August 1, 2012 
Vancouver Island School of Art Newsletter


Dear Friends and Fans of VISA,

Like most people I have a busy and full life: running an art school, teaching and maintaining my art practice takes up a serious amount of my time. I never have time to read books. I miss books. Sure I read articles or parts of books, but not the kind of reading where you sit yourself down for hours and finish a novel in a couple of days. I used to be an avid reader as a child. A book was always in hands' reach. I was one of those kids who read all night with a flashlight under the covers. But somehow over the years reading books has slipped out of my life. Recently I read a book called Tolstoy and the Purple Chair' by Nina Sankovitch. Its not the most profound or sophisticated book of all time, but it was a enjoyable read with a valuable message. Sankovitch, after a personal tragedy, set out to read a book a day for year and write daily reviews on her blog. She was a lawyer and mom with three kids and quit her job to take on this project. The book basically outlines how the author fit reading into her life on a daily basis DESPITE how hectic or busy she was. Sankovitch chose reading as a way to escape her grief but then soon discovered that reading is about so much more than escapism; through reading we discover who we are and what we could be. This brings me to the topic of art: so many people say they plan to do art when they retire or when they have some free time. The point is that there will never be enough time to do what you love, so it makes sense to do it now.

One thing we are doing at VISA to help people with 'no time for art' is to offer a single day option for our upcoming Plein Air Painting Workshop. If you only have time for one day of painting, you can register for the one day. Or two days. Or three. You don't have to commit to the entire workshop. It is $85/day.  Each day will take place an a specific location so you would just need to call the school to find out where the location of the day you want is.

So how about taking a day off in the middle of the week just to do art?  I've read ten books since July 12 because I've decided its important to make time in my life for things that really matter to me. Over the last few weeks, I have developed the habit of picking up a book and reading whenever I can. It is possible to find the time to do what you love.


Wendy Welch
Executive Director

Plein Air Painting with Jeremy Herndl 

August 13-17, Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm

Jeremy Herndl uses the traditional genre of plein air painting to inform his contemporary art practice. Jeremy focuses on capturing the physical attributes of the landscape, in particular light and colour, as they change through a specific period of time. Any one of his plein air paintings can take six hours to two weeks and they are all done on site. They become records of physical sensations as experienced through time.

Jeremy will share his experience and knowledge about Plein Art painting, both in terms of the practical knowledge necessary for painting outdoors as well by providing exercises focusing on an intense investigation of space and training in the skill of looking. Classes will consist of field trips, hands-ons painting as well as technical  instruction and individual guidance. Jeremy taught this workshop as a six week course during our Spring semesters and I received extremely positive feedback from students about Jeremy's focused approach to teaching, his depth of knowledge and his genuine interest and concern for his students.

Note: You can register for this workshop for the entire week or for selected days. For example: if you just want to come on Monday, or if you want to do Tuesday and Thursday, you can pay the 'day rate' of $85 per day for the days you attend.

Tuition: $395.00 (30 hrs)
Selected images of Jeremy's work
Jeremy's artist talk at VISA

To register

Pinhole Photography Workshop with Laura Dutton 

August 11 & 12, Saturday and Sunday, 10am-5pm

 

Laura Dutton is a recent MFA graduate of the University of Victoria and her focus is on photography, video and installation. A large concern for Laura in her own work is the physical quality of light. Pinhole photography is a wonderful way to use light as a physical medium. 

 

The pinhole camera, or 'camera obscura', predates the invention of photography and is a basic device that illustrates the fundamentals of photography as well as how our eye works. Unlike the instant results of today's digital world, pinhole photography requires patience. This no-frills lens-less technique will give you soft images with unique characteristics such as infinite depth of field, extreme wide angle, and vignettes. It is a process involving intuition and experimentation with the material of light. Students are required to bring their own container for the pinhole camera body. Containers must be light tight but may vary in shape and size (oatmeal tin, paint can, shoe box, etc.). Detailed instructions on choosing a good container will be provided closer to the workshop date.

Tuition: $150.00 (12 hrs)
Material fee: $20 (includes all supplies other than pin-hole camera box)  

Pinhole Images

 

To register 

Painterly Realism with Val Nelson 

August 20-24, Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm 

  

We are delighted that  the prolific Vancouver painter Val Nelson is coming to Victoria to give this weeklong workshop. Val is currently teaching in Tuscany and she has made some time to teach at VISA towards the end of the summer.  Her work is currently on exhibition in Montreal at Galerie Bellefeuille. We are very lucky to have such a good artist and excellent instructor offer to do a summer workshop at VISA this year.

Val's description of the workshop includes the following: "the strong presence of realism in painting today is an exciting affirmation of this centuries-old art-form; its resilience after the emergence of photography speaks to a continued interest in image-making that bears the touch of the human hand. The workshop begins with a brief overview of historic and contemporary realist painters, and a demonstration of tonal painting".

This is a great opportunity to study painting with an artist who is completely devoted to the art form.
Tuition: $395 (for 30 hours of instruction)
Supply List
Images

To register

Image: Val Nelson

Painting Space with Inga Rmer 

August 20, 21, 22, Mon-Wed, 10-5pm (Thursday & Friday, optional studio days)

 

Inga Romer  is coming from Berlin to teach two workshops at VISA this summer. If you haven't had the chance to experience Inga's teaching she comes highly recommended by many students. Not only does Inga bring a wealth of knowledge about contemporary European painting, in particular what is happening in Berlin, her kind demeanour and good humour make her a delight as an instructor. Inga conceived of this workshop in the early years of VISA and she also taught it as 12-week course. You will learn unique ways of seeing space and how to consider its importance in the dynamics of composition. A great workshop for students who are interested in taking a fresh approach to the challenges of making compositions with a persuasive sense of depth, drama and play. Artists include: Fiona Rae, Julie Mehretu, Eric Fischl, Franz Ackermann, and Matthew Ritchie.
Tuition: $250.00
(includes 18 hours of instruction and two optional studio days, Thursday & Friday)   

Supply List   

Painting Space Images

To register

Image: Inga Rmer

Painting: Photographic Influence with Inga R�mer   

August 27, 28, 29, Mon-Wed, 10-5pm (Thursday & Friday, optional studio days) 

 

Many artists today are using photographs as source material to influence the content and meaning of their work. The photographic structure and subject often get transformed through the language and process of painting. This workshop explores various ways photography can be used in painting, both as source imagery, and a means of better understanding our relationship to narrative depiction. Artists include: Gerhard Richter, Vija Celmins, Glenn Brown, Richard Prince, Elizabeth Peyton, Karen Kilminik and Marlene Dumas.
Tuition: $250.00  

(includes 18 hours of instruction and two optional studio days, Thursday & Friday)  

Photographic Influence images

 

To register 

 

Image: Inga Rmer

 


INTEGRATE ARTS FESTIVAL, August 3 & 4
Victoria's 6th annual Integrate Arts Festival (formerly called Off the Grid Art Crawl) will take place August 3rd & 4th with an official art crawl, outdoor visual projections and various other art and music events throughout the festival. 29 galleries are participating. The Slide Room Gallery will have an exhibition of current drawings and paintings by Jeroen Witvliet as well a presentation of video art from MediaNet. Maps available at VISA or online
Please note:
Slide Room Gallery will be open Friday, Aug 3, 6pm-11pm and Saturday, Aug, noon-5pm.





For more information about our courses or events contact
Linda or Jen at the office: 250-380-3500 or [email protected]
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