There’s a veritable legion of portrait and figure artists coming to our first-ever Portrait & Figure Festival next month. 14 are Art League veterans and four are visiting from the Art Students League of New York. (A fifth, Dan Thompson, teaches both places!)

The festival is the perfect opportunity to experience both a broad spectrum of viewpoints and an intensive learning experience, including one-on-one coaching sessions where you can discuss whatever you want with the instructor. The festival is open to students of all skill levels who want to learn about painting portraits and figures!

Tuition is $335 if you register by October 1, and we’ve added a “save my spot” option for students who want to pay half now and half later.

19 different instructors will be at the festival. If you’re unfamiliar with their work, here’s an introduction to a few of these skilled artists:

Costa Vavagiakis

Vavagiakis has his work featured in the Winter 2014 issue of Drawing magazine. You can see him in an Art Students League of New York video, below, or in his self-portrait (above, center).

His breakout session is titled “Toned Method: toned paper & drawing instruments for fast portraits.”

Sharon Sprung

In 2005, Sprung’s portrait of a waitress acquaintance was included in the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition at the National Portrait Gallery. (You can read about that portrait here.)

Her breakout session is on “The Features of the Face: Eyes, Nose & Lips.” You can see a little of her approach in this video:

Joe Mullins

Mullins is a Forensic Imaging Specialist at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, where he does forensic work on unidentified crime victims. In 2011, he reconstructed a 2,500-year-old mummy’s face for the Smithsonian exhibit, “Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt.” He teaches a class where students sculpt a head by reconstructing from a replica skull.

At the festival, he’ll be giving a talk on Facial Reconstruction for the Artist.

Danni Dawson

A painter and sculptor, Danni Dawson’s hundreds of portraits include the official portrait of Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Dawson has been teaching for The Art League since 1971, and apprenticed with portrait artist Nelson Shanks.

At the festival, Dawson will give a master demo, participate in the opening keynote and panel discussion, and give a talk with Paul Lucchesi on Sharing Creative Process & Partnership.