Blog 01: Easter workshop at the Barcelona Academy
I’m hesitant to write my first blog post. Mainly, I fear it won't be interesting or well-written enough. I have barely put pen to paper since I was in school. Ms Whyte would not be impressed, but as I’ve learned with drawing, you can’t improve what you don’t practice, so here we go.
I flew into Barcelona on Sunday, the 29th of March. As a self-taught artist, I was beyond excited to study the classical tradition of painting. This tradition is based on the methods of the academic studios of the 19th century.
Monday began with a morning lecture followed by setting up the easels, forming a semi-circle around the model.
Now, to the fun part - choosing from what position to draw the model. Of course, not all angles were the most favourable, so were each given a number between 1 and 10. I was given number 6. Although I must say I was lucky, and there was still a nice spot left. I’ve always liked the three-quarter view, so I was pretty pleased. Over the course of the next couple of hours, we drew the model in pencil using the comparative method. I had some proportions that I didn’t realise were off. One of the instructors corrected this for me. Before class ended at 3pm we applied an Imprimatura to our linen. This takes away the blinding white colour and gives a nice mid-tone to work on.
Tuesday morning, like the day before, started with a lecture on theory followed by a demonstration for a simple but effective method for transferring the drawing onto canvas. With my drawing and the model as my guide, I painted a thin underpainting with raw umber.
Wednesday to Friday mainly consisted of focused time painting, with short lectures on theory. It was wonderful to receive feedback as I worked. I could’ve worked longer on my portrait but I’m so happy with all I’ve learned, and it’ll be lovely keepsake to have of my time in Barcelona. So much better than any souvenirs. My painting is being sent home as I am writing this. I had such a positive experience that I’m already looking into the next workshop to do. Im so excited!
The day after I got home, I started work on my pastel drawing, ‘Brainrot’ I did a little photoshoot with my friend Nathan a couple of weeks before. I loved working on this project, and it was the perfect one to work on following the workshop at the Barcelona Academy. Everything I’d learned was fresh in my mind, and it would come to the forefront as I worked on this drawing. I feel there’s already an improvement in my work after just one week of study there. It’s so motivating!
