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Painting Workshops | Italy and France | Art Courses | Tuscany Provence | 2022
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Above >Two paintings by Wassily Kandinsky showing that every day he tried to achieve a better understanding of the world in which he was participating.

Scroll down for French and Spanish translations.
Défilez vers le bas pour les traductions en français et en espagnol.
Desplácese hacia abajo para traducciones al francés y al español

It always comes down to the notions of intention, knowledge and choice.

Kandinsky-1-(Murnau)-LOW

Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944), Street in Murnau (1906), oil on canvas, 13 x 16 1/8 in. (33 x 41 cm.), private collection.

2020 already!

And we are again confronting ourselves as we choose our new year’s resolutions. Of course, in this challenging era of climatic change, we all know that we must reduce our carbon footprint. We need to reduce our plastic use, walk more, bike more, take public transportation, etc. But we know already that. We are all also aware of the importance of keeping healthy. We must lose a few pounds, increase our cardiovascular capacity, eat well, etc. So, what can I add to what we already know? Then, let’s talk about our artistic new year’s resolutions.

How can I become a better artist in 2020? How can I take my art up a notch, only a single notch? It may be landscape painting, abstraction, modern or contemporary art. We must accept the fact that, as an artist, we can always get better. But what do we mean by “better?” That is another question worth of many posts. However, I would say that we can get better if we are aware of the three basic foundations of art: intention, knowledge and choice. OK! We have the intention! We certainly want to be better artists. Now let’s talk about knowledge.

How can I increase my artistic knowledge during 2020, so my art becomes more particular, more distinguishable, more authentic, more profound? For 2020, I will try my best to accomplish the following list:

  1. Dare!
  2. Dare to state without fear.
  3. Be energetic, motivated and industrious.
  4. Hold excellent novels. Read the yearly Nobel Prize, the Booker Prize, the Prix Goncourt, the Cervantes Prize, etc.
  5. Participate in the world.
  6. Listen to silence; walk in nature.
  7. Visit more museums.
  8. Visit “my” museum in a more active manner; for example, visiting one or two rooms and taking notes for future ideas.
  9. Having this notebook.
  10. Travel!
  11. Take an uplifting class or workshop, may it be in art history, philosophy, painting, etc.? Even literature because let’s not forget that stories that link us all.
  12. And most importantly, love.

Let’s conclude with the notorious notion of choice, our famous Nietzschean choice. Am I going to adopt all 12 propositions, or a few, or none? It is up to me. It is up to you. Happy New Year and looking forward to living together with a meaningful art experience!

 

L’Art, Vous et 2020

Tout revient aux notions d’intention, de connaissance et de choix.

Kandinsky-Composition-IV_LOW

Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944), Composition IV (1911), huile sur toile, 60 cm (62.99 po.) x 205 cm (80.71 po.), Kunstsammlung Nordhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany.

Déjà 2020 ! Encore confronté à soi-même quant aux résolutions du Nouvel An. Évidemment, en ces temps de bouleversements climatiques, nous savons tous que nous avons l’obligation de réduire notre empreinte carbone : réduire de manière importante l’utilisation du plastique, marcher davantage, emprunter le vélo et les transports en commun, etc., mais nous savons déjà tout cela. Et encore, au risque de répéter, perdre quelques kilos, améliorer son niveau cardiovasculaire, bien manger, et ça aussi, nous le savons. Donc, pour ne pas radoter, parlons de résolutions de Nouvelle Année qui réfèrent à l’art.

Comment puis-je devenir un meilleur artiste en 2020 ? Comment puis-je élever mon art, ne serait-ce que d’un cran ? Importe la forme d’art : la peinture de paysage, art figuratif, l’abstraction ; art moderne, art contemporain. Cela bien posé, il faut accepter le fait qu’en tant qu’artiste visuel, nous pouvons toujours devenir meilleur. Mais qu’entend-on par « meilleur » ? Là, une toute autre question, et y répondre prendrait des pages et des pages. Je crois, et là c’est personnel, je crois que nous pouvons devenir meilleurs dans notre discipline si nous sommes conscients de trois idées fondatrices de l’art qui sont celles d’intention, de la connaissance et du choix. OK ! Nous avons l’intention, celle d’améliorer notre art, de devenir un meilleur artiste. Dirigeons-nous maintenant vers la connaissance.

Comment puis-je approfondir ma connaissance artistique en 2020 pour que mon art puisse s’approfondir, devenir plus particulier, distinguable, plus authentique ? Voici une humble liste.

  1. Oser ! Toujours oser !
  2. Oser dire sans avoir peur.
  3. Être motivé, énergique et assidu.
  4. Tenir d’excellents romans. Rendre obligatoire la lecture annuelle des prix Nobel, Goncourt, Booker, Cervantes, etc.
  5. Participez au Monde.
  6. Écouter le silence ; marcher dans la nature.
  7. Visiter davantage de musées.
  8. Visiter « son » musée d’une manière plus active, en visitant qu’une ou deux salles en prenant des notes dans son carnet d’idées.
  9. Posséder ce carnet d’idées.
  10. Voyager.
  11. Suivre un cours ou un atelier qui élève que ça soit en histoire de l’art, en philosophie, en peinture, voire la littérature, car ne l’oublions pas que ce sont les histoires qui nous unissent.
  12. Et encore plus important, aimer.

Concluons avec la fameuse notion du choix, du fameux choix nietzschéen. Adopterais-je les 12 propositions avancées ici, ou quelques-unes, ou aucune ? Qu’à vous, cette décision appartient. Bonne et heureuse année 2020 et au plaisir de vous rencontrer pour vivre ensemble une expérience de l’art.

 

El Arte y Usted en el 2020

Al final siempre se reduce a las nociones de intención, conocimiento y elección

(traducción por Ginny Marquez-Tamara)

Post-Kandinsky

2020 ya! Y de nuevo nos confrontamos a nosotros mismos al escoger nuestras resoluciones del año nuevo. Por supuesto, en esta desafiante era de cambio climático, todos sabemos que debemos reducir nuestra huella de carbono. Debemos reducir nuestro uso del plástico, caminar más, andar en bicicleta, tomar transporte público, etc. Pero ya nosotros sabemos eso. Estamos también conscientes de la importancia de mantenernos saludables. Debemos perder un poco de peso, incrementar nuestra capacidad cardiovascular, comer bien, etc. Entonces, que puedo añadir a lo que todos ya sabemos? Hablemos de nuestras metas artísticas del año nuevo.

Cómo puedo convertirme en un mejor artista en el 2020? Como puedo llevar mi arte a un nivel superior? Puede ser una pintura de paisaje, abstracta, moderna, o arte contemporáneo. Debemos aceptar el hecho que como artistas siempre podemos mejorar. Pero que queremos decir con “mejor?” Esa es otra pregunta qué vale la pena de muchas publicaciones. Sin embargo, yo puedo decir que nosotros podemos ser mejores si estamos conscientes de los tres cimientos básicos del arte: intención, conocimiento y elección. Ok! Tenemos la intención! Definitivamente queremos ser mejores artistas. Ahora hablemos sobre el conocimiento.

Como puedo incrementar mi conocimiento artístico durante el 2020, para que mi arte sea mas único, más distinguible, mas autentico, más profundo? Para el 2020, intentare lo mejor que pueda para realizar la siguiente lista:

  1. Atreverse!
  2. Decir claramente sin miedo.
  3. Ser energético, motivado e industrioso.
  4. Leer excelentes novelas. Leer el Premio Nóbel anual, el Premio Booker, el Premio Goncourt, el Premio Cervantes, etc.
  5. Participar en el mundo.
  6. Escuchar al silencio; caminar en la naturaleza.
  7. Visitar mas museos.
  8. Visitar su museo de una manera más activa; por ejemplo, visitar una o dos salas y tomar notar para futuras ideas.
  9. Mantener su libreta de notas para escribir ideas.
  10. Viajar!
  11. Tomar una clase o taller edificante, puede ser en historia del arte, filosofía, pintura, etc. Hasta en literatura, porque no olvidemos que las historias nos conectan a todos.
  12. Y más importante, amar.

Concluyamos con la notoria noción de elección, nuestra famosa elección Nietzscheana. Voy a adoptar todas las 12 resoluciones, o pocas, o ninguna? Eso depende de mí. Eso depende de ti. Feliz año nuevo y anhelo que podamos vivir juntos una experiencia artística memorable!

 

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Who are we?

We all make art! It is part of culture. It is deeply rooted in human nature as a way of communicating with others. We all need to tell our stories because it is stories that link us all. We are all one, one creative mind! Though, all unique and equipped with unique ways of expressing ourselves. We live in constant search of that unique liberating voice. At Walk the Arts we aim to facilitate our art makers to explore new territories. Our painting classes and art history trips on three continents are meant to be rounded art experiences among small groups of like-minded adults. We offer an environment that fosters creativity. As we always say, art as religion is just a matter of faith. This blog is about living fully the experience of art, about finding our single artistic path, about the joy of art-making. We believe that making art accessible to all will lead to a betterment of our society.

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Gray a Philosophical “Color”

 

“Over the past 40 years, I’ve seen students in the process of transitioning from saturated colors to grayed ones, a sign of serious questioning about painting. As a beginner, we shy away from mixing colors, and the more we progress in our creative practice, the more daring we become. That’s life! When we’re children, we only see saturated colors, and as we get older, gray takes over. Adults realize that gray is everywhere. “The color of truth is gray” wrote the French author André Gide.”

We can face Artificial Intelligence

 

How many times were we tempted to fall into the trap of mainly teaching painting techniques now all available on the Net? Just type “How to paint an Italian Landscape” and … two million plus videos jump onto your computer screen.

A First History of NFTs

 

“I think the reason […] I’ve chosen the career that I have is because artists are always the seers or the truth tellers. They show us the way forward”. Nora Burnett Abrams, The Story of NFTs, Artists, Technology, and Democracy. P. 53

The World of NFTs!

 

I had to know if NFT art is and will be a fad or not. In Canada’s national capital (Ottawa) art world, I kept hearing that it is not going to last, it’s all smoke and mirrors, ya-ya-ya, etc. So, I entered the Palazzo Strozzi with an open mind. I saw the works, I read everything on the walls, and I came out of the exhibition thinking “It is here to stay.” From that moment, on la Via de’ Tomabuoni, I felt compelled as an art historian and art educator to embrace this new reality. Didn’t we do it for Pop Art and Conceptual Art in the late ’50s and ‘60s?

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Already a month since my return from a fun-filled art-learning experience in Tuscany, Italy! The workshop went far beyond what I even imagined, or hoped it would be. The roughly eight hours per day for most days of art instruction gave me a new perspective on my art: where I was and where I wanted to be, the past and the future. But, together as a group, we were living in the present.

“Perseverance” is the key to all successful artists

 

Perseverance is the key to all successful artists.

I always ask my painting students to memorize … “Until then, we will not rest or falter. Hand in hand with others thirsting for a better life, no matter how long it takes, regardless of support or persecution, we will joyfully respond to a savage need for liberation”.

Studio Italia, a painting vacation with…

 

If our art workshops focused mostly on painting techniques, then why traveling to Italy and spending money when you could stay at home and learn everything you need through the Internet for free?

Art and Neurosciences

 

When a subject becomes familiar, the brain activity shuts down like when viewing a lovely chickadee painting…

Can we talk about the neuroscience of art? This is the question that French neurobiologist Jean-Pierre Changeux addresses in his beautiful book The Beauty in the Brain or La Beauté dans le Cerveau (Odile Jacob, 2016). Prof. Changeux describes how the human brain behaves when making or contemplating a work of art. To make a long story short, he argues that the neural bases of aesthetic pleasure are the product of the link between cognitive and emotional brain functions, in other words, the harmony between reason and emotion. Moreover, he gives some tips on how artists can maximize the impact of their works on their audience.

Evolving in art is just a matter of faith; only believe!

 

We refrain from teaching painting techniques easily found on the Net. We prefer taking the necessary time (36 hours) to fully involve the participant in reflecting on her or his art — including all levels, all media […]
Rest assured that having attended one of our online classes, you will be more confident in taming the landscape in your own way while on a plein-air painting workshop.

Let Go! The Artist’s Way of Cooking


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Ten years ago, here in Tuscany, we decided to write a recipe book but with so many good cookbooks in the market, we needed to propose a new idea. We had to find a modus operandi close to who we are and what we do as visual artists. The answer was in front of us and painting gave it to us: art and color!

Travelling with meaning : a painting workshop in Italy

 

More and more travellers from the developed world are looking for meaningful travels. We are aiming for journeys that allow us to learn something new, to deepen our culture, to enhance our lives. Purpose, inspiration and self-discovery are now vital elements in our traveling choices. Probably, this is why our quality painting workshops offered since 1997, have become more and more popular.

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