Overall 2018 was a very good year:
I am happy that these books are now available to the international audience. They are a great learning resource for artists. The author is the Head of the Drawing Department at the Repin Saint Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture (also known as the Imperial Academy of Art), the oldest art school in Russia.
- I had three exhibitions: two in Toronto and one in Oakville.
- I taught numerous art classes and an alla prima portrait painting workshop (in Toronto).
- Met great new people, painted a few portraits and made plans for even more.
- I translated a book "Fundamentals of Composition" by Professor Vladimir Mogilevtsev from Russian into English. This is the third book I translated from this series.
I am happy that these books are now available to the international audience. They are a great learning resource for artists. The author is the Head of the Drawing Department at the Repin Saint Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture (also known as the Imperial Academy of Art), the oldest art school in Russia.
and last but not least - I finally worked out how Rubens and Van Dyck created their paintings!
2018 was the year of studying Old Masters
The truth is that 2018 was mostly the year of research. I wanted to get clarity on the methods used by the Old Masters, specifically Rubens and Van Dyck, a pupil of Rubens, and a great portrait painter.
2018 was the year of studying Old Masters
The truth is that 2018 was mostly the year of research. I wanted to get clarity on the methods used by the Old Masters, specifically Rubens and Van Dyck, a pupil of Rubens, and a great portrait painter.
My interest in Rubens' technique was sparked not only because he was a great painter, but because he was remarkably prolific, able to complete very large and complex paintings in a very short amount of time. The fact that he employed assistants can not alone explain this phenomena. Even assistants required training and guidance from the master. What it tells me is that his painting process much have been very streamlined (if not to say standardised), simple enough that it could be taught to his apprentices successfully.
So I read a lot, whatever I could find, about Rubens' work process (and some other masters of the 16th and 17th centuries) , and looked, very closely, at A LOT of paintings in museums (was lucky to travel a lot). What caused me a lot of sleepless nights was a discrepancy between what I read in some sources and what I observed with my own eyes when I was looking at the paintings in the museums. But now I think I've solved the mystery and have the answers I was looking for. I should do a post about it sometime.
The next post is about my own paintings and my New Year's resolution for 2019.
So I read a lot, whatever I could find, about Rubens' work process (and some other masters of the 16th and 17th centuries) , and looked, very closely, at A LOT of paintings in museums (was lucky to travel a lot). What caused me a lot of sleepless nights was a discrepancy between what I read in some sources and what I observed with my own eyes when I was looking at the paintings in the museums. But now I think I've solved the mystery and have the answers I was looking for. I should do a post about it sometime.
The next post is about my own paintings and my New Year's resolution for 2019.