CENTRAL ISLAND ARTS TOUR May 20, 21, and 22

Hello my friends,                     

I’m excited to share I’m opening my art studio during the CENTRAL ISLAND ARTS TOUR May 20, 21, and 22. My studio will be open 10am-5pm over that weekend, and 10am-3pm on Monday the 22nd. Please join me so I can share my work with you!  There will be lots of cool art  to see in this very creative part of the world, from Parksville, all the way through the Comox Valley and north to Campbell River! 

red carpet, mixed media on paper, 12 x 9 inches, 2023

Please note that I found out about this wonderful initiative after the print deadline, so I will not officially be on the Art Studio Tour Map but I am opening my doors during that time, and will be displaying the Green Banner outside to help you find me! 

And here’s what my outdoor sign will look like:

For a  preview of my artwork, here is the Central Island Arts Listing website link: https://centralislandartsguide.ca/artist/val-nelson-studio/

Hope to see you there!

Val

DRAWING CRASH COURSE ONE-DAY WORKSHOP Sunday April 23, 2023 10am-4pm

If you think you can’t draw, this course is for you! This jumpstart into drawing expands the student’s ability to perceive and render the world around them. You will be introduced to contour drawing, gesture, mark-making, approaches to basic portraiture and figure drawing without measuring, and more. Don’t worry, you don’t need to know what all of this means!

No experience necessary. 😉

SUPPLY LIST: Bring your 2B pencil, an eraser and a stack of inexpensive paper or a sketchbook

COURSE DATE: Sunday Apr 23, 2023 10am-4pm

TUITION: $90 incl GST

TO REGISTER: An E-transfer secures your spot! Please send to val@valnelson.ca

LOCATION: Val’s studio in Courtenay, BC (location details upon registration)

CANCELLATION POLICY: Please note as this is a small class, there are no refunds, but I am happy to credit you toward a future class. Thank you for your understanding! 🙂

SPRING: Painting for Beginners May 1-June 5

I so love teaching this class because I get to watch my students quickly move forward with their painting technique. My goal is for you to gain confidence to paint independantly in your home studio.

Not sure if this class is for you? Below are some common questions I am asked that I hope will inspire you to jump right in and get the paint flowing:

Do I need to have painted before?” Some of my students are taking up their paint brush for the first time. We all knew how to make art when we were children. We were born creative! It’s just that some of us kind of forgot somewhere along the way! Be assured, it does come back with a little coaching. Some of you have enjoyed playing with paint and experimenting, but may have felt frustrated because of some technical questions you just couldn’t find a way around. That’s where I come in!

“I don’t really know how to draw.” Don’t worry! Learning to paint is largely allowing yourself to open up your perception. I take you step-by-step through a process that helps you train your brain to learn how to see more deeply. It’s super cool. In fact, you might even notice that as you expand your abilities in painting, you see the world around you differently too.

What will I learn?” In six information-packed three-hour sessions, you will learn important steps to building an acrylic painting using a loose, impressionistic approach. As you paint a simple still life, I give demonstrations to help you understand the block-in, develop your work with more detail, and learn about how value, basic colour theory, edge control, and brushwork can be used to create a dynamic painting with strong structure.  By the end of the class, you will have begun and possibly completed your own personal project.

Below is the final project of a student who had only “dabbled a little with watercolor” and done some introductory drawing with me before completing this course:

Student final project

Yikes, that sounds complicated!” Nope. The class begins with limited colour and gradually expands to full-colour projects. And the class size is small, so you get plenty of one-on-one instruction.

“I have a crazy schedule. What if I have to miss a class?” If you must miss a class, I will do my best to fill you in when you return.

Great! When does it start, and how much does it cost?” Classes are on Monday afternoons, 3-6pm beginning May 1, 2023. See below for more details!

beginner-colour

PAINTING FOR BEGINNERS

Six Monday afternoons, 3-6pm: May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, Jun 5

Class Fee: $425 (includes GST).

Location: In-Person at my Courtenay, BC studio. Details provided upon registration.

Supply List: Provided upon registration

To secure your spot in the class, please register by sending an E-transfer to : val@valnelson.ca 778-865-2650

Cancellation policy: Please provide 7 days’ notice if you need to cancel, at which point you can receive a credit toward a future class.

NEW STUDIO!

Before
After

Okay I’m in, I have a new studio! So great to spread out and have a real art-making space once again. Now that I’m sure I am staying in Courtenay I decided it’s time to put down roots. I’m thrilled to share this new bright space with you, a quirky old office building very near downtown. There is a bank of four windows facing east so I get some gorgeous morning light, then it evens out the rest of the day for fantastic painting illumination.

The Courtenay River is a half-block away so I can ride my bike to and from work, and take airy walks to view the ever-changing estuary and observe the bird and rabbit action (yes, rabbits!). Oh and there is a Bean Around the World just five minutes’ walk away for a little social time and great coffee.

Those of you who have signed up for my most recent course please take note of my new address:

#228b-2270 Cliffe at Mansfield Centre in Courtenay. It’s near the Airpark on the main drag before you hit downtown (that is if you are travelling north).

See you again soon!

xVal

Coming up this Spring at Val Nelson Studio

LOOSEN UP! PAINTING SERIES: Dates TBA

 Are you a realist painter, and looking for ways to create more painterly flow and movement in your work? Join me in my studio for eight fun and challenging studio sessions amongst like-minded fellow artists.

If you have been painting alone, the group dynamic of a class creates a sense of camaraderie through an exchange of ideas. Warm-up exercises at the beginning of each session will give you new tools with which to understand how to move the paint around more freely.

Students can bring their personal projects already in process or start new ones in the class. The instructor will cover issues such as paint handling, improving drawing abilities, palette and composition tips as well as historical and contemporary painting references. Both acrylic and also oil painters with a little experience are welcome (no turpentine, please).

This is an intimate and friendly setting in a professional artist’s personal studio.

If this sounds like something you would like to take part in, feel free to call or text me at 778-865-2650 or email me at val@valnelson.ca

TARGET PRACTICE

Over the past couple months I have been wanting to bring more of a feeling of confidence and directness that seems to have faded of late. Sometimes it’s good to refresh and work in a different medium and even subject matter for a while, in order to get out of old habits that may have become entrenched in one’s process.

So I decided to go back to drawing with ink pen. Here I am forced to own every mark because I cannot erase it. I felt like focussing on portrait, partly because I just like portraits and enjoy the challenge. The human form is the most challenging thing one can tackle as an artist, and I knew from previous experience that if I can have some success in that realm it can build back any confidence I may feel is lacking in my work.

I grabbed this image from my travel photos, which I had spotted in a Parisian shop window in the 6th arrondissment:

I had always wanted to make something from this, but wasn’t sure if it fit with the other work I was doing. So now was the time:

I liked this one a lot in terms of the colour and texture in the original photo, and wanted to see how I might try combine the ink pen with water-based media. So I made it again:

In this one I am using gouache. At first I worked with very transparent washes, especially in the detailing of the jacket. I was careful not to cover up the liveliness of the ink lines. You can get the most vibrant colour when you use glazing and let the white of the paper show through.

But when it came to the face and hair, I was pushed to work pretty thickly, more like oil-paint in order to achieve the painterly quality of brushwork I like to see.

Gouache dries darker when you use more water– the best way to hit the correct values is to be bold and use just paint. In the background I used a technique whereby instead of just plain grey, I broke it up into warm and cool light value brush strokes. I was influenced by a wonderful portrait artist I have discovered on Instagram named Nicolás Uribe. Check out his work at https://www.ourpaintedlives.com/.

I was also thinking of Manet’s portraits I love so much, especially this one which I think I may have shared before:

A Bar at the Folies Bergére, Edouard Manet, 1882, Collection of the Courtauld Institute

I also had my new friend Heather come to my studio and sit for me. There was a kind of failed attempt at painting her from life which was partly because my space at the time was not very suitable for this due to the less than adequate lighting setup. I have just secured a bigger studio so I look forward to sharing more about that soon.

Although I did achieve a likeness in two and a half hours, I found myself bumping up against what I have noticed in the past– I have trouble drawing and painting people I know from life, because I feel compelled to engage with them as friends. This gets in the way of the quiet and for me fragile, vulnerable process of looking and recording, which takes all of my concentration. And I need to put in a lot of time until I am satisfied. Not everyone can give that amount of time, and I would feel like it is too much to ask to do so.

So I decided to try a new tack by arranging a photo shoot. Heather could only give me twenty minutes out of her busy schedule as a graphic designer and her part-time day job, so I wanted to be as efficient as possible.

Here is an ink sketch from that session, enhanced with opaque white gel pen, because I always end up needing to make alterations in portraiture. So you could say that this is inching into the world of painting by adding a bit of white:

And here is an oil-painting of Heather:

Heather wore this fantastic scarf that I admire which added some pattern energy. And I love the sculptural shape of Heather’s hairstyle. Her dark features remind me a little of Manet’s sister-in-law and a talented artist in her own right, Berthe Morisot. She sat for him many times:

Detail of a portrait of Berthe Morisot by Édouard Manet

In my research I also did a back-to-the-basics online oil painting course with UK artist Alex Tsavaras. He delivers very good, clear instruction at SIMPLIFY Drawing and Painting and on his Patreon channel. This was a very humbling experience. I admire his direct, beautiful brushwork in his portraits and looked closely at his supply list, which introduced me to some wonderful brushes I have added to my arsenal of tools: Rosemary and Co Eclipse Comber long-haired brushes.

They are synthetic but feel like animal hair, with more spring and muscle than softer sables. They can be used for oil, acrylic, or gouache. I made a few pet portraits and discovered they are fantastic for doing detail such as hair and fur.

Pumpkin, oil on primed paper, 2023

I’m in the process of testing the comber brushes on other subject matter such as branches, twigs and fern-fronds in landscape.

And now it’s time to plan the move into my new studio. Talk soon!

warmly,

Val

One Week Left: VAL NELSON at VISUALSPACE GALLERY

There’s just one week left to view my solo exhibition at Visualspace Gallery in Vancouver. If you haven’t yet been able to view the show, I hope you can make it! The show closes Saturday, May 7.

I’m so grateful that there was a great turnout at my opening and also my artist talk. So many friendly and enthusiastic friends, art lovers, and former students. Thank you so much for coming!

A sneakpeek virtual tour of the show can be viewed on the gallery’s Instagram page, and the entire collection can be viewed here. A video of my talk is being edited and we will be able to share it with you soon.

Never say never, but these may be the last historic interiors I paint, as new things are percolating in my studio now. 

Visualspace Gallery

3352 Dunbar Street at 17th Ave

Vancouver, BC

604-559-0576

Gallery hours: Tues to Sat, noon to 5 pm

Gallery director: Yukiko Onley

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CLASSES ON HIATUS :)

Hi folks, I’ve had a few requests for class offerings for the Spring, but have been focussing on my Vancouver show and will be taking a little time away from teaching. Thanks for your interest! I may teach a few in-person workshops this summer, so stay tuned.