Adults art classes at C.S.Lawrence Art Studio

I can proudly say that in many of my adult art classes, the artists-in-training will often behave like children: at times rebellious and argumentative but most of all playful. I welcome it since my objective is to coax them into getting in touch with their "child within". What good is that going to do them, you may ask.Well, this is the point where I will get out my dog-eared artists' bible "Drawing on the Right Side of The Brain" and start quoting ad infinitum. 

A funny thing happens on the way to adulthood. Its generally called growing up, but i think in many ways, particularly with respect to creative self-expression, its got more to do with a downward movement than an upward one. For so many people, as the physical self grows, the creative soul shrinks. Fear is a word that comes to mind. Conformity is another.

Fear of failure and conformity are two things I tackle head-on with a vengeance. Fear shows up in the nervous preliminary pencil marks. It shows up when I hand someone a big brush and tell them to randomly lay down wide strokes across the canvas. Conformity shows up in students' desire to paint like such-and-such artist. Copying is as good a place to start as any, but the goal is to find one's own individual groove. As Picasso is purported to have said: "Good Artists Borrow. Great Artists Steal." (Click on the link to read an interesting discussion on what exactly Picasso might have meant.)

The use of acrylics is ideal for these exercises in letting go, because unlike watercolour, it allows sufficient elbow room to make mistakes which can later be modified or retained. Very often its the "mistakes" which prove to be the highlight of a painting and I always stress the need to be alert and spot which mistakes work and which mistakes don't. In the picture to the left is a preciously talented young artist. And a perfectionist. I invited him to let go of the process and make a mess. He reluctantly did so and then slowly started the exciting journey of "finding" the painting.

art students painting at Birgu marina overlooking Senglea

Dghajsas off Birgu marina by Maria Vella

Having my art studio located in the stunningly beautiful Three Cities of Malta I am spoiled for choice of outdoor venues to hold painting sessions. The photo on the right shows a group of students set up on Birgu marina looking towards Senglea promenade. At first there is a sense of being overwhelmed by so much information. Where to start? What to include and what to leave out? How to match that particular colour? How to manipulate tonal values to give a sense of depth and light? But with practice they learn to filter out all the "white noise", find a focal point and build everything, from the colours tones and shapes used, to creating a dynamic eye-catching composition.

In 2012 I took a group of my art students on a painting holiday to Modica in Sicily. It proved to be an exhilarating experience for both students and their non-painting partners. Needless to say, one cant go wrong in Sicily as far as finding beautiful vistas to paint and wrapping up a day's painting with some fine dining! But more of that in my next post.

2013 kids' art classes at C.S.Lawrence Art Studio

can you believe it? a room full of kids..and you could hear a pin drop!!

I strongly recommend any artist spending some time working with kids. I personally find my art classes with kids to be the funnest part of my busy work schedule. They are an inspiration. They are fearless in their determination to tackle any task I present them with. That is, those who have not already been influenced by negative feedback from either parents, school teachers or peers. Those kids who have had their innate creative impulse stalled will show reluctance to go out of the lines or get their hands dirty. You kidding? A 5-7 year old reluctant to get their hands dirty? Yep. It happens. But generally, it doesn't last long in my classes. They soon loosen up and get back on track allowing themselves to enjoy the unrestrained pleasure of being creative. 

Many times I will look at them and see parts of myself reflected back: the carefree energized creative spirit willing to surrender control and let the artwork speak for itself and the hesitant  controlling spirit  intent on staying well within the boundaries of a safety net. 

After Picasso by Juliana Zammit

One of my favourite quotes attributed to Picasso is: "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." In my years of working with kids I have  noticed that the age at which they start to lose their uninhibited self-confidence and become more self-conscious is around nine years. Unfortunately I have also noticed a progressive shift downwards whereby even younger kids manifest signs of uncertainty about their creative genius. Maybe they're growing up faster. That's why this year I have started accepting 5-6 year olds into the fold and have been pleasantly surprised at how well they integrate with the older 7-12 year kids. Being primarily a portrait painter part of the drawing exercises I introduce them to is proportional representation and at times I wonder if I shouldn't let them be. Given that the contemporary art world, following in the wake of Picasso's legacy to stay in touch with the "child within", appears to favour art which looks at best childish, am I smothering kids' creativity by showing them how to draw "properly"? After all, the modern art world is full of adult artists striving to paint like kids! I think not. I am convinced that an artist needs to know how to draw well before he or she can successfully indulge in deconstructing art. At the heart of drawing well is learning how to SEE. Therefore whether or in not my efforts to teach children to draw accurately I am stifling their naivety which so many modern artists aspire to emulate, at least these kids are learning to observe their environment and notice things,be it colours or forms. Too often I am astonished, while tutoring adults, at how little they actually SEE colours and forms around them.

Sample of kids' collage art: what a fantastic sense of humour!

To dissipate my concern about stifling the cheerful spontaneity evident in these young artists' way of representing things, I set exercises in deconstructing representational art. This is where collage art, which I love, comes into its own. The comical is the primary objective and the kids go for it with a passion. In many instances I feel the artworks being produced in these classes could and should be submitted to modern art galleries, and would (with the artist's age concealed) be readily accepted.

There is a certain dis-ingenuity about the modern art world's love affair with naive "childish" painting in which adult artists can enjoy success in the wake of art critics' endorsements for their painting like children do, when children who produce as good as, if not better, art must wait till they "grow up" ..(and by which time they may have lost that element of authenticity in their creative work) to be acknowledged as artistic geniuses.

In the painting below, 7 year-old Zoey Scerri  has reinforced my conviction that exposing children to art and encouraging them to express themselves without judgement or control through this medium is one of-if not THE best way-to build self-confidence in children: of all the captions she could have chosen while trawling through magazines to define her composition, there it is emblazoned in amidst all the comical incongruity:

"I MATTER"

"I MATTER" by Zoey Scerri

View kids art video 2007-2010 on youtube

View Kids Art 2011 on my Picasa Album. Click here
 
View Kids Art 2012 on my Picasa Album. Click here