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I’m giving away ONE SPOT in my Encore Presentation of Still Pursuing Portraits!!! To enter your name simply leave a comment and share this post on Facebook or your blog or to a friend or anyway that works for you! If you are already signed up for class and win, you’ll get a full refund of your tuition!! For a look at a previous post with all the class info go HERE

DRAWING WILL TAKE PLACE WEDNESDAY, JULY 10TH at 12:00pm CST. You must leave a contact email or website to be eligible. 

Last years attendees had so much fun that many of them still talk portraits in a private Facebook group they started after class. I asked some of them to share their progress, thoughts, or journeys with you so you can see first hand how their work has evolved into their own personal styles and how they overcame the fear of drawing and painting faces through this workshop. What I love and strive for in teaching is to encourage people to find their own artistic voice. I put a lot of thought into how I wanted to teach a class on faces because I didn’t want to just teach how to do little carbon copies of my work, but rather to give the tools necessary to learn the how of drawing faces and encourage people to make them their own. You can see from the examples here that they did just that!

Student Work from Still Pursuing Portraits

work of  Vicki Lee

Here are eight postcards (of many) that I’ve sent to other artists in an exchange. I have Pam to thank for so expertly teaching me to draw faces. I wanted to say that, before taking your class, I had no clue how to draw or paint a portrait. Since your class, I have never looked back and continue to draw and paint portraits daily. I thank you from the bottom of my heart (and all well-placed features) for teaching me these skills. You are my drawing angel.

work of Cynthia Leary-Stroo

I LOVE taking online art classes. Going to class at any hour of the day or night, wearing whatever you want to class, and sitting with your cat beside you, what’s not to like!
My art has grown by huge increments by taking these classes. While there are many teachers out there, one of my very favorite is Pam Carriker.
Her teaching skills are fantastic and she is a generous and big-hearted soul . I am proud to call her both teacher and friend.
I first encountered Pam , as a fellow classmate , in a collage class. When I heard that she was teaching online, I jumped at the chance…and have jumped several times since. I have learned in her background classes , her gray-scale class, but my favorite classes are her Portrait classes.
Pursuing Portraits and Still Pursuing Portraits are some of my favorites and by taking them, my portrait skills have moved forward.
My tips to those taking her Portrait class are to practice, practice, and practice some more. That repetition is where you will find your own style. And don’t judge your efforts ,just keep producing and with dedication to the art, you will be greatly rewarded.
A bonus of the Pursuing Portraits class was the genesis of a private Facebook group we formed with students from the class so that we could continue sharing our art work , our ideas, and keep our little community alive. We welcome future and current students of Pursuing Portraits to join us atwww.facebook.com/aboutface
Come visit my blog at www.sheshighstrung.blogspot.com

work of Christine Jermyn

“Pam …… I just wanted to write and thank you for doing the Still Pursuing Portraits class. It was my first online class and although I was somewhat nervous initially, once I got started, I enjoyed it very much. The individuality of all the artists and their portraits and the feedback, both from you and from the group, made it a very positive experience.”

The most difficult thing for me was posting my first drawing as I was very apprehensive about sharing my work online. However, with the wonderful support and encouragement from Pam and the other group members, this quickly disappeared. Pam is a great teacher and the lessons were very clear and easy to follow. I learned so much in this workshop and it gave me the confidence to continue drawing portraits on my own. I also purchased the DVD which was very helpful for review, once the workshop was finished, as I continued with my own practice.

work of M Kristin Johnsen

I’m one of those people who was told as a third grader that she couldn’t draw, so I stopped trying. So you can imagine my tenseness when Pam asked us to draw our own faces in Journal 365 a few years ago! Now she was wonderful about it all and had alternate solutions for those of us who were scared senseless – but encouraged us to take a chance. And with that kind of encouragement, how could I say no? Thing was, when I was done, my drawing wasn’t half bad. And new options for my art and art journaling opened up.

The Pursuing Portraits class came at a good and bad time for me last year. I was working very intensely in my day job, but because I was also located away from home, I had a lot of time to focus on my art when I wasn’t at work. And Pam and the group of participants became my new friends. Some Friday evenings when I was too tired to do much else, the virtual Pam would keep me company and encourage me to draw a face using her face map. And I could! I wanted to use more faces in my journal work, and with Pam’s ideas and prompting, I discovered new ways add them and my drawing got better through practice.

I still envy Pam the easiness with which she picks up a pencil and dashes out just a lovely face but I know that if I put the time into the work as she has, I could be doing the same thing. And I know this because of how much I’ve improved over the past two years. I purchased the videos of the class because for me, I need to see something over and over again and because of my schedule, I knew I would not always be able to do that during the scheduled class time. I still need Pam talking me through some of the places I where I struggle, and knowing that I can always return to the videos for reminders helps me be bold and try new things.

People come to this class for different reasons, and get out of it what they put in. I was not able to do as much during the class as I wanted due to job constraints on my time, but with the DVDs, I’m able to attend what I call my remedial class, so I can get the time in that my fellow travelers did while we worked together. I’m better than I used to be, and not as good as I want to be. But two years ago, I did not think I could draw a portrait. And now I can. – here it is now, she says hopefully:  http://krisatlarge.wordpress.com

work of Judy Miller-Check

I’d tell the new S.P.P. students to practice, practice, practice. I’ve borrowed sketching books, bought books, clipped good faces from magazines, and studied features on TV. I “reused” several of my portraits in a piece which will be published in fall. Thank You, Pam, and all of you wonderful artists in this group.

work of Anne O’Connor

I like the way you present material in a step-by-step format that makes it possible for anyone to draw a face! You are a wonderful teacher – thanks.

work of Leslie Van Der Heide

Here is a picture of one I did in your class. I never dared to draw a face. I did’nt know how or where to start. I fished the internet for a good course. I found Pam’s video and decided to sign up.

The second picture is one I drew a few days ago. I am still learning and just love it.

I liked how Pam introduces other materials to use for colour.

And because it happens to all of us, this shows the growth from before viewing the video lessons in class

work of Judy Evans-Clements

First and second attempts – then I got derailed…..

work of Kelley Diener

visit her blog post HERE

work of Darlene Campbell

I took my first class with Pam through Strathmore workshops. I was thrilled to take her Portrait class through Artful Gathering. The group experience was fun and memorable…enough that a facebook group (About Face) developed as a result. I felt as if Pam were sitting with me in my studio. I typically draw with ink then go right for the paints. I never sketch with pencil. I surprised myself that I could achieve this with a pencil and a blending stump. Pam’s “face mapping” is ingenious and the structure of what I learned has definately transferred to painting portraits for me. If you want to know what face mapping is you’ll have to take the class. Visit my blog to see my recent portraits with acrylic. http://darlene-freeniebelle.blogspot.com/