ONLINE PORTRAT PANTING class
This program is designed to dispel the myths that history’s greatest artists were naturally gifted and intuitive. By broadening and deepening your understanding of the painting process, you will gain the tools to create more lifelike and compelling paintings.
PORTRAIT BY MARVIN MATTELSON
PORTRAIT BY MARVIN MATTELSON
The underlying logic, strategic thinking, and artistic intelligence behind great painting.
A closer look at the online teaching environment and how the digital classroom works.
Current online classes and featured course offerings.
Feedback, responses, and examples of how students have benefited from the instruction.
course details
Format
Live online course
Dates
May 23 - September 26, 2026 (no classes on National Holiday weekends)
Time
10am-4pm EDT
Location
Online via Zoom HD
Recording Access
Online Virtual Atelier - via Zoom HD
Tuition
$1650.00
Skill Level
Open to artists of all levels
Enrollment
Class size limited to 15 students
Course Overview
Have you been led to believe that art is primarily a function of instinct and inborn talent? Nothing could be further from the truth. Nor is it the result of dogmatic training, which too often leads to imitation rather than artistic versatility. The greatest painters were clearly the smartest. They used that intelligence to best manifest their artistic vision, creating paintings that feel both lifelike and compelling.
Designed for artists of all levels, this program offers a complete approach to both portrait painting and painting in general. What you will learn has been shaped by decades of study and analysis of the underlying principles shared by history's greatest painters.
Portrait painting is not merely a collection of techniques, but an organized way of seeing, understanding, and making decisions. Technique matters, but technique without understanding can take an artist only so far. A strong painting depends upon the intelligent integration of many elements, including drawing, structure, proportions, color, light, composition, materials, and process.
Every major stage of the process will be fully demonstrated by Marvin Mattelson in real time. You will be able to follow each step as it unfolds, ask questions directly, and gain the kind of clarity that is often missing from prerecorded instruction, where crucial transitions are compressed or skipped altogether. What sets this class apart is that it goes much further. It addresses the underlying logic of painting itself.
Many programs teach artists tp labor over appearances under the illusion that painting is mainly a matter of technique. This course takes a different path, helping you understand the deeper logic that allows a painting to become more coherent, convincing, and alive.
At its core, this course is grounded not in artificial intelligence, but in old mster intelligence - the accumulated insight, strategy, and visual judgement that underlies the greatest painting in history.
As Michelangelo observed, "Trifles make perfection, but perfection is no trifle." Great painting is symphonic in nature. Every element, including drawing, proportion, value, color, structure, composition, materials, and edge handling, must work together harmoniously, because when any one element is deficient, the force of the whole is diminished and the artistic intent is compromised.
Although the course is taught through portraiture, the principles it addresses are not limited to portrait painting alone. The underlying logic of picture making is universal, and what is learned here can be applied far beyond portraiture itself.
examples from the course
Marvin Mattelson's step by step live demonstrations form a critical part of his teaching methodology.
DRAWING DEMO
MULTI-LAYER DEMO
Layered painting demo
ALLA PRIMA DEMO
Curriculum
You will begin by identifying the real obstacles to growth: accumulated falsehoods, inherited habits, and unexamined assumptions. The concepts of myth-information and subjective contamination will help bring these barriers into clearer focus.
Before the painting begins, you will learn how lighting, composition, and reference photography help establish the direction of the work from the outset.
You will receive a thorough understanding of the materials used in the course, including paints, mediums, brushes, and surfaces, and why certain choices are more effective than others.
You will learn how to build your painting in progressive layers, first establishing it broadly, then refining it with greater clarity and control.
Only after you have developed a deeper understanding of the multi-layered process can you begin to master direct painting, bringing drawing, value, color, and paint handling together simultaneously in a more immediate way.
You will learn to construct your painting through shapes, angles, alignments, and placement, establishing a solid foundation for everything that follows.
Once the drawing is established, you will use it as the basis for creating a value structure that becomes the armature of the painting.
You will gain a more analytical and efficient understanding of color, free from guesswork, recipes, or complicated formulas.
Once the value structure has been established, you will block in the approximate color tones while preserving the underlying value relationships.
Beginning with the initial block-in, you will learn how to identify and correct problematic areas, refining the painting progressively until all its parts work together with greater harmony.As the painting develops, you will learn how each adjustment can affect hue, intensity, value, edge handling, and structure, allowing you to refine the image with increasing precision.
As your understanding deepens, you will discover how nuanced strategic alterations achieved through subtle layering can transform an image from mere representation into something far more lifelike and convincing.
Through a guided exploration with Marvin of the greatest representational painters in history, you will come to recognize the strategic mindset underlying their work. Once you begin to understand them inwardly, there is no need to copy them outwardly, and many students find that they can never look at art in quite the same way again.
Throughout the course, you will deepen your understanding through feedback, discussion, and practical application, so that each part of the process becomes more fully integrated into the whole.
Core principle
The true path forward is not mystery. It is not magic. It is about deepening your awareness - the very principle that underlies Marvin’s approach to painting and teaching.
Nothing short of a contextual shift will make a significant difference. The solution lies not in a singular piece of information, a magic medium, a secretive technique, or a systematic blueprint.
Many artists are led to believe that the missing answer lies in some isolated fragment: how to paint eyes, how to mix flesh tones, how to handle edges, how to render hair. But no single fragment can solve the larger issue. When the underlying logic is weak, even correct individual passages cannot bring the whole painting to life.
Registration
If you are ready to deepen your understanding of portrait painting and picture making in general, register below. To register, contact Marvin by pressing the button below and fill out the form on his contact page.
