Sunday 28 June 2015

Fabio Cembranelli Workshop

I booked this with my arty friend Gill Fox over 12 months ago and had been eagerly awaiting the event, 2 days of painting with a master.. bliss!!

We set off bright and early as there was no way we were missing a single minute of this!!

The venue was Sandpipers Studio on the Wirral, a lovely venue, looks like a purpose built studio set on a farm and absolutely perfect. Julie who hosts courses throughout the year was very warm and welcoming and I have to say the lunch she provided was fabulous!!

Fabio was charming and friendly and his wife Flavia a lawyer in Brazil was his assistant religiously supplying him with clean water at every opportunity. We started at 10.00am with a full floral painting demonstrated by Fabio where we were asked not to take photos or ask any questions as there would be time for him to answer any queries etc after, when he would demonstrate a smaller study and talk us through. His English isn't brilliant but certainly good enough to get his message across enough for us all to fully understand what he was talking about.

It really was mesmerising to see him work on a painting, he moves around the piece very quickly completing a half imperial size in about an hour... his colour choices seem haphazard (I know they aren't) but he seems to flit from one colour to another and that is where in all honesty I have to say I would like to have heard more about his thought processes.....he paints very quickly and I understand he may not necessarily be able to verbalise his thoughts as he is so fast and moves around the piece so rapidly but as a student I would have found that helpful. Possibly the language is a problem but I doubt he talks through his paintings even in his mother tongue.

After the first painting of a still life he had set up with roses, daisies etc, he then did a smaller piece of a single rose and talked us through more of what he was doing and was very willing to answer any questions we had both from the first piece and as he was painting the second. There we gained a little more insight as to his methods. We then chose flowers of our own to have a go at and before lunch Fabio did a critique in front of the class of each person's painting with ideas of possibly what we had done wrong and where to go next. He keeps the white of the paper and is constantly lifting paint from the paper.

So this was our first example and don't ask me why but I don't have a photo of the second study of a rose... anyway here are my efforts





He uses a lot of straight strokes with his flat brush (and his rigger) but places them very carefully to support the composition and am not sure I grasped that. Kept doing too many and not washing enough away. I also didn't save enough white of the paper on all these, the roses I think are better then the other two.

This was his second painting in the afternoon where he demonstrated a full wet in wet technique lifting all the whites. He works all around the painting creating detail, then more detail then stands back adds a bit more then suddenly signs the piece....I kept trying to guess the moment when he would as I had no idea when he had finished!!


This was my piece in the afternoon which I think I was most pleased with...

At the end of the first day he chose a few paintings to work on.. I have never seen this done before. He used the students palette and started scrubbing away removing colour, restoring whites, adding darks, adding his characteristic lines, softening edges and altering the compositions adding more flowers, buds stems where he felt necessary to improve things... again he didn't say much while he was doing this but he certainly improved every one!! 

The second day Fabio worked on sunflowers

This ended up quite a complicated composition and took a little while longer than the first demo of the day before. Once again he had a still life set up in front of him but it is clear he understands flowers and their forms so well and "knows" just how to paint them, to create the best effect. So he uses the display only as a clue to create his overall composition and for the odd reference. He does a basic sketch and vaguely sticks to it but even though every painting of his will be unique, it is clear that he has a lot of basic shapes he calls on for his compositions and as the piece progresses he knows where to extend or draw the composition in. As I have mentioned in my blogs time and time again, the more skilled the artist the better able they are to add those all so important finishing touches, and he is no exception which is why it was fascinating to watch him work on the students' paintings.

As I had only done studies the previous day I decided to do a full painting so I selected some flowers from the large selection we had at the studio and set off!!

This was my first piece and though it was a bit busy I don't mind it though it is unfinished and needs more attention around the focal point and possibly a bit more definition around the foxglove and definitely some more darks.

I wanted to do a different composition to the landscape orientation he had used as I always try and challenge myself to put into practice what the tutor is doing without following to the letter.

In the afternoon, Fabio showed us how he might work from a photo and this was both my least favorite demonstration and least favorite of my own efforts. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of his piece which yet again was superb and mine bore little or no resemblance.  My first washes went really well and I was loving what I was seeing then I lost the plot as I tried to build the composition up. This was the piece Fabio worked on for me and though it looked better it didn't really rescue it!! I think what I learned from this is that I am not good yet at painting flowers with lots of small detail, am not sure what these flowers were but lots of little flower heads on their stems and then it is difficult to paint without losing your place and of course knowing how much to add and where to add.

I had too many hard edges and he washed quite a lot of it away, redefining the flower heads and adding depth to the composition but as you can see it is a bit muddy top left where he has tried to wash away and as I had used Arches for this piece the lifting wasn't too easy. He works so quickly and I really would have  loved to know what his thought process was and why he was doing what he was doing.


Not that I am trying to compare myself in any way with him ( my painting simply isn't in his league..... yet lol) but talking as I was painting was a skill I worked really hard to develop. I had always been very silent when I painted and recognised that I would need to speak a little as I was teaching so I spent hours practicing speaking out loud and trying to explain what I was doing and why. I am always concerned that people get an understanding of how watercolour works and admit that I may not produce my best work at a workshop or demonstration because I am distracted from the actual painting but I would like to think people go home with a much better understanding of firstly how I work and secondly how watercolour works.

There may come a point when it is more important for me to produce a good painting rather than describe the process (sincerely hope not) if as an artist I have a reputation to maintain, and producing an under par painting would be damaging, but I like to think that wouldn't be as important to me as making sure everyone got as much out of my workshops as possible and Fabio constantly reassured us that he would answer any questions at all once he had finished painting which he did. The problem with leaving it until he finished, was that questions I might have asked as he was going along were of the moment and no longer relevant and difficult to refer back to once he had finished the piece. A workshop like this wouldn't be for beginners in fact is probably for more advanced painters so obviously the basics don't need going over but the subtleties of how he uses colour throughout the painting, how he builds up the composition and how he adds the finishing touches would have been absolutely amazing to hear.

Having said all that I would attend another of his sessions and hope he might do a building or landscape.....it was a lovely experience as I always enjoy seeing artists paint especially ones as skilled as him!!

18 comments:

  1. Hello hello....Wow what a blessing to have gone to Fabio's workshop! Your review of all that took place is fantastic. I really appreciate his work and his skill as you do. However, I strongly agree with you in that, speaking for myself anyway, would definitely get much more out of hearing the tutor talk through what they are doing at the time they are doing it. I believe your students gain a lot when you teach by employing the talk it through method...I know I would! From my own point of view as I look at the workshop paintings above, and being a following of you and Jean Haines, it appears to me that although Fabio does retain the whites and lift a lot of color, most of his edges seem defined. It looks to me that the softness he obtains comes from inside the shapes mostly, where Jean's style appears to include more of the softening off of edges....just my thoughts. The paintings you did from the workshop are glorious! So happy for you to have been able to attend such a great workshop! Take care Judith!
    Suzanne (breighdi)

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    1. Hello Suzanne.... lovely to hear from you!! Yes he does seem to leave a lot of edges in though when you watch him it would appear he is losing them all the time and he is washing away the bg all the time too... he lifts off far more than I do (other than when I am working very wet in wet) or have ever seen Jean and that is something I will take from the workshop as it does give a lovely soft feel to things. So yes you may be right about the way he paints, I do wash away more edges and Jean even more but lots to learn from seeing someone different and a wonderful opportunity to see him paint

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  2. I appreciate your review of his teaching and his teaching style. I, too, would have wanted more words - more descriptions of why and how and what was being considered as he worked. His work is very loose but I imagine there is a lot of planning involved to get that loose look. I like what you did in the workshop and hope you thinnk more on it and do more - but remember to maintain your own individual style :)

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    1. I agree Rhonda and the planning of his painting is what we needed to hear and the reason for his decisions......the one technique he uses more I would say than any other is the lifting out and that is one which I don't use a lot but will try and remember to do more of from now on. And I love your advice to maintain my own style....thanks for that, lots of things worth practicing but not to be influenced too much!!

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  3. Thank you for such an interesting insight into what must have been a fascinating workshop I do so enjoy your Blog Judith and look forward to each one.

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    1. Thanks for the comment Gwenda... am delighted you enjoy reading my blog, and when someone leaves me a comment to say they have read it, means I'm not talking to myself!!

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  4. Thanks for this Judith, I can see his influence in your paintings so at least you understood from his demo what he was looking for and you have some nice results. I am booked in for a 5 day workshop with him in Australia at the end of September, now I have some idea what to expect.

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    1. I did grasp some of what he was doing Lorraine, but so much easier if there is something verbal as well. I was only there 2 days so am sure in 5 days you will get an even better grasp of what he is about...

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  5. I read this post with interest. I so love his work. I am undecided as to whether I would appreciate a course of his, as I too like to hear what the artist is thinking inside their head as they put brush to paper. Your description of his process is very clear and your paintings done on the days, have a look of his, so you were paying close attention. Thank you for this post. Glad you enjoyed trying his methods.

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    1. What I have realised Polly is that I am quite good at copying other artists from visual clues, however I feel he had so much more to teach than he did here, his rationale behind why he put certain strokes in particular colours just where he did, even if his reason was just to balance the composition. I know he may not have been able to paint quite as fast and may not have produced such good work but from a student's point of view would have been more valuable...

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  6. So glad to hear your thoughts on this workshop as I have just a deposit for his September session. I will think it through. I too like a little more explanation in a workshop. Wonderful paintings by the way!

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  7. Lucky you Judith. If that was Wirral, Cheshire, that was where I was born. I've tried Fabio's style of painting flowers with little success. Maybe I should have another attempt.

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  8. I have recently discovered Fabio, I can't wait for our workshop in Toronto, Canada in July 2016. I am also thinking of Folsom, CA. I wish he were in the Los Angeles, CA area. Jo Boehm

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  9. judesfarmsworth, I will email you this afternoon. I don't know who you are or where you are. If you have workshops with Fabio I would like to be notified. I will give you my real name and email address. Regards, kittycat

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  10. Judith I have now read your complete review. I would like to say what I have experienced in classes and workshops. The artist usually doesn't talk because he is very concentrated on what he is doing and explaining would impact a negative result to the painting; his artistic thoughts wouldn't be flowing. His concentration would be interrupted.On the web I look at Fabios's demos and I get a lot of this thinking process. I have Haines's books.I feel she holds back and doesn't give much. Shirley Trevena is great and gives a lot of information, and so does Lian Quan Zhen.
    He is great, and like Shirley, doesn't hold back information. A great book for absolute beginners is "The Artist's Color Guide WATERCOLOR", by Hazel Soan. kittycat

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    1. Hi Kittycat....I have been to quite a lot of workshops by both well know and lesser known artists and the ones I have been to have been very sharing and informative. I have been to several of Jean Haines workshops and find her to be very informative, less concerned about the finished painting, more concerned about imparting information to the students who have paid to gain an insight into her methods. I have to say I find your comment that she holds back a bit odd for if you have ever been to one of her workshops you would learn a lot more than if you attend a workshop where there is little or no communication. I have been to Joanne Boon Thomas who talks the whole way through her workshops while still producing work of a very high calibre and I have also seen Ann Blockley demonstrate and she also shares a lot of information while producing great work. I have worked alongside UK artists such as Matthew Palmer who is very verbal and from whom the students learn a great deal....so my experience is totally different to yours in that respect and if verbalising thought did result in negative results to a painting it should be used as a teaching aid. I can gain a certain insight simply by watching but that is not all I want to gain from a workshop with a master. I felt I didn't learn as much from the two workshops as I would have liked....and not as much as I have learned from other artists Jean Haines included.

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    2. Ps if you wanted to e-mail me the address is judesfarNworth not judesfarMSworth

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  11. Wonderful description of your workshop and your work is amasing, bravo !
    Personaly i think it is better to watch how a tutor uses his brushes , palette, colour etc....than to listen explanations.

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