Artistic Oil Portraiture on Paper
A course by Camila O'Gorman, Artist
Learn to capture the expression and beauty of people through oil painting on paper without an initial sketch
If you love the thought of expressing the beauty of the everyday and improving your oil painting technique, Argentine artist Camila O'Gorman is the perfect person to guide you. Specialized in oil painting and watercolor, she studied under maestro Guillermo Roux, has extensive experience in the field, and has exhibited her work at both national and international level in Chile, the US, Germany, and the UK.
In this course, Camila teaches you to do an oil portrait on paper with no initial sketching, just the paint, paintbrushes, and your observation skills as tools. The focus is on the expressiveness of your piece over likeness to the reference photo.
What will you learn in this online course?
13 lessons & 16 downloads
What's included in this course?
Your teacher Camila O'Gorman kicks off the course by talking about her work as an artist specializing in oil painting, her biggest influences and sources of inspiration, as well as her creative process.
Get started by organizing your space in order to work more comfortably and efficiently. Camila walks you through how to choose materials for your final project before helping you select the ideal photo to work from.
Learn how to prep your paper and oil paints, all about their properties, the choice of pigments, and the use of alkyd resin. Next, do a few exercises on tonal value using five colors.
Time to work on your portrait! First, outline your composition by defining areas of light and shadow, then build on it using secondary colors to boost expressiveness and add contrast through subtle details and different temperatures.
Now turn your attention to facial features by gradually introducing more color schemes, making adjustments, repainting where needed, and softening some areas to redefine others. Round out the course by putting the finishing touches on your portrait to perfect your final artwork.
- 97% positive reviews (194)
- 5,776 students
- 13 lessons (2h 22m)
- 16 additional resources (5 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish
- Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Compose an expressive oil portrait on paper.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Anyone who wants to learn oil painting, no matter their level. This course focuses on expression over precision.
Requirements and materials
No previous painting experience is necessary for this course, just keen observation skills and a thirst for learning.
In terms of materials, you need 20 x 30 cm paper, a palette, oil paints (titanium white, ochre, crimson red, ultramarine blue, and a natural muddy shade), a spatula, an alkyd resin such as Liquin, paintbrushes (one 1" wash brush, a number 10 wash brush, a number 5 round brush, and a liner brush made with synthetic hairs), a roll of paper, and a cotton cloth.
Reviews
Camila O'Gorman
A course by Camila O'Gorman
Camila O'Gorman is an Argentine artist from Buenos Aires who specializes in oil painting and watercolor. After enrolling at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes Prilidiano Pueyrredón in 1994, she completed her studies under maestro Guillermo Roux. Her penchant for the human form and portraiture based on geometric composition can be seen in many of her personal projects.
Her work has appeared in different galleries, fairs, and exhibitions in Argentina, Chile, the US, Germany, and the UK, and she has also been teaching drawing and painting classes in her own workshop for several years.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
The Worktable
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The Reference Photograph
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Materials
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Preparing Paper and Oil Paint
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Tonal Value Exercises
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U3
The Portrait
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First Brushstrokes
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Shades of Light
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Mix of colors
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Contrasts
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U4
Touch-ups
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Traits
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Relationship Between Planes
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Last Details
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FP
Final project
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Artistic Oil Portraiture on Paper
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
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Meet expert teachers
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Certificates
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Get front-row seats
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Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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FAQs
This course is designed for people with intermediate painting skills; it’s not for absolute beginners. Having basic experience in drawing and painting is recommended to get the most out of the content.
You’ll need Fabriano paper, a variety of brushes (both synthetic and thick), a palette knife, oil paints, a wooden or white palette, Liquin, Bindex, gesso, a cloth for cleaning brushes, and table protection. It’s best to have all materials ready before you start.
You’ll learn how to create expressive portraits starting from selecting a reference photo, preparing your materials, analyzing values, mixing colors, using brushes and palette knives, and techniques to unify the figure and background.
The course teaches how to choose photos by considering light, contrast, nuances, color temperature, and expression, so your reference fits your artistic goals and personal style.
The course balances technique and expression, with a strong focus on the creative process, experimentation, observation, and turning mistakes into opportunities for artistic growth.
You’ll learn base stain techniques, painting by planes, palette knife use, color mixing, applying tonal values, and visual synthesis with expressive, volumetric brushstrokes.
You’ll learn how to prepare paper by applying gesso and Bindex as a base, and how this priming affects the texture and finish of your painting.
Estou gostando do método de ensino da Camila, trabalhar com pintura de retrato a óleo em caderno de esboço é bem interessante. Ela tem uma excelente didática e tem um conteúdo riquíssimo. É um excelente curso para quem quer iniciar ou aperfeiçoar a pintura de retrato a óleo.
너무 좋은 강의에요. 그림 그리는데 큰 도움이 되었어요. 즐겁습니다.
I enjoyed watching Camilas way of painting, and also working in a sketchbook. I’m inspired to try that. The translation to English was not so good and I don’t think I got all the value of Camilas instructions, since I found some translation a bit confusing. A good course with an inspiring teacher, and if you watch it in Spanish I think it will be excellent.
Muito bem feito!
Başarılı kadın bir sanatçıyla tanışmak ve onunla birlikte resim yapmak çok keyifliydi. Sevgili Camila, acemi düzeyinde verdiğin bu dersi çok beğenerek izledim. Fakat lütfen resim yapan, resim yaparak para kazanan bizler için de video çek. Sadece çalışmanın videosu bile olsa zevkle izlerim. Çok çok kıymetli bir sanatçıya buradan saygılarımı sunuyorum.