August 6, 2014
Technical skills as a painter are important, but not everything.
So says Spanish master painter Golucho, who will teach an advanced four-day painting workshop titled “Beyond Skill” at Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio in Langley on Sept. 9 through Sept. 12.
Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio founder and artist, Cary Jurriaans, has been offering workshops at her studio for more than eight years. By inviting Golucho, Jurriaans said she wanted to offer a workshop that gives artists the opportunity to make a leap to the next level of skill.
“When I first heard about Golucho and saw his work, I knew there was something way more than just skill,” Jurriaans said. “Golucho is a highly-regarded European painter on the level of Lucien Freud, Vincent Desiderio and Odd Nerdrum. We want to provide the opportunity for advanced-level artists to glean inspiration from this exceptional artist.”
Golucho (born Miguel Angel May) was born in Madrid, Spain in 1949 and started painting at age 12. In 1964, he studied in Paris at the Place des Vosges for six years and is reported to have studied master works at the Museo Nacional del Prado and the Casón del Buen Retiro in Madrid. Golucho is well-known in Spain as a contemporary figurative painter, showing his work in numerous venues, including in Madrid, Paris, Brussels, Philadelphia and New York.
Golucho says that the art of painting is not all about technical mastery of skill, but also about mastering one’s self. It’s about the painter finding his or her authentic voice which is then expressed visually on canvas. That ability, says Golucho, can be more valuable to a painter than even the most technical of skills.
This idea of finding one’s voice on the canvas, a non-academic way of teaching, appealed to Jurriaans. After the skill is learned, she said, more has to come out to make a painting a true work of art and that is something that is not so easy to learn.
“Golucho’s work is very amazing when you see it in person. You get a feeling that you are standing in front of something unique and indescribable,” Jurriaans added.
Golucho not only paints. He is also a published poet, which plays into his philosophy about voice in art.
“His observations really hit at the core of something and go far beyond the technical approach,” Jurriaans said.
To that end, a workshop at Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio goes beyond just painting. Jurriaans likes to think of her studio as a place where artists can immerse themselves in the process of making art and exchanging ideas about making art.
“Students stay around Langley, paint together, eat together if they wish, come to the WIFAS studio for a student/instructor dinner and talk art. “I think it is amazing that he is willing to come to Whidbey Island and conduct a four-day workshop,” Jurriaans said.
The workshop starts Tuesday, Sept. 9 and runs through Friday, Sept. 12. The cost is $950; the skill level is advanced/professional.
To find out more about the workshop with Golucho, his work and his teaching style, visit the Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio website here.
Jurriaans recently launched an Indiegogo campaign in order to pay for some of the workshop’s expenses and to ensure that this unique workshop will be offered. The number of seats are limited and WIFAS wants to make the workshop as accessible as possible and also offer one scholarship for a qualified student. Visit Indiegogo campaign for Golucho here.
Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio is located at 813 Edgecliff Drive in Langley, Wash. Call 206-571-0442 or email info@whidbeyislandfas.com for more information.
Pictured at top is Golucho’s painting “Alicia,” oil on board.