ALICE NEEL PORTRAITS: LINE, TRUTH & CHARACTER – ONLINE COURSE WITH SUSANNAH PAL

THIS COURSE IS NOW FULL
Please email info@londondrawing.com to be added to the mailing list to hear about future courses

 

ALICE NEEL PORTRAITS: Line, Truth, and Character:

💙FOUR Week Course

When asked to imagine the work of Alice Neel, most people think of her vivid, emotionally charged oil paintings capturing the sensitivity of the inner life of her sitters. But behind every one of those iconic portraits lies her extraordinary drawing practice. Neel’s drawings are alive with immediacy. They have quirky, slightly off-key proportions and the lines look like she is constantly searching.

In this course, we’ll explore what makes a Neel portrait truly Neel. We’ll study how she interpreted the world through line, tone and mark-making, allowing personality to override polish. You’ll learn how to draw eyes, faces, hands, bodies, and clothing in a way that captures emotional truth rather than technical perfection. This course is about having a go, trying new materials, and discovering what happens when you let go of rigid expectations.

Expect live demonstrations, detailed explanations, and personal guidance

Perfect for anyone who wants to loosen up, look closely, break the rules a little, and discover the expressive power of drawing.

💙TESTIMONIAL FROM PREVIOUS COURSE:

‘I absolutely LOVED this course. It was my first ever online, as l’ve always resisted doing art online- but this experience and the brilliant @the_art_teacher_ have changed my mindset 360 degrees. Thank you Susannah for your relaxed, informative and inspirational teaching. I’ll be back!’ – Catherine @catherinemegrathartist

💙ABOUT YOUR TEACHER:

Susannah Pal is a painter and experienced teacher with over a decade of teaching observational drawing. Her calm, supportive teaching style encourages students to find joy in the process and confidence in their own artistic voice.

Follow Susannah:
Teaching Instagram – @the_art_teacher_
Art Instagram – @susannah__pal

💙FLEXIBLE LEARNING:

You will be provided photos of Alice Neel works and also photographs of models to work from

Continuous demonstrations are filmed from above, giving you a clear view of Susannah’s hands as she draws – so you can follow each stage of the process.

Each session is recorded and made available to all participants, with two months access.

Unmute and ask questions

💙DETAILS:

Limited spots available – secure your place to transform your portrait drawing skills!

FOUR WEEKS
7-9pm GMT
Wednesdays
January 21, 28, February 4, 11

£70 Low Income
£90 Early Bird SOLD OUT
£95 2nd Tier Early Bird SOLD OUT
£110 Full Price

Email info@londondrawing.com to request low-income tickets

 

A week before the first session you will receive an email including:

PDF Reference Image

Essential Materials List

Zoom log-in details

One-month access to session recordings

 

💙WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

Essential: A few coloured pencils, Pencil sharpener, Willow charcoal, Pen*, Two Erasers, Graphite Pencils, Paper.

Feel free to bring other materials that you wish to use!

A good quality smooth drawing paper. At least 190 gsm. A3 size.

A range of coloured pencils. (I recommend Faber-Castell Polychromos Coloured Pencil Set of 12 for a good basic range)

Two good erasers – one clean, one for charcoal (recommended- Faber Castell Dust Free)

A few soft pencils (3B – 7B)

Tissue,cotton wool or chamois cloth for blending

A decent pencil sharpener

Willow Charcoal – assorted packet of sizes

* Fountain pen OR Dip pen OR Fine Liner OR biro (I will demonstrate with Dip pen and ink)

💙Optional materials

Color Wheel Company : Grey Scale and Value Finder https://www.jacksonsart.com/color-wheel-company-grey-scale-and-value-finder?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22134082228&gclid=CjwKCAjw6P3GBhBVEiwAJPjmLg7Qw3Ua6yg9u-kxxxjqT200gFZXpnclMyliOnx-vOfjHKCnhXq5kBoCDuYQAvD_BwE

Electric eraser

A eraser pen eg. Tombow MONO Zero Eraser Fine

To achieve darker tones Mars Lumograph Black pencil and Faber-Castell Pitt Graphite Matt Pencil to achieve darker tones

Chamois cloth

Two jam jars or containers to water down the ink. Jam jar size.

Medium brush for ink

💙Recomendations:

Sakura Pigma Micron Drawing Pen – pack of various sizes

Nibs: Choosing nibs that are right for your drawing style can be a trial and error process. Personally I don’t like flexible fine ones but a lot of artists prefer these! So you may want to do some research of your own. There are many YouTube review videos. ZEBRA Comic G Model Chrome Pen Nib are excellent. You need to purchase a nib holder too.

Ink: There are a range of good ones on the market. I recommend waterproof for what we are doing. Rohrer & Klingner sketch, Stephens Black Drawing, De Atramentis Document Ink

Brush for ink: Size 10 or 12 brush – I recommend a round one. If you already have some watercolour brushes you can use them but remember that it may spoil the bursh. The brush will be only be used for washes of diluted ink so a cheap synthetic one is fine.

 

Coloured pencils: Faber-Castell Polychromos Coloured Pencil Set of 12 for a good basic range

A good eraser – (recommended- Faber Castell Dust Free)