Painting Faces with Rags, Inspired by Marlene Dumas

If you are a beginner, or if you are intimidated by portraiture, or want to expand your techniques, this course will help you learn in four weeks how to paint portraits using rags. What’s the advantage of a rag over a paintbrush? A rag allows you to achieve a realistic appearance with smooth transitions from lights to shadows. You will discover that paint brushes are not the best tool for portraiture! Marlene Dumas, the inventor and master of this technique, applied it to painting faces, nudes, clothed figures, and oversized multi-figured scenes. Dumas is famous for breaking taboos in art, and for being the first living female artist whose work was sold at Sotheby’s for over $6 million. 

The best part of this technique, it is incredibly therapeutic; having a rag in your hand instead of a paintbrush helps put your perfectionism to rest (your internal critic knows that no one can paint with rags, no need to expect a masterpiece!)

The instructor will demonstrate the technique in class to help you learn how to control the saturation of the cotton rag and create portraits in ⅕ of the time that it normally takes to paint a successful portrait. 

You will learn how to:

paint portraits like Dumas

create the ideal consistency of paint-mixtures

achieve super-smooth blending for a lifelike appearance;

connect your eyes with your hand in order to find the flow;

become more flexible when approaching portraits.

Who This Course is for:

Absolute beginner who never painted before and never held a paintbrush!

Anyone dreaming of becoming a portraitist,

Artist who is looking for new ways to expand their arsenal of means;

Those who never tried painting with rags.

All levels welcome! *If you are an absolute beginner who has never drawn before, we recommend taking The Essential Drawing Course to feel comfortable to join this “Painting Faces With Rags” course.