Portrait Workshop with Mathew Lynn | Master Portrait Art

Introduction to Portraits with Mathew Lynn

Master Portrait Drawing and Painting


Description

Join award-winning portrait artist Mathew Lynn in this comprehensive workshop designed to provide both beginners and experienced students with a strong foundation in portrait drawing and painting. Mathew will guide you through step-by-step processes, covering portrait history, essential materials, composition, facial structure, and key techniques such as proportions, shading, and line drawing. Students will work from A4 prints of faces they are drawn to, learning how to use grids and other methods to transfer images to their artwork. The workshop also includes a demonstration on transferring drawings to canvas, color theory, mixing, and applying paint. More experienced students can work at their own pace, focusing on areas of their practice needing attention. This supportive, lively environment encourages conversation and constructive feedback, helping you build confidence and essential skills to tackle more challenging portrait work in the future.

What To Bring

General for Everyone:

  • An A4 Sketchbook and some Cartridge Paper
  • Range of pencils (H, B, 2B, 6B)
  • Staedtler type rubber
  • Small knife for sharpening
  • A 30cm ruler
  • Masking tape
  • Paper towels (there are no paper towels in the rooms)
  • A4 prints of a range of faces and people or on tablet, and on your phone

The school will provide other painting materials however Mat has provided a suggested kit list for those wishing to build their own:

  • Mathew would suggest using Oil, Acrylic or Gouache for this workshop, but you can also use Watercolour.
  • A range of brushes suitable for your choice of paint for this workshop
  • Paper towel

Suggested useful colours by Mathew:

  • Titanium White
  • Ivory Black
  • Ultramarine Blue (make sure you have standard Ultramarine)
  • Yellow Ochre
  • Indian Red (Red Oxide that has a purple hue)
  • Burnt Umber
  • Alizarin Crimson (or cheaper equivalent)
  • Cadmium Red (or cheaper equivalent)
  • Cadmium Yellow Light (or cheaper equivalent – if in doubt bring Lemon Yellow)
  • Phthalo Blue
  • Phthalo Green


  • Palette - could be disposable, but it’s better and far less frustrating if it’s a modern rectangular board shape (roughly A3).
  • Double Dipper - for separate medium and solvent. Get the open style with the widest openings so you can get your brushes easily in and out.
  • Rags, paper towels - plenty of these!
  • Cotton buds - extremely helpful for subtle removal of paint in tight spots
  • Spare containers or jars
  • Palette knife, scraper
  • A canvas or canvas board (or a few of them just in case). Start at around 12x15” as a minimum portrait size, and you can have a larger one if you’d like to try it. The 4:5 ratio is usually very nice for portraits.
  • It is always a good idea to wear disposable Nitrile gloves (non-latex and tougher) when paintng and handling oil paint and mediums.
  • Use your GAMSOL or odourless solvent for clean-up in class.
  • You may also want to buy and bring in a stainless steel style oil brush washer with a sealable lid. They can be found at a reasonable price, and it means if necessary you can wash some of your brushes on the go properly, and also carry it without spills.
  • I recommend taking your brushes home wrapped in glad wrap to clean with solvent and wash with soap.

Note: you must use an odourless system for oil mediums and solvents!

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What you will learn

  • Learn essential techniques for accurate portraiture, including understanding facial structure, proportions, shading, and line drawing.
  • Master methods for transferring images to artwork, using grids and other techniques, while working from reference prints.
  • Explore color theory, paint mixing, and application, with a focus on transferring drawings to canvas.

What you will get

  • Step-by-step guidance from Mathew Lynn.
  • A supportive and lively learning environment.
  • Constructive feedback to improve your skills.

What to bring

  • A4 Sketchbook and Cartridge Paper
  • Range of pencils (H, B, 2B, 6B), Staedtler type rubber, Small knife, 30cm ruler, Masking tape, Paper towels
  • A4 prints of faces and people or on tablet/phone

What to wear

Drawing and Painting materials. Please refer to the class description for the list of materials you need to bring.

Appropriate for

Beginners and Experienced


Waverley Woollahra Art School

Vendor since 2025

Celebrated for its art program and nurturing environment, WWAS is a not for-profit art school offering courses by practising artists. Students range from beginners to prize-winning artists and together this welcoming community continues to inspire and build lifelong learning in the arts.
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Your Teacher

Mathew Lynn lives and works in Sydney, Australia. For over twenty years he has been one of Australia’s best known and successful portrait artists. Whilst this continues, his practice also focuses on contemporary figurative and seascape painting and his principle representation with Nanda\Hobbs, Sydney. His first exhibition with Nanda\Hobbs, Coogee Is Everywhere (August 2019) followed by The Silver Expanse (August 2020) explore contemporary representations of the figure, the phenomenon of personhood, racial structures in society and the nature of phenomena as meditative experience. His most recent exhibition Pacific Infinite (April 2022) was held at Day Gallery, Blackheath, and explores Pacific saltwater places as heightened experience and transcendence through extreme colour.

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