I have a confession to make. I am a bit of a non-conformist when it comes to painting. I don’t much like sketching, I don’t have the patience to plan a painting, and rendering a still life is up there with doing the housework. Which is probably why I loved Jesse Reno’s class so much. It was all about being messy, creating chaos, getting stuck in.
If you aren’t familiar with Jesse’s work, have a look at this incredible video. He paints furiously, in a carefree but strangely considered way – it looks like everything in random but there is some method in all the madness. Jesse himself is a fascinating guy, full of funny stories of his life as an artist, living it just the way he wants to. His images are ancient and very masculine, but his colours and added details hearts, flowers etc) are contemporary and feminine. It makes for a unique combination.
Here are some images from our class – you can see how Jesse built up his paintings.
Jesse came back after class hours and stayed in the studio with us until gone midnight. It was awesome to see him paint live, and to get pushed into trying new things.
I was uncomfortable about my own paintings – they were crazy, quite dark, unfamiliar. But I was fascinated by what unfolded before me. You can see what I created over here – let me know what you think!
This is definitely my kind of painting.
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I had an awesome fortnight in the US, reconnecting with old friends at An Artful Journey, making new ones, and taking a road trip down the beautiful California coast. Will post more about all the lovely girls at the retreat and about the rest of my US adventure soon…
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