Ten years of teaching at the Ottawa School of Art – A look back through my gallery of portraits!

I’ve now been teaching at the school for 10 years, since September 2009, beginning with a course on Expressive Portraits with Watercolour. The idea started whilst I was a regular attendee at a local life drawing group. I always seemed to put a focus on expressive  portraits and watercolour. I remember someone passing by and asking: “Do you teach that?”. Encouraged by France and my art group, I took my first steps in art instruction. My life drawing colleagues packed the first term’s class – which was a nice boost, and I recall one or two being surprised that I was actually taking the teaching seriously. France, by contrast, has always encouraged me to teach and was not surprised one iota.

I keep most of my studies, perhaps as a record, and optimistically, for future development. There are class demonstrations, brief reference sketches, some more developed studio works and a few fun caricatures too. Perhaps I’ve captured likeness or maybe just a fleeting feeling, an energy. There’s a range of works, from rough sketches to pastels, acrylics, oils, watercolours and more recently, a series on Yupo synthetic paper. There are even some studies drawn with my other (non-drawing) hand. Here they are – at least one study of just about every model that ever sat in 10 years of my portrait classes at the OSA!

The models are the unsung heroes of these portrait classes. Still and centered, they inspire with a presence that permeates the room. Some are regulars, others breeze into the studio for a term, but all are contributors to creative energy. This gallery is a tribute to them all.

Check out the new Gallery: https://www.davidkearn.com/galleries/models-at-the-ottawa-school-of-art/