Earlier this week, we read an article by David Hockney in The Art Newspaper, 'Abstraction in art has run its course,' that we truly enjoyed.
Hockney discusses candidly figuration in European art in comparison to other more ancient cultures. In his opinion, Abstraction was necessary to remove the shadows that had dominated European art for centuries. And by “shadows,” he really means the deep, tenebrous darkness so prevalent in European paintings while totally absent in other cultures.
Within a couple of days after reading that article, we were captivated discovering a painting by a new artist to us: Avigdor Arikha (1929-2010). Arikha turned away from abstraction in the mid-1960s. “People who think there is anything new in the arts are idiots,’’ he told The Washington Post in 1979. He is renowned for his personal way to translate random, mundane objects and people from life onto the painting format composing them with an unnerving asymmetry.
Inspired by one of his paintings, we’re going to paint a still life from life, selecting only one vase and one surface and playing with composition.
White Vase, 1996, by Avigdor Arikha
Painting premise: Still Life.
Props: select one piece of pottery and one surface.
Painting surface: any size, any kind. We recommend 9x12 or under.
Medium & surface used in webinar's presentation: oil over cotton paper. Feel free to select your media & surface.
I'm a beginner. I haven't painted in decades. I've never painted with oil. Can I still join?
Yes. We make every effort to create a session that can be useful and rewarding regardless of the level of painting practice.
I don't like to be on camera. Do I have to talk, present something, or show what I'm doing?
No. You decide who hears you or sees you, or be completely invisible. A webinar is different than a video conference. You watch the presentation and instruction but you're not sharing voice or video, unless you want to.
What if I don't have the right materials for the session?
You can definitely use any materials you may have at hand. We provide guidance and instruction that can be adapted to any setup or medium you may have.
What if I can't make it at the time of the webinar?
Webinars are automatically recorded and become become available to replay. You can watch it anytime, as many times as you'd like. You can also register to view at any time thereafter.
Can I interact during the webinar?
Yes, you can do it in two ways: there is a chat box you can use and we have a shared photo album to share your process.
Can I interact if I don't watch the webinar live?
Yes, you still can. We have the shared folder as our point of contact after the webinar, where you can upload your work and get personalized feedback. You can also email us with any questions at any time.
What's the shared photo album for?
The shared album is our own social media space where we can upload images of our work. It's a convenient way to receive personalized feedback. It's easy to upload and view. Or not, you decide.
What's Roofless in Colloquium and how is it different from the webinar?
Our painting webinars are absorbing and engaging. We get very focused on the painting process. We host post-webinar video conversations to share and exchange thoughts about our experience with the painting series: process, strategies, challenges, expectations, questions and discoveries.
We give ourselves a few days to process the information provided during the webinars and to add some work to our paintings.
Looking forward to connecting and painting with you!
