Art done in the classes here is practice – as a marathon runner trains, so artists should train. We tend to have a high focus on the finished product. By doing that we are not fair on ourselves. We don't let ourselves do anything 'wrong' and we judge ourselves every time we put a pencil to paper.
The course is a series of exercises – some quite controlled, some very uncontrolled. All are of use in building your artistic ability. The trick of generating a piece of artwork comes from moving between the controlled and the uncontrolled, the precise and the expressive, to get the result we want.
Examples of class topics:
Tone on tone work, Drawing upside down, Oil colour blends, Collage, Image transfer (& colour washes), Composition, Drawing from life, Anatomy principles (proportions)
Art practice principles:
Be relaxed. Be present on the moment
Experience the medium we are working in. Play. Explore. Throw the pieces of paper away. We can do it again. Don't be precious.
Feel the subtleties of the medium we are using
If it is new to you remove your expectations of yourself. If you were riding a new horse would you expect to have the best possible ride on the first outing? Give yourself time for the relationship with that medium to develop
Be aware of the small things. How does the implement you are using run over the paper/support – does it move crisply and neatly, does it pick up a grain in the paper and become grainy and rough? How precise can you be? Does it flow – if so how does it flow. Can you control direct it? You cannot dictate to your medium, you have to work with it. Pulling control out of its natural tendencies is what you learn how to do later in your relationship with it.
Be gentle with yourself. Don't let that inner critic have a voice. He is not needed here.
If work goes 'wrong' and you don't like it. Remember we are at play here. Tightness is the enemy of good artistic skills. Throw it away and start again – or carry on working on it and know you are learning, the expereince of it will add to your ability in the future. The worst work comes just before a breakthrough.
$15 per class
$105 for 8 week term