Upcoming Courses
Portrait Sculpture with Alan Clarke, Artform
10th June 2024 - 12th June 2024
| €380
Date: Â 10th – 12th June 2024
Artist: Alan Clarke
Medium: All tools and materials provided
Participants: Maximum 10
Course level: All levels welcome
Alan Clarke is a sculptor and illustrator. His work is imaginative, but rooted in the ‘traditional’ skills of art-making. He is concerned with trying to create work that is executed with virtuosity and insight, in the pursuit of beauty, harmony, grotesquery, craft and drama. He has won numerous awards for both his drawing and his sculpture. He is the only Irish member of the Society of Portrait Sculptors, and a large collection of his drawings are held in the national collection, in the National Library of Ireland. He teaches regular drawing classes in NCAD and in the last few years has been invited to teach workshops in Ireland, the UK, Russia, Italy and Canada.
Course Concept
Over three days participants will learn to sculpt a life size portrait from a live model. All the appropriate techniques will be discussed and demonstrated, including basic head and neck anatomy, measuring, design, materials handling, surface finishing, etc. Alan will sculpt a demonstration piece alongside the participants, and discuss his own approach and philosophy. Sculpting a portrait in clay is a very enjoyable process and this workshop is suitable for all levels, including total beginners. All tools and materials will be provided.
Please note: at the end of the workshop you will have a finished sculpture in wet clay, and therefore delicate and quite heavy. If you wish to preserve your work in the long term, it will need to be hollowed out and fired, or moulded and cast: Alan will advise on these processes but they are not covered in the workshop.
The course can be taken separately or together with the full figure course (at a discounted price).
* The course takes place in Artform modern light-filled seaside studio with 24hr access for each visiting artist, and runs from 11am to 5pm on the first day and from 10am to 4pm on the subsequent days. Cost does not include accommodation, on request Artform offers artist accommodation options. General course and location information will be provided after signing up to the course.
Artists Gallery
