January 29, 2014
Vancouver Island School of Art Newsletter

Where have all the paintings gone?

Has anyone noticed the scarcity of  contemporary painting exhibitions in local public spaces, such as the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Vancouver Art Gallery or even the Seattle Art Gallery? I'm not sure if its the same with public spaces in the eastern part of this continent, but around here painting has a very low profile.

There is an exhibition right now at the Tate Modern in the UK (closing Feb 9 in case any of you happen to be in the vicinity in the next few weeks) called Painting Now: Five Contemporary Artists.  As I can't attend this exhibition, I had to satisfy myself by learning as much as I could through the internet (always a less than ideal experience, but sometimes that is all there is). The five artists in the exhibition are Tomma Abts, Gillian Carnegie, Simon Ling, Lucy McKenzie and Catherine Story.

I am familiar Tomma Abts from seeing her work in Painting Today, a book on contemporary painting. Abts work appears in a section called 'Ambiguous Abstraction'. The element of Abts work that surprised me, even thought I was only looking at a reproduction, is the relief surface of these geometric abstractions. Abts talks about her process in a short video. A longer (one hour) artist talk by Abts can be found here: Abts Turner Prize 2006. Gillian Carnegie is a Scottish artist that uses a complete range of traditional subject matter in her works from flowers in vases, interior and exterior architecture, to cats. Another painter who focuses on architecture is Simon Ling. Lucy McKenzie and Catherine Story work in the edges between painting and sculpture. Here is an excellent essay by Barbara Engelbach about McKenzie's work. There are also some images on this link as well. The work in the exhibition isn't necessarily tied by thematic concerns but rather just by paint. They are all artists who are extremely engaged in the practice of painting.

I'm glad its not just me noticing the lack of painting exhibtions; in this review in Guardian, Laura Cummings comments on the very same thing. An article called 'Why Painting Still Matters', is a nice follow-up to the Cummings pieces. I think no matter what is happening in the art world, there will always be a place for painting.
ARTIST TALK TONIGHT AT 7:30 (Wednesday January 29)
 
TWO DRAWING COURSES START THIS WEEK  
There are still some spaces in the following courses:

DRAWING: MIXED MEDIA
Friday, Jan 31, 10am-1pm
Students learn how to create interesting effects by exploring a combination of different materials including charcoal, cont�, pastels, acrylic paints, paint mediums, ink, ink wash and crayon resist on a range of surfaces from papers to found objects.
Instructor: Tracey Nelson
Fee: $395 for 36 hours
To register on-line

DRAWING FOR THE ABSOLUTE BEGINNER
Saturday, Feb 1, 10am-1pm
Do you want to learn to draw but don't know how to get started? This is a course designed for people with no drawing experience, and in particular for people who are convinced that 'they cannot draw'. You will learn how to use basic materials such as pencils, charcoal and ink to render a range of subjects including everyday objects, landscapes and people.
Instructor: Tracey Nelson
Fee: $395 for 36 hours
To register on-line

Image: Petros Ghebrehiwot (example of mixed media) 
HOW TO PAINT
Sunday, Feb 2, 10am-5pm

This one-day workshop is designed for those who want to learn the basics of painting such as what brush to use, colour mixing, and applying paint to a surface. You will learn the fundamentals of painting through a series of simple exercises and develop the confidence to start (and finish) a painting on your own. Suitable for complete beginners.
Instructor: Tracey Nelson
Tuition: $125 all materials included. 
To register on-line  
ISLAMIC DESIGN 
Sunday, Feb 2, 10am-5pm

You will learn the basics of Islamic pattern design in this one-day workshop. Islamic patterns are intriguing to look at because they are visually complex and yet are based on simple geometric shapes such as the circle and the triangle. Through a series of step-by-step exercises you will develop several variations of a design. Discussion on how these intricate designs might be integrated into your own work will also be covered. Suitable for complete beginners.
Instructor: Xane St Phillip
Tuition: $125 all materials included
SILKSCREEN FOR PAINTERS 
Saturday & Sunday, Feb 15 & 16, 10am-5pm

Contemporary painters, from Robert Rauschenberg to Sigmar Polke, have used silkscreen printing as a layering component to add visual interest and complexity to their paintings. This workshop is a thorough, project based exploration of the complete screen printing process, from inkling to polished outcome. You will learn the basic techniques of silkscreen printing and see how images can be applied to paper or canvas. Participants are encouraged to come to the workshop with an image that they can work from. Supplies, including paper will be provided. However if you would like to silkscreen an image on a prepared canvas or other flat surface, please bring to workshop.
Instructor: Joey MacDonald
Tuition: $235 (includes materials)
 
NOTE FOR VISA STUDENTS

Artwork from Open House 
If any of you have work left over from the Fall 2013 Open House in December, please come and pick it up. All artwork is on table outside of the ladies room downstairs.

Coffee cups
We know that VISA students love coffee. We'd like to ask that you consider using a travel mug instead of disposable paper coffee cups. While the paper cups are technically recyclable, Caffe Fantastico sends them to Portland and they are then sent to China, so each 'recycled' cup nonetheless has a high impact on environment. If you find yourself unable to use a travel mug, please put your empty cup in the blue bin in Room 1 that is labelled 'coffee cups'. Plastic lids are put in the bin that is labelled 'plastic and metal' (Lids also go to China...). 
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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