I have just spent an exciting weekend having joined with other like minded artists for a ‘plein air’ painting workshop at Jervis Bay. ‘Plein air ‘ basically means painting outdoors to capture the moment .
Alison’ McKays Jervis Bay Art Workshops invited Sydney artist Tim Allen to guide us through a very liberating painting experience .For those of you not familiar with Tim’s work, check out his website and you will see why I refer to the experience as exciting. ( see link below).
This man paints with an enviable confidence, power and technical skill, making minimal bold and strong marks .What appears to be a spontaneous gestural way of painting is in fact a very considered and a closely scrutinized preparation and familiarity with the subject.
Our subject for this workshop was the very beautiful Moona Creek on a magnificent day. There were a number of other possible ‘extra’ subjects in our line of vision whilst trying to see the landscape. Warm weather does that… brings everybody out into the sunshine.
Tim had us warm up with some mark making. It is always great to get back to essentials , and we started with charcoal.
Ideas and processes we discovered here, were transferred to works using ink with the addition of a little paint and pastels. Tim continually emphasized to us the amazing qualities of these materials to get the best out of what they can do.
A demonstration on the edge of the creek inspired us to find a vantage point for our own paintings so we moved out and around all the others enjoying the beauty of the area.
Basically we were gathering our information for painting in the studio the following day.
A bit of sunburn, lots of drawings and studies and a whole load of enthusiasm for the next stage of the workshop saw the day draw to a close.
On Sunday morning at the Arts Cottage at Sanctuary Point we were met with coffee and a multitude of art books for further inspiration and a fresh look at the previous days studies.
Painting all day at these workshops is very intense and it is a process of continually solving and resolving problem after problem , weighing up choices to arrive at your finished interpretation of the subject. All of this knowing that you have limited time as well.
The highlight of the day for me was Tim’s demonstration and having the opportunity to look closely at several of his finished works only recently completed. All his marks looked ‘active and energised’ but there is a lot of prework in the studio. He lays down a few exceptionally bold marks to give an idea where the painting is going. He continues as he “ gets the best out of what the paint does”. The demo was at an opportune time to provide us with renewed vigor. We were all feeling the heat and some of us , frustration.
Tim is such an inspiring artist and an excellent teacher. I feel as though the knowledge he so generously shared with us was the equivalent to a semesters painting course. Such was the intensity and quality of his delivery.
The end of the day is the chance to relax with a coffee and view the collective works from the group. Always a wonderfully positive and encouraging experience to note the vast differences in style, palette, composition and technique.
Thankyou once again Alison and Tim.
http://www.artworkshopsatjervisbay.com/
http://www.timallenartist.com/