Matter, whatever its form, manifests itself thanks to the light that reveals it. Yet light does more than reveal appearances: what matters to us is the fundamental difference in vibration between different materials, something the ancients understood well. We will work with allegories of the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. For each distinct form of matter, we will carry out exercises in drawing or painting from life, using various forms of resonance. At this stage we are interested in seeing how the artist’s resonance is always present in every different substance, and how the artist vibrates in relation to different materials and colours.
Resonating with matter
Light reveals forms as well as the texture of surfaces and matter. These are the most tactile aspects of forms. From the way light behaves on surfaces, we recognize velvet, rough or smooth surfaces; with transparent materials, we can tell whether they are liquids or crystals; we can distinguish the living flesh of a body from that of a mannequin. Everything is surface, but the surface tells us about substance, consistency, warmth, fragility and more. Each material has its particular resonance, so some materials reveal who we are while others conceal it. And since every surface can be painted, we must try to do so by entering into the material and allowing it to enter into us. The masters teach that no surface is impossible to reproduce illusionistically through skillful use of colour and light. But what interests us most is the ability to study materials from an allegorical perspective. First, we must understand how they behave. For this we use a 3D graphics program containing thousands of surface textures, from marble and fabric to wood and metal. It also helps us understand different kinds of light, from strong, direct, cold light to warm, diffused light. Having chosen a type of substance associated with one of the four elements that resonates with us, we paint from life, trying to represent its vibrational and allegorical characteristics.
Artistic and Technical Objectives
To paint different surfaces from life in oils, understanding their structural characteristics. When painting a natural subject—a stone, branch or plant, for example—we will seek the interplay of forces within it that conveys its stoniness, its branch-like quality and so forth, rather than producing a sterile technical copy.
Existential Objectives
To understand the correspondences between materials and surfaces and mental and emotional contents.
Spiritual Objectives
To feel all matter as composed of a single living substance, beyond morphological, physical and chemical differences.
Workshop Topics
Different tactile and cenesthetic sensations in relation to matter; matter and its luminous energy; luminous indicators and states of matter; solid, liquid, airy and dense bodies; dead and living bodies; flesh tones and the various human surfaces (eyes, nails, hair and teeth).