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Being there.

Looking at a picture I painted in Venice some years ago, a friend wondered how it was achieved, what methods were used, what techniques.

Fact is, a painting of this nature requires no special knowledge of technique or composition, no tricks, no skills.

What is needed, is to be there.

To be on the water's edge in Venice at 6 a.m. To stand there in the half dark, and to record the colours in front of you, simply and honestly. And to stop painting as soon as the moment is gone, the moment the light changes.

To be there is not just to be in the place, but also to be in the moment, each brushmark reflecting this exact moment in space; this exact moment in time. Not only in Venice, but wherever we find ourselves, wherever our attention wanders; in the tints of a beautiful model; in the petals of a rose; in the skin of an onion.

Artists naturally follow the great Buddhist rule for happiness: be here/now.

A little bird for Sergio

Yesterday I booked my flight to Venice. Seven weeks of painting in the middle of winter, including the first three days of the Venice Carnival.

Some month ago, on my website, I offered this little painting of a bird in Venice, to any person who could help me find a good room in Venice.

I fell in love with this little bird, so beautiful in its simple brown coat.

Everything, it seems, is more beautiful in Venice. One day in our garden, I noticed that the little birds that hunted around our car were the same ones, our own Cape mossie. Beauty surrounds us.

This little fellow, I like to imagine, has the guts to follow its dream; once a year it flies off to Venice, and once a year it comes back to Cape Town. Now, thanks to Sergio, I am doing the same, and as a token of my gratitude, this little painting goes to Sergio. I cannot imagine a better home for it.

Figure in pastel workshop

October 28 - 31 (Tue to Fri): 4 day pastel figure painting.

November 25 - 28 (Tue to Fri): 4 day figure painting in oils.

Following on the basic pastel techiques we covered earlier, we'll have time for two figure paintings. This workshop is a simple opportunity to enjoy the spontaneity of pastel and to savour the joys of figure painting.

In November I plan a similar workshop in oils, this time one painting, because of the slower methods of working in oils.

Website

http://artistvision.org/

Workshops

For details on workshops, click here

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Whatever happened to composition?

Degas may have been the last master artist. His preferred approach was to compose his painting much like a musician would.

He did sketches of individual figures, as well as studies of groups. He studied settings, and finally, he composed all these elements, all before starting on his picture.

Because of my teaching painting from life, the skills of composition sometimes elude us. This method has always made up most of my own work. The only way to do it, is by drawing, drawing, drawing.

Drawing is our first love. Make drawing your first priority. Then learn the joy of composition.

The art of Ryno Swart