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Of all the things you can paint in watercolor, a human face is the most unforgiving. A nose one millimeter too long and the whole portrait looks like someone else. A skin tone slightly too warm and it's sunburn. Slightly too cool and it's a medical condition. The margin for error is essentially zero, and watercolor — a medium famous for being unpredictable — doesn't seem to care. Which is why the painters who pull it off tend to be a special kind of confident.
We have 2 courses by two such painters. Julia Ustinovich paints light the way most people only describe it — her portraits have a luminous quality where the white paper glows through transparent layers of color, and every face looks like it's standing in a window on a particularly good morning. Her work lives in private collections from Berlin to New York. David Lobenberg takes the opposite route: bold color, expressive strokes, and a refusal to be careful. His portraits of iconic women hit you first and explain themselves later, which is exactly what a good portrait should do.
Two approaches, sixteen paintings, one medium that doesn't forgive hesitation. Unlimited access to both courses — rewatch any lesson, repaint any portrait, take as long as you need. The faces will wait.
Eight portraits where light falls on skin the way compliments should — softly, precisely, and leaving you slightly breathless.
Bold watercolor portraits that turn iconic faces into something between art and an act of bravery.
A free lesson sent to your email. 24-hour access, no strings attached.
Basic proportions and facial structure are covered in both courses. "Light and Femininity" guides you through the entire process from pencil sketch to finished portrait. That said, some comfort with drawing faces will help you get more from the courses. If you're a complete beginner, starting with the landscape courses and building your watercolor confidence first is a good approach.
You'll need watercolor paints (a good range of skin tone colors — warm yellows, reds, and cool blues), watercolor paper 300 gsm, round brushes of various sizes (detail brushes are essential for portraiture), pencil and eraser. Each course page has a specific supply list tailored to the instructor's palette and technique.
"Light and Femininity" by Julia Ustinovich focuses on delicate, luminous portraits with careful attention to light and skin tones — think classical beauty meets modern watercolor technique. "Expressive Iconic Women" by David Lobenberg takes a bolder approach with confident brushwork and expressive color — less about precision, more about capturing personality and energy.
Each painting in both courses takes approximately 1-2 hours. You'll work through the entire process — from initial sketch and tonal planning to final details. Both courses have unlimited access, so you can revisit techniques as often as you need.
Absolutely. Both courses teach transferable skills — understanding facial proportions, mixing skin tones, capturing expression and light. After completing the courses, you'll have the technical foundation to paint portraits from your own reference photos. The jump from course exercises to personal portraits is smaller than you might think.
Watercolor is arguably the most beautiful medium for portraits — its transparency creates luminous skin tones impossible in opaque media. The challenge is that mistakes are harder to fix, which demands confidence and planning. Our courses teach you both: the technical skill to control the medium and the artistic intuition to know when to let watercolor do its thing.
