The mountains, olive groves, citrus orchards and distant white villages of Andalucia with the gardens and grounds of Casa Rosa make a magical landscape.
The latest news for Casa Rosa Arts is that we have managed to persuade the wonderful James Bland to come to Casa Rosa. What an irresistible combination – our mountains and James teaching us what he knows.
We are delighted to have James with us to guide students through his approach to drawing and painting the light, space and colour of this special place.
- Tutor, James Bland,
- 14-21 October, 2023
- £2,580 single occupancy, full board, tuition (note new prices for room sharers)
- first sharer, £900, full board, tuition
- first sharer, £500, full board, no tuition
- Taxi to and from the airport is included if you arrive at Malaga Airport by the time suggested. There are many car hire companies if you wish to travel under your own steam.
Please take time to read our terms and conditions. These are designed for the benefit of the whole party, students, tutors and staff.
What to expect on ‘Landscape with James Bland’
At the beginning of the week students will approach landscape with a series of quick paintings of the landscape at Casa Rosa, the surrounding villages, the trees and wildflowers. There will be a different daily objective, such as: painting with a limited palette, into abstraction with shape and colour, landscape with architecture, organic forms (e.g. a single tree trunk close-up, pomegranates in the orchard), and more.
James will demonstrate his approach and discuss the methods of other landscape artists.
Wednesday will be untutored giving everyone the option of a quiet day, or a chance to practise what they have been doing on days 1, 2,and 3. Thursday and Friday will be used to consolidate what has been learnt.
James Bland
James Bland is an experienced tutor and highly regarded amongst his peers. We feel fortunate to have him with us. James is modest about his methods and achievements. Those of you that know his work will be fascinated to read his artist’s statement below.
The exact placement of colours and shapes, often worked and reworked for long periods of time, is the only method behind my paintings. I’m looking for a quality of something both solid and fleeting. Though they’re underpinned by a high level of draughtsmanship, the paintings are evocations and riffs, not detailed depictions. Passages of realism alternate with near-abstract paint, hard edges with soft. I aim for a musical style that owes as much to Henri Matisse and Piero della Francesca as it does to the Euston Road and Camden Town painters.
The subject matter is personal. It often addresses sense memory and buried emotion, and often emerges in conversation with the process. There are paintings about remembered fairgrounds and family groups, dark northern streets, and light-filled schoolyards. Paintings tug at the threads of narrative, but hopefully remain enigmatic. Other paintings hint at dreamlike stories, with dolls’ houses, abandoned cities, and orange trees you can climb into—the influence of writers like Jorge Luis Borges, Angela Carter, and Italo Calvino. And there are paintings that respond to direct experience but aim to retain the mystery of a unique pictorial world.
Quick landscape studies
Materials
recommended oils:
- titanium white
- cadmium lemon
- cadmium yellow
- cadmium red
- permanent rose or alizarin crimson
- ultramarine
- viridian
- burnt sienna
- ivory black
- yellow ochre
- burnt umber
other materials:
- assorted canvases or panels (min. 3), from small to medium/large size
- sansodor or zest-it de-mineralised white spirit/solvent and two sealable jars (Solvent can be purchased at Casa Rosa)
- a range of hog’s hair or stiff synthetic brushes
- smaller soft brushes
- hard palette or tear-off palette pad
- flat palette knife
- painting rags
- charcoal/drawing materials
- Sketchbook/A2 pad cartridge paper
- Apron
- Pochard box, field easel, or similar. Studio easels, boards and stools are available at Casa Rosa but you may prefer the ease of a lightweight easel.
Landscapes
