sanguine may be used.

-DRAWING PAPER
4 sheets of medium toned, smooth drawing paper (if 1 is black and 10 is white, a neutral tone in the 4-8 range is recommended). Canson Mi-Teintes has a wide range of toned papers. Any hue can work depending on the desired aesthetic, but I would skew towards more neutral expressions of grey, blue, and beige/brown. Alternatively, hand-toning a heavyweight, hot press watercolour paper with ink or watercolour can produce a more personalised surface.

-ERASERS
1 kneaded eraser and 1 hard rubber eraser

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