NEWS FROM THE STUDIO

JUN. 2007 Volume 2 Number 4
(38 subscribers)

Summer is here

Hello friends,

Finally summer is here.  One thing I love about this time of year is how nature is at its greenest and freshest.  Our surroundings are bursting with colours and scents for us to appreciate.  Actually, I think one of the biggest purposes we have as human beings is to appreciate everything around us – and it just happens to be easier to do that in June than in the depths of a rainy and dark winter.

May our heart's garden of awakening bloom with hundreds of flowers.  Thich Nhat Hanh

NEW WORK:  “Awaken”, acrylic on canvas, 8” x 10”, 2007

SUMMER ART CLASSES in Tracy’s Studio

This summer I will be offering art classes for kids and teens in my own art studio.  Participants will explore the range of a variety of media such as, acrylics, crayon, pencil, ink and watercolour; themes will include landscapes, nature, animals and people. 

My approach is to excite students by giving them a new technique or skill to try and then give them the freedom to explore it in their own way.

The space allows for a maximum of 5 students, so kids will get plenty of one on one instruction. Click here for more details.

I am also opening my studio for one on one (or bring a friend) art lessons.  Please contact me, or visit my website for more information.

OPEN STUDIO:  You are invited to come by on Friday or Saturday from 10am – 12pm to meet me in person, ask questions and see the space.  My address is 3206 Rachel Rd., Courtenay (corner of Rachel and Salisbury).

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS:

July 28 – August 18, 2007   Fabulous Fakes, Arts and Crafts Gallery; Comox Valley Art Gallery

FABULOUS FAKES:  ART HISTORY MADE FUN

The following image is a 5” x 7” detail of a painting I copied from Joan Miro, called “The Skiing Lesson”.  I painted it for the Fabulous Fakes exhibit coming to the Comox Valley Art Gallery this upcoming July. For this show, artists were asked to paint a small copy of a masterpiece that will be sold as a fundraiser for the art gallery.

Detail of Joan Miro’s “The Skiing Lesson”, 5” x 7”, $100

I appreciated the sense of humour in the image I chose by Joan Miro. I thought other Valleyites who remember learning how to ski may too be able to identify with the slightly frazzled looking individual wearing earmuffs (?) and holding what could be a cup of hot chocolate in amidst an array of straight lines vaguely resembling poles, chairlifts or skis; the snow innocently falling in behind.

For a quick review, Joan Miro was one of Spain’s most celebrated abstract and Surrealist artists.  He used a variety of media to create imaginative and childlike, yet sophisticated works full of dreamlike scenes, amorphous shapes and vibrant colour.  “The Skiing Lesson” is said to have been one of the most complicated compositions that he painted in the sixties.  What is particularly interesting, is the artists use of black lines, which always finish with a ball, an arrow or a parenthesis which stop the line from becoming lost in space. 

Creating this “fabulous fake”,  reminded me of a class I taught called “Painting with the Masters” where every week I would delve into the work of another artist and design an exercise for my students where they would paint in a similar style or subject matter as the artist I presented.  Some of the artists we learned from were Emily Carr, Marc Chagall, Matisse and yes, Miro.  It was a great opportunity to increase our art knowledge, express ourselves and learn how to paint. 

Among the many things we discovered in “Painting with the Masters” was that you may not fully be able to appreciate an artists work unless you attempt to paint like them.  For instance, it is much harder to copy an abstract image than you would imagine (for all those who think “my cat could do that”). Often how a masterpiece will engage the viewer is through the freshness and spontaneity of the marks, the imagination of the artist who created the piece and the immediacy of expression that is captured and sustained even through many hours of subsequent work.  That is what is difficult to copy.

So in case you ever doubted art history could be enjoyable, check out the “Fabulous Fakes” which will be on display at the Comox Valley Art Gallery (Arts and Crafts gallery) this summer starting July 28th.   The show is a fundraiser for the art gallery, so it would be even better if you felt inspired to bring one of these masterpieces home with you (all pieces will be no bigger than 8” to make them affordable).  See you there!

Original: Joan Miro, “The Skiing Lesson” 193 x 324cm., oil on canvas, 1966
(A painting of his just sold at Christie’s in London for 6.6million pounds)

Thanks for reading and all the best for 2007.
Sincerely,
Tracy Kobus