Jeffrey Hein Portrait Workshop

by Dot Bunn

​Jeff asked for a mature model preferably over sixty, so my art friend Flo Schadler offered to sit. This was to be a five-day workshop. Jeff missed his plane out of Salt Lake City because of security measures, and we had to scrap the first day.

The plan was that each day our model would sit for three hours in the morning for Jeff and three hours in the afternoon for the students. The sessions were broken up with breaks during each twenty-minute pose. Lunch was attended by the full day students, and it gave everyone a chance to meet Jeff on a personal level. 

I deliberately kept the workshop small so that there could be plenty of room to see the model and lots of help from Jeff. I am opposed to workshops that pack the room with people. In the past, I have experienced this type of workshop and found it frustrating no matter how good the instructor is. It is always the case that some people need more help than others and the smaller workshop allows that to happen without taking away from the more experienced painters. Our primary goal is to present a quality experience for those taking part in our workshops. I started something new this workshop by allowing a few artists just to attend the demonstration part of the workshop. This also helped to defray the cost.

Jeff works on a smooth surface panel, so we acquired panels for those who were painting with us. Some of the paint hues he requested were different from what most people would have so we bought tubes of those recommended colors to be shared by the group. This is his palette of colors. Continue reading.