Materials Lab Workshop: Annette Lemieux’s Available Portrait Colors

This event requires registration; see further details below.

Practitioners of art and medicine are trained to discern fine details and changes in skin coloration. But what even is “skin color”? In this workshop, led by artist and medical student William Shen, we will begin by viewing the exhibition Seeing in Art and Medicine to discuss how representation of skin colors, or lack thereof, has influenced art and medicine throughout history. We will explore the biological origin of skin color (in tissues through bodily pigments) and learn how artists recapitulate this process through paint and synthetic materials. Shen will show you how to dissect complex hues into their primary constituents and how to re-create these hues with acrylic paint. You’ll paint a miniature replica of the painting Available Portrait Colors by Annette Lemieux and mix your own skin color as the newest available portrait color.

William Shen ’22 is a second-year medical student at Harvard Medical School; he is also a portrait artist whose commissions hang in the Adams House Dining Hall. Visit his portfolio at williamshen.art.

The hands-on session will take place in the Materials Lab on the Lower Level.

$15 materials fee. Registration is required and space is limited; registration will open on this form beginning on Tuesday, September 5, at 10am. Materials fee must be paid to confirm registration. Please email [email protected] or call 617-495-1440 to join the waitlist. Minimum age of 14; no previous experience required.

Sesh by The Boston Calendar | Advertise Terms | Privacy Policy | About