Portrait Painting Workshop at Te Atamira

Wellington-based artist Hana Dean will lead a portrait painting workshop at Te Atamira this weekend. Focusing on translating the digital, participants will be guided through the process of painting a portrait using one of their photographs as reference.

Dean, who grew up in Wānaka, attended Mount Aspiring College before pursuing studies in fine art up in Wellington. She’s majoring in painting and does both figurative painting – portraits – and surrealist styles.
Director of Te Atamira Ruth Heath first approached Dean and asked if she’d like to run a workshop after seeing and liking her work. Dean jumped on the opportunity and is excited to share her creative process, helping those attending to develop their own personal, expressive portrait.

“What I’m going to do is, sort of, a step-by-step guide of painting a portrait,” Dean says. “I’m going to go through all of the steps right from the beginning of constructing a canvas, and then just every single step, taking you right through to the end of creating a portrait.”

Experience isn’t necessary as she’ll be going through everything you need to know. Through drawing and painting exercises, participants will learn the key principles of underpainting, colour theory and paint application.

“The workshop is about translating the digital image, so I’m also going to talk about what that means and how it’s different from painting a portrait of someone who’s sitting in front of you – what it means to paint from a flat reference.”

For Dean, art has always been an important part of her life. Her favourite part of portrait painting is being able to capture the personality and essence of the person she’s painting. Since moving to Wellington, she says she’s found more of her own style.

“I love to watch a painting slowly take shape until that moment when it really comes alive and turns into something special and complete in itself. That moment has always felt really magical to me. I also just really enjoy the peace of mind that I experience when painting – almost like meditation in a way. I’m also very passionate about preserving physical craft in the current era of AI ‘art’.”

Beyond the upcoming workshop Dean’s working on some fun things in 2026 here and in Wellington as she splits her time between the two locations. She’s working on a few exhibitions, so keep your eyes peeled for more information on that.

When it comes to the workshop, she’d love to encourage everyone to come along and have a go. It’s all about having fun and trying something new, not necessarily creating something perfect.

“Give it a go. I think you’d probably surprise yourself with what you can create. I think when people think of painting, they think that a portrait has to be realistic and perfect in order to be considered good and I really don’t think that’s the case,” Dean says.

Join Hana Dean for her portrait painting workshop at Te Atamira on Saturday, 24 January. The workshop will run in two three-hour sessions with a 30 minute break for lunch, starting at 9.30am. Book your spot and find out more information at teatamira.nz