Attending art courses
Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.
- Will Rogers -
I attend face to face courses at Emily Ball at Seawhite studio because I need to share a creative space with other people; to be inspired by their work and share conversations about art and exhibitions, usually when I need a boost to my creative practice.
Which is the reason I recently took part in two different courses at the studio - The Creative Painting Space and Painting and Pattern, both with Nick Bodimeade.
The Creative Painting Space taught by Nick always starts with an hour of looking at various artists on a wide screen, usually relevant in some way to the work each attendee is producing. It opens our eyes and expands our awareness of other artists, both past and present. All of us are working on our own projects so it enables us to have discussions about each other’s work. I am astonished and somewhat embarrassed about my laziness regarding research. Most of us on the course don’t actually get taught techniques or methods; we have conversations with the tutor about what we are working on, where it is heading. These conversations may involve colour, marks, application of paint, size of canvas, what we may be struggling with, and solutions are offered.
The second course, also with Nick, was Painting and Pattern – The Natural and Synthetic. I have taken this course before, several years ago, but I wanted to revisit the shapes and patterns of the Kuba cloth. The original course took place before lockdown, so during lockdown I produced several large textile sculptures that were very different from the textile work I had previously made. This most recent course was run in a similar way, laying the Kuba cloth on the studio floor with two days of drawing on paper with charcoal and ink and on day three we were encouraged to work in colour.
Day 3 - colour drawings added
I now feel inspired to continue to produce a body of sculptures, carrying on where I left it several years ago, bringing in what inspired me and a new way of seeing. I have come to realise I had a different attitude to the Kuba cloth this time and was in awe of how each of us interpreted the patterns onto paper. This second time I paid attention to how I approached my drawings. I was more aware of the patching and darning and tufted shapes in the cloth and the journeys the marks were making. I plan on using this new knowledge to produce similar marks into the new sculptures.
I attend real life courses as a remedy to complacency and to give me motivation and excitement to carry on. Working alone in my studio can be quite isolating. The tutors and students all have something different to offer and I attend courses with an open mind and a desire to connect with other like-minded people. I’m always ready to respond to new experiences.
I produced six new paintings on the Creative Painting course. I am very happy with two of these and consider them finished (see below); two others are propped up on my studio wall while I decide what needs to be done with them and the last two are going to be scrapped or re-painted!
- Where about
- Dunes
The main thing that I came away with this time is a new way of putting my paint onto canvas which I plan on carrying on with.