SELF / PORTRAIT: Photography + Acrylic Painting Workshop

By La Chaise at Natural Law, Verbier

Not how you look, how you feel.

We are surrounded by images of ourselves, yet those images rarely show the full person behind them. This workshop invites you to step away from the pressure of creating a perfect likeness and explore self-portraiture as something more instinctive, personal and honest.

(OPTIONAL) The experience begins with a short individual portrait session. Lucia Harrison will photograph each participant in the moment, not heavily posed or perfected, but present and real. Your chosen portrait will then be printed during the workshop and become the starting point for your artwork.

Using acrylic paint, coloured pencils, texture and expressive mark-making, you will transform the photograph according to how you feel rather than simply how you appear. You might preserve one detail and erase the rest. Cover part of the face. Exaggerate a feature. Work with four colours that represent your current state. Replace realism with shape, gesture, repetition or abstraction.

There is no correct way for the finished portrait to look. Some of the most powerful self-portraits may contain only a few lines, blocks of colour or one recognisable fragment of a face.

How the workshop will unfold

We begin with a short visual introduction to contemporary self-portraiture, abstraction and different ways of working with a photographic image.

Each participant will then have an individual portrait taken while the rest of the group experiments with colour palettes, materials and small mark-making exercises.

Once your photograph is printed, Lucia Harrison and Paula Palacios will guide you through the process of developing it into a painted piece. The workshop is organised in a small group so that everyone receives personal guidance while still having the freedom to follow their own direction.

There will be time to work independently, share ideas around the table and meet other people through the creative process. At the end, we will bring the portraits together for an informal collective viewing and photograph the finished works.

What is included

Your ticket includes:

• An individual photographic portrait session and printed photograph on normal paper. Digital photo may be shared via email. 
• Acrylic paints, brushes, coloured pencils, palettes and creative materials
• Guidance throughout the photographic and painting process
• Protective table materials and shared studio tools
• Snacks and drinks
• Your completed self-portrait artwork to take home

What you will explore

During the workshop, you will learn how to:

• Intervene directly on a photographic portrait using paint, pencil and colour
• Approach abstract and expressive mark-making without relying on realism
• Translate emotions, memories and personal associations into shape and colour
• Build an image through layering, covering, removing and revealing
• Work more intuitively and let go of the pressure to make something perfect

Who is it for?

This workshop is open to complete beginners as well as people with previous experience in photography, painting or drawing.

The recommended age is 12 years and above, making it suitable for teenagers and adults. It is a thoughtful adult activity to attend alone, as a couple, with a friend or as a way of meeting new people in the local community.

You do not need to consider yourself an artist. Curiosity and a willingness to experiment are enough.

The workshop can be guided in English, French, Spanish and Italian, adapting explanations when needed so that everyone can participate comfortably.

What to bring

Please wear clothes and shoes that can get marked or stained. Acrylic paint can be difficult to remove once dry, so this is not the evening for your favourite white shirt.

Aprons may be available, but we strongly recommend arriving in comfortable clothes that you do not mind getting dirty.

Pets are welcome at Natural Law when kept under supervision and provided they are comfortable in a shared workshop environment.

Accessibility

Natural Law is wheelchair accessible. Please contact us before the workshop with any specific access requirements so that we can prepare the space and make the experience as comfortable as possible.

Location

Natural Law
Chemin de la Barmète 1
1936 Verbier, Switzerland

Why we create these workshops

La Chaise creates spaces where people can slow down, work with their hands and meet one another through the process of making.

We believe creativity is not reserved for professional artists. It is an action, a method and a physical process that everyone is capable of exploring. Our workshops are designed to make creative practices feel accessible while still treating them with artistic intention.

The aim is not only to leave with an object. It is to spend time differently: away from screens, expectations and daily routines, while connecting with yourself and the people working beside you.

Follow La Chaise

Instagram: @lachaise.community
Website: lachaise.community
Email: contact@lachaise.community

Photography and creative direction: Lucia Harrison — @luciaharrison
Workshop guidance: Lucia Harrison and Paula Palacios