Michael John Angel Masterclass, Belfast 2018! August 19th–27th

I am delighted to announce that Maestro Michael John Angel will be teaching a workshop in Belfast in  August 2018. An incredibly generous teacher, Mr Angel will deliver an eight day workshop guiding students through the full process of creating a successful painting in oils. The workshop is a wonderful opportunity to benefit from the atelier system, with intensive tuition delivering knowledge gathered from a lifetime of experience. 

Your options for your larger, complete painting. 

Course Description: PAINTING  FROM VERMEER, AND OTHERS: from underpainting to glazes. 

Examples of some of the sketch-studies from the beginning of the workshop

In this newly designed workshop, maestro Michael John Angel will  concentrate on working from the general-to-the-specific: guiding students through several small sketches (such as those above) from a 3-value plan to a roughly-painted colour 'finish'. The course begins with a few basic exercises and includes various demonstrations in proportion, gesture, under-drawing and oil-painting materials. The subjects for these (which will be supplied by Mr Angel) will be varied and include figure, portrait and landscape. We will also produce a simple rendering of a figure from a drawing (see example below). 

Once these are completed, students will move on to their larger oil painting in full colour (of the option you have selected from those listed above) using the techniques we have been learning. Throughout the workshop Mr Angel gives painting demonstrations that clarify each stage of the painting process. This will include the glazing process, which we will study in the exercise below. 

Students will also receive various pdf handouts, with illustrations, that encapsulate the methods of painting and drawing in a realistic manner. Other pdf handouts will explain the different grounds, materials and mediums used in oil painting and describe the various layers used in a 19th-century underpainting-overpainting oil technique. Mr Angel will be painting much of the time in the studio, which gives students the fantastic experience of understanding brush handling, paint mixing and so on, by watching as well as listening. Demonstration pieces will be available to purchase at the end of the workshop. 

The daily routine is as follows: days 1-4  (Sunday - Wednesday) studio 10am-5pm. Thursday is a day off. Days 5- 8 (Friday - Monday, studio 10am-5pm. NB: Studio will be open from 9.15am to allow preparation time.

(If students wish to have access to the studio on Thursday, we can discuss that during the early part of the course, but students will need a break in order to complete the eight days.)

Class of 2017!

Maestro at work.

Mr Angel is highly regarded as one of the foremost figurative painters, and his paintings and portraits hang in both public and private collections worldwide. For the last 20 years, he has been the Director of Studies and senior instructor at the Angel Academy of Art, Florence. 

Mr Angel explaining techniques during class in Belfast, 2017

Mr Angel working on a beautiful demonstration painting.

Pauline at work

Gennie working

Judy, checking her work upside-down! 

Nearly finished! 

Mr Angel has taught workshops in Florence, in Toronto and at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. He also lectures at the Florentine campuses of several American universities and at various private schools in Rome and in North America. From 1982 to 1988 he was the Director of the National Portrait Academy in Toronto, Canada, and from 1992 to 1995 the Assistant Director of the Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. As an ARC living master, Mr Angel is considered one of the most inspiring and successful teachers in classical and traditional art today.

A short biography can be found at www.angelartschool.com/mja.html. He is listed in the Art Renewal Center’s Living Masters gallery and is one of the ARC’s Board of Judges. As well as judging the ARC’s Annual International Salon, he is a judge on several other national and international painting juries, such as the Collection Beaux-Arts Réaliste, IlluxCon, and the Portrait Society of Canada.

What is the difference between attending a workshop in Belfast, compared to elsewhere? Well, it's the Irish welcome! Students (and maestro!) love coming to Belfast. The locals are friendly, and you will be well looked after by Julie Douglas, who will do her best to accommodate your creative needs. Julie has been teaching drawing and painting for many years and is therefore your best hands-on co-ordinator. She will liaise with local art suppliers to ensure the correct materials are available and she also arranges group evenings so that students get to know each other. This is great fun and a bonus, as many students come from all around the world. It's good to make friends. One student from Dubai said "Julie thinks of the details that make all the difference". Julie has been honoured to collaborate with Mr Angel on several workshops and expects that this one will be the best yet! Hope to see you there! 

At the Italian restaurant...

Relaxing! 

The last night! Julie Douglas (left) with Maudy. 

A very happy group, at the end of last year's workshop. 

Further Workshop Details:

The workshop includes 42 hours tuition. Class runs from 10am-5pm daily (see above for the day off) with a 1-hour lunch break.  

Individual and group critiques

Painting demonstrations by Mr Angel

Discussions on materials and techniques 

COST: £1280 to include instruction, tea/coffee and some materials. 

A list of materials (paint and brushes) will be sent upon booking a place.

Terms & Conditions:
A 50% non-refundable deposit is required to hold your place. Full payment must be received by 1st July 2017, and if that time has passed, payment in full is due upon booking. 
Minimum number of students is 10.

Not included:
Accommodation and flights, transport and all other personal costs.  Fees are non refundable unless the course is cancelled for any reason. 
If traveling, it is recommended that you take out insurance to cover costs in the unlikely event of cancellation etc. 
If necessary, we reserve the right to replace the tutor in an emergency. 

Details of accommodation near the studio will be provided upon booking. 


For booking information and all enquiries please email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk 

Belfast is a vibrant city with a warm friendly atmosphere. If you are traveling for this course, you will find lots of things in the city to enjoy in the days before or after the workshop. 

https://www.discovernorthernireland.com/belfast/

FURTHER SUMMER WORKSHOPS AT BELFAST ATELIER OF REALIST ART:

'Drawing, composition and colour mixing: your foundation to successful painting' with Julie Douglas August 13 - 17th. This is the perfect lead in to Mr Angel's workshop. For info please click here (or copy and paste):

 http://juliedouglasdrawingpaintinglearning.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/summer-workshops-in-belfast-2018.html

'The Munsell Colour System' with Paul Foxton, August Thurs 30th & Fri 31st August. Paul, based in the UK, writes the famous blog 'Learning to See'. For info please click here (or copy and paste) http://juliedouglasdrawingpaintinglearning.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/summer-workshops-in-belfast-2018.html

Portrait Painting in Florence with Cesar Santos

My painting, end of day 5. 

Attending masterclasses given by great painters is a valuable experience which can shift understanding or expand on existing knowledge. For those of us who teach much of the time, it also provides the opportunity to paint without the distraction of other commitments. 

I spent a few days in Florence last week, on a workshop given by Cesar Santos, hosted in the very lovely surroundings of The Florence Studio, owned by Laura Thompson and Frank Rekrut. A spacious, bright and clean environment, I have never felt so welcomed and well cared for in any other studio. The fridge was stocked with bottled water for the students, and nibbles on the table. 

Cesar Santos giving a demonstration in The Florence Studio

Cesar is incredibly knowledgable, polite and keen to share his skills.  I was delighted, of course, that his main message was about the importance of drawing. Over the course of five days he took us through all the stages of producing a portrait in oils, from simplifying the head to getting it onto canvas, the under painting, the 1st and 2nd painting. 

My first morning's work, simplifying the form and getting to 'know' the model. 

Later the first afternoon, the drawing completed directly on the canvas.

Outside, Alex spraying fixative on our canvases to seal the pencil work. 

The under painting, very pale, looking at tonal values. 

Creeping along, day 3, '1st painting' stage. 

Cesar's palette 

more on day 3. 

Day 4, a bit more 1st stage, with some 2nd painting too. 

End of day 5. 

I met lots of lovely people, and one evening we enjoyed a tour round The Pettit Palace with Cesar as our guide. 

Class tour round The Pitti Palace 

Cheers! 

At the end of the week, time to put Cesar in the frame! 

Most of the students at the end of the workshop. 

Here are some quotes from Cesar, taken from my notes:

‘Drawing is our attempt to understand.’

‘Painting is meaningless without drawing’.

‘Drawing has nothing to do with the materials: it is the eye. Students must strive to make the drawing excellent, try to achieve perfection, in every drawing. Keep perfecting. 100 bad drawings won’t give you a good one! Just as a poet needs to learn grammar in order to express bigger things, in art, excel in drawing first.’

For info on my workshops, email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk 
Next up: Oils workshop, portrait drawing workshop, children's workshop, drawing and water colour workshops. 

Portrait commission, colour pencil on Bristol Board

I have just finished working on my portrait commission, and wanted to show some of the stages involved.

Above - the finished artwork. It's hard to photograph it - it looks a lot warmer in reality. The smoothness of flesh is created by using thousands of tiny strokes, with very sharp pencils. A blunt pencil creates a clumpy lumpy texture, but a sharp pencil give control, albeit slow and careful. 

I began a week ago. 

The first stage is, I admit, really weird-looking. I draw the whole image out so it looks like an Ordnance Survey Map, so that when I am working in colour, I don't need to make so many 'drawing' decisions, and can concentrate more fully on the colours and tones I need. 

I seem to start with one eye, every time. 

Above - showing the tiny strokes of flesh. The forehead is a challenge, especially when it is smooth and perfect. 

Creeping down the face - it looks rather like the colour is being poured on. if only it were that simple! I complete small areas at a time, so that I don't have to revisit the whole thing over and over. I do have to do a lot of comparitive observing, all through the artwork, and again  at the end, but generally speaking, as much work is done as I go along as possible. 

Pressure is a much misunderstood aspect of colour pencil. if you lean very gently, you are effectively doing a rubbing of the paper, and that is not what you want. You need to lay colour down with conviction, but without leaving any trace of your line. The exception to this is in the hair. You can see above that I lay the initial tones down more roughly, to get the paper colourse, before going over it again and again to build up a really rich dark colour. A lot of elbow grease here. Mixed in with walked to the park so the cabin fever doesn't set in.. 

Above - another view of the less-sharp pencils, roughly put down for the initial hair.

Many hours later (about 20) everything is almost covered. The white paper is beginning to look very cold, so I added a light warm ochre above the heads to soften it. (see top)

Next up: drawing and water colour weekend, 

Portrait drawing workshop

For info email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

Delicious and unique offerings for March, Belfast 2015

After the success of the Draw In Symposium last year, I was asked to create a drawing theme throughout the Ulster Festival of Art & Design, which takes place from 9th - 14th March 2015 in Belfast.
The festival comprises of many lectures, at lunch times and in the evening, from speakers from all aspects of the creative field. I have always been impressed by the quality of the speakers, no matter what their discipline and I was delighted to be asked to contribute.

Here is what I have come up with - all events take place at Belfast School of Art.

On Monday 9th, Tuesday 10th and Friday 13th March" Lunchtime Location Drawing".  I will be holding tutored sessions at 1pm for an hour.

Saturday 14th March, 11 - 1pm,  I will be teaching a tutored Life Drawing session.

Wednesday 11th March,  at 11am - award winning illustrator PJ Lynch will be delivering a talk and oil painting demonstration.

PJ Lynch oils demonstration 

Wednesday 11th March at 6pm - Katherine Tyrrell, artist, author and the UK's number 3 art blogger will be giving a talk about her new book about Drawing.

Thursday 12th March 11am - Drawing Together: a panel of artists including P Lynch, Katherine Tyrrell, set & costume designer David Craig, and Michael John Angel from The Angel Academy in Florence, will each speak about their work and answer questions from the audience and each other. This will be unique and very interesting.

Draw Together - a panel discussing the nuts and bolts of drawing practice. 

Thursday 12th March, 6pm - Michael John Angel, founder of The Angel Academy of Art, Folrence, will give a lecture entitled 'The Training of the 21st Century Realist Painter'.

Student from The Angel Academy, Florence, with his work

Bookings should be made through the festival website,
http://www.ulsterfestival.com
All sessions are subsidised and very inexpensive.

I hope you will be at as many of these sessions as possible!

For more details see the website, or email me at julie@juliedouglas.co.uk