Language
Portuguese, English
Duration
3h / 1 day
Difficulty
Beginner
Next Date
17/05/2026

Pop Art portrait workshop in Lisbon for anyone who wants to transform a face into a bold, graphic and colourful work of art inspired by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Led by Vera Rebelo Pinto, a Lisbon-based painter trained in graphic arts at António Arroio and decorative painting at Fress, this practical and relaxed three-hour session teaches you to decompose the complexity of a human face into graphic forms, flat colours and the iconic visual language of 1960s pop culture. No drawing experience needed, image transfer methods are taught so you can focus entirely on the painting. All materials included.

The session moves through three connected creative stages. You begin with stylisation and contour line work, learning to simplify facial features into the strong graphic line that defines the comic book and advertising aesthetic of Pop Art, focusing on what makes each face uniquely recognisable rather than photographically accurate. From there you move into colour theory: using complementary colours for visual impact, applying flat and uniform colour for a clean modern finish and choosing tones that communicate personality and energy. The final stage adds texture and pattern through Ben-Day dots, the classic halftone technique of vintage comics, alongside geometric patterns, stripes and graphic elements that fill the background and give the work its finished depth and dimension.

What you’ll learn

🎨 How to stylise and simplify a face into bold graphic contour lines

🎨 Simple image transfer methods so drawing ability is never a barrier

🎨 Colour theory for Pop Art including complementary colours and flat colour application

🎨 How to choose tones that communicate personality and visual energy

🎨 Ben-Day dot technique and pattern work for a finished artistic print aesthetic

What’s included

🖌️ All painting materials and tools for the full session

🖌️ Full guidance from Vera Rebelo Pinto throughout

🖌️ Your finished Pop Art portrait to take home as a gift or display piece

What you leave with

A finished Pop Art portrait, a self-portrait or portrait of someone special, bold, graphic and entirely yours, ready to frame and hang or give as one of the most personal gifts imaginable.

I am Vera Rebelo Pinto, a painter based in Lisbon. I paint every day between the classes that fill my schedule, because doing what you love most is a privilege I have enjoyed for many years. I studied graphic arts at António Arroio art school, completed the decorative painting course at Fress and attended the first year of painting at the Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes. This workshop combines the graphic arts foundation of my training with the joy of colour and style that makes Pop Art so immediately satisfying to work in.

Duration three hours. Takes place in Lisbon. All materials included. No prior drawing or painting experience needed.