Detail and Expression

Course overview

This comprehensive portrait painting course, taught by Manu Saluja at the New York Academy of Art, guides students through the process of creating lifelike portraits, from structural foundations to a polished finish. Through in-depth analysis of planes, forms, and lighting, students learn to compose emotionally resonant portraits while refining their technical skills. The course includes insights from historical masterpieces and practical demonstrations, culminating in a detailed exploration of finishing techniques.

Manu Saluja

Instructor

Manu Saluja received her MFA from the New York Academy of Art, and her BFA in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts where she was mentored by John Frederick Murray. Saluja’s work has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery (London), the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto), the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art (Wisconsin), and the Butler Institute of American Art (Ohio). Winner of the 2019 BP Portrait Travel Award, her resulting paintings were exhibited at the Aberdeen Art Gallery in Scotland in 2020. Saluja has paintings in public and private collections throughout the U.S., Canada, U.K., and India. In 2023 she was unanimously selected by Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA to paint a life-size portrait of Sojourner Truth now permanently on view in the Grand Portrait Gallery. She has exhibited her work with numerous galleries including 33 Contemporary, James Baird, Sugarlift, Abend and Dacia, and has been featured in publications such as Huffington Post, Fast Company Design, American Art Collector, Realism Today, Fine Art Connoisseur, News India Times, and Artists & Illustrators. Saluja has taught drawing and painting for over 15 years with courses at NYAA, Montclair State University, the Fashion Institute of Technology, and the Long Island Academy of Fine Art. Born in Brooklyn in 1971, and a longtime resident of Queens, Saluja currently lives and works in Long Island, NY.