To become a student again, to be prepared to question your abilities and your beliefs about the “right” way to work is something that requires courage.

I experienced this strange sense of apprehension last November, when Jon and I decided to invest part of our savings in a short period of study with three exceptional artists as our teachers: Ben Fenske, Daniela Astone, and Amy Florence Moseley. With each coming from different schools and artistic paths, we were able to deepen various aspects of our drawing and painting practices, thereby creating a complete, if accelerated, academic program.

Ben Fenske offered to teach us over a four-day period in his studio in Tavernelle, Tuscany, the basic principles of artistic anatomy, working first on drawing each part of the body starting from geometric forms and ideal proportions, proceeding to study the structure of the body, and finally identifying the most essential parts of the anatomy through drawing from the live model.

Looking at Ben’s work, dominated by an energetic brushstroke, it was difficult to imagine that behind it there was an artist with a very strict education in perspective and constructive anatomy. This discovery really made me understand the importance of academic study in order to eventually find one’s own style.

At Daniela’s studio in Mercatale Val di Pesa

At the same time we started a five-week course with Daniela Astone, who has a studio on her property near Mercatale in Val di Pesa. As an artist she addresses the universal feminine, which in her work is appreciable for its strength and many nuances, also incorporating mythological and philosophical references. During the course with her, we focused on the sight-size technique, first using charcoal, then oil colours with a limited palette. This technique encourages the artist to concentrate on the outer surface and proportions of the figure as opposed to its underlying anatomy. As such, I have to say that doing the course with Ben at the same time really helped me to understand how to better render the figures that I was painting.

The course with Daniela was divided into two parts: each day working both from the live model and also from the cast, with a break for lunch in the middle. Both projects started with what is called a ‘value study,’ a rapid sketch based on the masses and tonal values of the figure, which is indispensable for the artist to understand how to better manage the successive phases of the transfer drawing and final painting. After the initial value study in charcoal we started doing the full-size drawing which would then be transferred onto canvas, thus laying the groundwork to develop the final study in oil colours.

After the Christmas holidays we started the third part of our study program, with Amy Florence Moseley in her studio in Piazzale Donatello in Florence.

Even though finding ourselves in the middle of Florentine traffic every morning was not the most desirable thing in the world, I have to say that it was really worth it, in order to spend time painting with this young artist and discover with her the world of still life and portraiture.

Amy’s work is striking for the freshness of its colours and the vibrant brushwork she uses to describe primarily flowers and landscapes, but also for her ability to synthesize in few passages objects that are very complex in appearance.

Like Daniela, Amy also had us work in sight-size but, where necessary, with a somewhat more extended palette. The approach to painting she teaches is much more direct and, whenever there are errors of construction, they are corrected along the way directly with colour while maintaining soft contours.

In terms of output, Amy’s course was most productive, considering that in five weeks we realized five entire pieces. Here are a few:

Having arrived at the end of this experience I can strongly recommend to anyone who might have the opportunity to invest in private courses, personalized according to their own objectives and skills, to go for it. Learning the craft inside the atelier of an artist is a very unique experience, giving you all the tools you need to continue your own art with the greatest possible understanding.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the article. Feel free to leave a comment here below…

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Until next time,

Marta

You Never Stop Learning…