About the Course

Join artist Jennifer Gennari as she leads you through every step of the portrait painting process. This course covers, image selection, drawing, transferring your image to a canvas, grisaille painting, color theory and development, and finally refining your work to completion. The source image is provided so you can paint with Jennifer. Assignments are given at the end of each recorded class for you to complete each stage. (Yes, you can also apply this course to any image you may have of someone else that you wish to paint. Students may work in acrylic paint if they wish.)

WHAT YOU GET

Video Classes

Over 5 Hours

Homework

from start to finish
7 Assignments

Source Image

Hi-res Source Image

Source Videos

Real-time Videos

COMMUNITY & ACCESS

Drawing America

Your home for drawing & painting

Welcome! Post homework in the correct course thread. Live sessions, review feed, and scheduled posts are all in the left nav.

Live Sessions

Review Feed

Join Jennifer Gennari, Will Weston

Materials List

Jennifer recommends students work on a painting between 11″x14″ and 16″x20″. Jennifer’s paints are Ivory black (Michael Harding), English red (Old Holland), vermilion (Zecchi), alizarin crimson (Michael Harding), Cobalt blue (Michael Harding), viridian (Vasari), emerald green (Michael Harding), yellow ochre (Vasari), Naples yellow (Vasari), lead white (Rublev) While two of them are expensive you may not need them for your portrait. Jennifer uses a wide assortment of brushes which she discusses in a video provided.

About Your Instructor

Jennifer Gennari

"My mission is to elevate animal portraiture to its rightful place in the fine art world. Every creature has a story, a personality, a soul worth capturing with the same reverence and technical mastery we bring to human portraiture."

Jennifer Gennari is an influential contemporary artist in classical realism, pioneering animal portraiture that elevates pets and wildlife to the same artistic reverence as human subjects. After graduating from Ringling College in 2005, Jennifer studied at Florence Academy of Art in Italy. Under master Daniel Graves, she spent three years mastering classical methods, developing understanding of form, light, and emotional expression. Since 2014, Jennifer has transformed animal portraiture by applying classical portrait techniques to animal subjects, using the Alla Prima method to capture life, personality, and dignity with depth and authenticity. Jennifer's work has been featured in Fine Art Connoisseur magazine, television productions, and films, earning numerous awards. She extends her influence through comprehensive teaching, instructional books, and thousands of students via Craftsy and Drawing America.