Workshop EXPLORATIONS IN PAINTING: Constructing Compelling Space by Julie Beugin
General Course Description
The illusion of three dimensional space on a two dimensional canvas is a key concept in painting, with the frame of the canvas functioning as a window into another world. From the classic Dutch interiors of Vermeer to the contemporary plays of windows and surface of Lois Dodd, there is a rich past and present of space in painting. Yet within this long history, how do we create compelling space in our own painting?
Duration: Dates will be published soon.
Hours: Each day from 10 AM – 12:30 PM
Seats: Max. 20 | Language: English
Fees: The participation fee is €90 per person including material (without accommodation).
The fee is VAT-exempt by the Governing Mayor of Berlin – Senate Chancellery Higher Education and Research pursuant to Paragraph 4 No. (21) (a)(bb) UStG (German Value Added Tax Act).
Learning outcomes
Through this workshop, students will gain an understanding of the main methods of translating 3D space onto a 2D surface such as perspective, overlap, scale, and light, and learn new ways to put these into practice in their own work. Students will also learn tangible and transferrable methods of creative process and composition, including using a viewfinder, thumbnail sketches, and model building. Through discussion of their work and others, students will begin to think about ways to play with the conventions of painting space alongside the flatness of the canvas to create visual interest and a sense of surprise.
Program Structure with Daily Lesson Plan
Day 1 Monochromatic Interior Space
10:00 am – 10:15 am
We will begin with an introduction to space in painting with by looking at images historical and contemporary ways of constructing space. We will discuss the classic strategies of perspective such as perspective, overlap, scale, light and shadow. Then we will take these concepts and use them to transform the everyday space around by making a monochrome perspectival painting of section of the studio.
10:15 am – 10:30 am
creating a view finder, then making thumbnail sketches of the classroom/ studio space to determine an interesting and dynamic composition.
10:30 am – 10:45 am
Choosing one sketch/ composition and enlarging it onto a larger painting surface.
10:45 am – 12:30 pm
First mixing a 10 step grey-scale from white to black, then using these greys to paint an interior space based on the sketch.
Day 2 Constructing Your Own Space
In the second day of the workshop, instead of observing the space around us, we will invent an imaginary space. We will build simple maquettes out of coloured paper and use them as visual information for painting. Using the compositional skills we learned in Day 1, on Day 2 we will add a greater focus onto the use of colour and light in the depiction of space in painting. Our maquettes will give us the visual specificity necessary to make the paintings of imaginary spaces tactile and convincingly illusionistic.
10:00 am – 10:30 am (approx.)
Answer any questions from the prior day’s workshop.
10:00 am – 10:15 am
Intro to the model building project
10: 15 am – 10:45 am
Building a quick 3-dimensional structure out of coloured construction paper.
10:45 am – 12:30 pm
Make a painting from the construction paper model
Your Workshop Instructor
Julie Beugin makes abstract painting and photographic collages that transform the everyday details of cities into unexpected alignments of light and space. From Canada, Beugin has been based in Berlin since 2009. She completed her MFA in 2008 at Concordia University in Montreal, and her BFA at Emily Carr University in Vancouver in 2004. She has been the recipient of numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, andhas exhibited across Canada, including solo exhibitions at Paul Petro Contemporary Art in Toronto and VIVIANEART in Calgary. She is currently curating a group exhibition around ideas of abstraction and architecture that opens in July at Zuostant in Berlin.
More information on the Julie Beugin Website.
