In May I attended the Annual Conference of The Portrait Society, my second year to go, this time in Reston, VA. I had a wonderful time, meeting people from last year, meeting new people, learning new things and receiving critiques.

This year I attended a pre-conference workshop, 9 am-4 pm on Thursday before the Conference started. From the 4 options available I chose ‘Drawing on Emotion’ with Mary Whyte. She gave us drawing instruction in the morning and I drew each of the two models.

In the afternoon she guided us through considering how to instruct and pose the models to depict a certain, chosen emotion. Again I drew the two models. She walked around and gave us helpful critiques on our drawings.

The first main event of the Conference on Thursday evening was the ‘Face-Off’, where 18 artists paint or sculpt 6 models, 3 artists to each model. Attendees could walk around and watch the portraits in progress—all very different approaches!

I also enjoyed two breakout sessions, several main stage demos and talks, the Gala Banquet, and the talks with artists who were the finalists in the International Competition. A highlight for me, as last year, were the lunch time Critique Sessions. I showed my portfolio to six different artists and received very helpful advice.

All in all it was a wonderful four days of learning and inspiration!