Martinho Correia Summer Portrait Workshop Review

Portrait Workshop - sight-size live-model
Instructor: Martinho Correia (speaks English, Italian, and learning Portugese)
Location: Florence, Italy at Angel Academy of Art, cast studio
Dates: 15 - 26 August, 2013       9:30-12:30, 13:30-16:30 Monday-Friday

This overview is just a little taste of the actual experience. I highly recommend taking the workshop in person because nothing can replace the one-on-one instruction and being in that focused environment; more information is revealed and the external time limit helps put a necessary amount of pressure in order to mentally process and apply the techniques quickly, which otherwise might be neglected when attempting alone. Besides, there is also the added benefit of camaraderie and support when your previous habits are rebelling against the new approach. Be patient with yourself and the process. The closer you focus on listening and applying exactly what is being said and shown the easier you will catch your mistakes in action and get a more satisfying final result.

Typically throughout the workshop, especially during demos, the students use sketchpads to keep visual (doodles) and verbal notes and take photos (please ask permission first before photographing models or other's artwork) for future reference when practicing or finishing up at home. Keep handouts to reference during workshop and afterwards. The studio space is setup with storage, work surface, and seating at your easel station. At one end in a large table setup with mediums, paper towels, plastic wrap and other basic needs. Demos would be conducted either at an easel or the large table. A board of reference images is always on display and a large projected slideshow accompanies the lecture. Martinho teaches the entire painting process. Everything is covered from initial setup to the varnishing stage - what materials and how to use, how to think about and see your painting/subject better, how to resize painting, preservation and care tips, and how to transport back home.

Martinho Correia has a Fine Arts Degree from the University of Calgary, Education degree from British Colombia University, Master's degree from the European University in Rome, completed the program and taught at Angel Academy of Art, and has teaching experience since the mid-eighties.
Martinho is relaxed, funny, and gracious. He is very knowledgeable, methodical, and well-organized. He helps you keep on track, explains the process clearly and is always available to help you through a problem area or clear up any confusion. The mood in the studio is lighthearted and focused. Either at the end of the first week or the end of the workshop, Martinho organizes a dinner at the authentic italian restaurant I Tarocchi and the final day of class is celebrated with a shared bottle of wine. You can expect to come away from the workshop well-prepared to continue painting in this style or easily adapt it into your own.
To see his work and find out more, visit:
www.martinhoart.com
http://offthecoastofutopia.blogspot.it/

Stay up-to-date by checking into the Angel Academy of Art website in the Spring for next year's workshops. Martinho will be teaching the methods of a modern day contemporary artist, showing how to work partly with a live model and from a photograph.

Give me the Green

Hemp and pot should be legalized. I don't smoke it, but have read about the plants numerous purposes - really a miracle plant. 

Life pressure reveals our true nature. Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs is a profound and interesting series. Listened to tidbits of the dvd series today and it was very good. I agreed with what I heard. 

Sometime dreams, day dreams, and deja vu are so vivid it makes me wonder. 

Song for the moment ~ ~ What I Wouldn't Do (and Electric Twist)~ ~ A Fine Frenzy

Here's pictures from my Garden 2010: 

I didn't manage it too well so my harvest was not that great. I arranged the garden according to companion planting. It was a very wet year though and brought disease problems. Last year I sprayed the Colorado potato bugs religiously with rhubarb homemade spray and sprinkled the baby bugs with diatomaceous earth and moved my potato patch to the other side of the garden and had virtually no potato beetles and had healthy plants!  Crops that did do well were: peppers, pole and bush beans, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, greens, peas, and beets; everything else did okay. Tomatoes, corn, and squash did poorly. Squash were attacked by wilt, vine borers, and squash bugs. Tomatoes wilt. The sweet corn ears did not develop fully but many half ears. All the herbs and flowers I interplanted attracted humming birds, golden finches, a green parrot (was surprising and fun, probably escaped from somewhere), bees and butterflies.