Blog Archives

Art for Divination?

23/6/2016

I wonder if you have ever noticed shapes and figures, monsters and animals hidden in the swirls and patterns of cracked tiles or peeling paint? My green marble bathroom tiles seem to be seething with all sorts of wonderful patterns, and one day I really should sit in there and copy them as carefully as I can.

I think that it was Leonardo who advised his students to do just this. He said it was the best way to liberate and encourage creative thought.

Once you start seeing things, it’s hard to stop. First you will probably see faces, as that’s what we humans seem to identify with most easily, but soon other things will pop up and surprise you too.

I often cover canvases and paper using a homemade crazy roller. I tie string around a foam roller and then use it with a mix of gesso and acrylics. Lovely! The unpredictable marks that this produces on canvas or paper are always interesting. I just couldn’t make those marks on purpose.

In this way I can produce sets of patterns with lovely textures that just have to sit around and wait until I am inspired by them. Then the trick is to pick out just enough detail to define what I have seen without losing the mystery of the marks. It’s as if the pictures are paintings themselves, and that they were just waiting for me to be in the right frame of mind to see them. I'm sure that someone else would see completely different things in them......

When I found a pile of canvases in my studio that I had resurfaced ready for repainting, I wasn’t really surprised when the random marks became worried faces and trees.
This is probably true for all of us; we will find things in odd patterns that are relevant to what is currently happening in our lives. It’s a bit like reading tea leaves – a way of divination perhaps?

I have been working on a collection of paintings of trees for some time now. It’s a subject I return to quite often. I have made so many sketches and studies on the subject that I am seeing tree shapes everywhere. My feelings around their wanton destruction and our disregard for their importance are also coming to the surface.

I will be exhibiting these paintings - and many more - at Palazzo de Piro in Mdina from September 7th until October 30th. The collection will be titled "The Rhythm of Life" and will explore the connections I make between trees, music and movement. For more information please contact me HERE

Classes Update
Figure Drawing classes at Palazzo de Piro will start on Tuesday July 5th - we will be working with live models every week.
Outdoor classes at Villa Bologna will continue on Friday July 8th.
Both classes are from 9.30 am to 12pm and are 20 euro, 6 classes for 100 euro.
All levels are welcome - we are all eternal students !
More information HERE

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A Sicilian Adventure!

5/6/2016

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After a scouting trip to Sicily in early April to research the locations for our painting tour I came back full of ideas and a new found love for all things Italian. We simplified our programme and then eagerly waited for the big day to come. Caroline Said Lawrence and I, as co-tutors, were looking forward to being let loose in such lovely surroundings with a group of students to inspire.

The trip was organised by PaintMalta’s Miriam Fiorini and Ann Caruana Montaldo, and GoSicily’s Mario Spiteri. Between them they tailored a unique idea. Painters and non-painters paid the same amount. The painters were taken to the chosen locations and then left in our capable hands to sketch, paint and have a generally arty day.

The non-painters had a separate itinerary and, guided by the amazingly well-informed and enthusiastic Mario, visited all kinds of interesting local venues and sites. From the archaeological fascination of old Noto to the nature park outside Marzamemi, from wine-tasting to churches and historical sites, he entertained and delighted them all.
Both groups met for lunch and then went their ways again afterwards. Everyone had the option of changing groups if they felt like it; painting half the day and then sightseeing, for example.

On the first day we caught the early morning ferry from Malta and arrived in Pozallo around 8.30 am. We then stopped for coffee and pastry in a charming cafe next to a completely deserted beach in Marina di Modica. Apparently it gets very busy in August but it was a very peaceful scene that morning!

Next day both groups went to the charming town of Noto, full of historical and beautiful buildings, cafes and atmosphere.

After that we continued on to the hotel, where we spent the day, sketching in the grounds before lunch.
We stayed in a fabulous converted Benedictine monastery in the province of Syracuse. It was a real retreat – surrounded by two golf courses, three lakes and seemingly endless grounds.

After a sketching stroll around the grounds to orient everyone, and then a break for lunch and unpacking, Caroline and I demonstrated our totally different approaches to the same subject, and we continued to paint all afternoon.

In between all this painting there were many good meals and many, many glasses of great Sicilian red of course!

demo painting in the hotel grounds

Dovecote in the grounds

cafe in Noto

Summer class updates

On Tuesday mornings 9.30am to 12pm I am holding figure drawing classes at Palazzo de Piro in Mdina. There will be a class next week on the 7th June. Then there will be a break of three weeks, until 5th July. We will then continue with these classes throughout the summer.
Friday classes at Villa Bologna in Attard will also continue through the summer months – the trees there provide natural A/C, thanks goodness! There will be classes on the 3rd and 10th June and then, again, a three week break until the 8th July.
Classes are 20 euro each or 6 sessions for 100 euro. Contact me HERE for more details.

On the second day we visited Marzamemi, a small fishing village which was buzzing with Italian and other visitors. I’m sure Mario explained all the historical facts and figures about both places, but I don’t remember any of that; all I registered were endless scenes and places that I wanted to paint. At 6.30 pm we had to pack up our kits and drive to the ferry, tired but happy. And sad that we weren’t able to stay longer.

We’re planning to do it all again in October - hoorah! – hopefully for a few days longer and of course visiting different places...... I, for one, can’t wait
www.paintmalta.com

Here are my Sicilian paintings