Martin Kinnear on the fine art of taking time to watch and enjoy rather than getting straight down to work.
There's a strange rumour going around the School which came to my attention whilst teaching this week, and it goes like this ' I simply don't have time to do all of things you demonstrate , who does!'
Well - no one does of course and just to dispel the impression that I think nobody has anything better to do than paint each and every day I thought I'd take ten minutes away from the easel and do just that.
It's a Journey Not A Race
Painting is hugely enjoyable, and while there's a serious benefit to getting time on the brush, there's also a risk of working to the exclusion of thinking, of mulling, of appreciating, in short of taking it all in.
Take StudioTalk for instance - it's a weekly demonstration - not a structured course, so there's absolutely no reason to do each and every painting. If you miss one you can easily skip a week in the safe and certain knowledge that you'll be able to see another in 7 days.
Each and every 7 days for 50 weeks of the year in fact (even we don't paint over Christmas), so take a one year membership to minimise any feelings of needing to turn up each and every week, and just let the inspirational Art demonstrations wash over you.
If you feel especially inspired by any given week then by all means get the kit out and give it a go, and even if you don't, just view and enjoy what's posted by our tutors and members and get in on the conversation.
Art Is Work
I'm not saying for a second that if you do want to paint hard each and every day, we don't have the help you need. If you decide painting is absolutely for you, and you'd like to sink some regular time and serious commitment into it, we have the courses you need to build your own ' become the best the artist you can be' schedule.
StudioTalk happens each and every week so just watch it to get the feel for seeing core techniques used across a wide range of subjects.
Simply Oils (called Simply because it's 'simply what you need to know'), is run fairly regularly in three bite size chunks so you can schedule each part and then commit some time to practicing it. Again its great to combine this with your StudioTalk membership so the inspirational just keeps coming of you feel the need for it.
Focus On is where the focussed work starts, a twelve month program which will teach you, as a serious artist, three amazing and commercial ways to paint. Ideally take this once you've got the core skills and can take full advantage of the learning opportunities on offer.
Masterclasses are an opportunity to enjoy challenging and thought provoking tuition on the ideas and methods of the world's great artists. That doesn't mean for a second that you can't take them as your first ever course, after all it's your Schoo; just that they're not taught with beginners in mind.
Workshops We started as a physical School in 07 and still offer face to face tuition in our purpose built Norfolk Studios, which is a brilliant way to meet other artists and get hands on tuition. I'm currently teaching my final in person one year Diploma courses, however our foundation program of face to face tuition is very much alive and well, (and if you really are new to it, being able to feel the rheology of a tutor's mix is immensely worthwhile).
And finally, if you regret missing my Diploma and would like 121 teaching with me, then get on my scheduled Contemporary Masterclass in Norfolk; it's filling fast.