Catherine Stock's Blog, page 9

Workshop with Françoise Utrel

Last week I attended a one day workshop with the artist Françoise Utrel. The idea was to bring in some work and discuss where and how we wanted to progress with it. Having spent my life as professional illustrator, I have struggled to create paintings with personal originality and depth. I always seem to skim along the surface.

The lunch alone that Michel, Françoise's huband, prepared was worth the price of admission. No messing about with stale sandwiches and a flask of coffee in this establishment.

I first showed Françoise some illustrative work, then some life drawings, where I think my strength lies. She suggested that I choose one drawing and repeat it to create a series. Here is the drawing and subsequent explorations. Françoise vigilantly kept watch, stopping me from over-defining any part. I found putting myself into someone else's hand for a day productive and rewarding and intend continuing the series.

Imagining a prehistoric sea

I happened to be in London last year in October, the month of The Big Draw, a national festival to encourage everyone to start drawing launched by The Campaign for Drawing. I determined to participate this year so my gallery is having a painting day for children of all ages on October 1st, between 10 am and 4 pm.

The theme is to paint the sea that covered this area 135 million years ago. I will supply fossils, images and materials.

Please swing by if you can.

François

Another of my favourite South African painters; François Krige.

Some of my favourite South African painters

They are Eleanor Esmond-White, Frans Claerhout, Alexander Rose Innes, and Irma Stern

The lovely Helena

The painting class felt confident enough to tackle a watercolour portrait of my lovely assistant on the last day. Here is my demonstration.

A three quarter portrait is the most interesting one. The challenge is to get the head and face to "turn" to look three dimensional and not like a stylized flat Egyptian painting, so one eye must be properly tucked behind the nose. The level positioning of the eyes is very important. One eye often tends to migrate onto another level.

I had to rework this picture to correct the eyes. One of the advantages of stretching paper is that you can wash off some of the painting and rework it when the paper dries.

"I've encouraged both myself and others to experience the joy of drawing. It may be separate from painting, but it is certainly key to much that is great in painting. To find a line, to make it work, to really see it and know it holds life and energy or is pregnant with feeling, is to experience a kind of excitement that even sensitive observers cannot truly know." Robert Genn

Into the field

In the second week of the painting class, we packed up paints and brushes and moved into the field. This summer we painted Rocamadour perched on rocky falaises, the market in Gramat, the Dordogne river (where we picniced...and some sk--ny dipped...) and ended up celebrating the end of the class lunching in Saint Cirq-Lapopie after visiting the 25,000 year old paintings in the caves of Pech Merle.

I hope to add more photos of student work- please email your photographs everyone.

The Fête!

The Rignac Fête fell on the Saturday between week one and two of the watercolour workshop this summer. A dance floor and tables were set up on the place in front of our proudly restored twelveth century church, St Germain.



Things started out formally and sedately enough at first...



Then the watercolour contingent arrived with friends and the pace quickened fast, especially once our Australian stagière showed the locals a thing or two about dancing.



Today is the Bastille Day, le Quatorze Juillet. Brace yourselves Gramat, tonight the watercolourists hit your streets...

Cezanne day

Here is a small sampling of the luscious pears and more from the fourth day of my July watercolour workshop. I am very proud of the group's fabulous work. Next week we move into the field to paint markets, towns, and landscapes.

The Rignac Fête

Hooray, there will be a fête again this year in Rignac, after a pause of several years. A group from the committee de fête were around to serenade us on Saturday and remind us to book our tables in the village square for the repas champêtre and dance this weekend.

Exhibition at the Chateau in Lacapelle-Marival

For the second year, I have been invited to participate in the summer exhibition at the Chateau in Lacapelle-Marival which opens at 5:30 on Thursday evening. The exhibition is curated by Jacques Rival who has done an excellent job since he took over a few years ago. I dropped off my work yesterday and was very impressed by the work I briefly saw. Some of the other artists taking part are Jean-Pierre Rodrigo Subirana, Thierry Carrier, and Jörg Hermle (example shown) and I feel extremely honoured to have been included in the show again.

There is also an "artist's market". The maximum price is 150 euros, so you can pick some some really fabulous sketches and smaller works by these artists there.

The show will be on the whole of July and August between 10:30 and 12:30 am and 3 and 6:30 pm.