The intention behind each prompt is to provide a theme that can help guide you and get you inspired! A prompt can be interpreted in SO many ways--it really comes down to what it means to you and how you want to translate it. You can do a literal interpretation or even something that's the complete opposite! There's no right or wrong way to go about it.

 

Sometimes you'll read a prompt and know exactly what to do! Other times it can take more research and thought. In these emails I hope to help you figure out how you want to express each prompt. I'll share different things you can try or use as a starting point for brainstorming and you can always do your own thing!

 

In addition, prompts will be paired with an artist and an art movement every month for additional inspiration.

 

OK, let's get to it! 😀

I thought we could kick things off by taking a closer look at dream: what our dreams are, how this word makes us feel, and what we can draw from it.

Every month we'll be exploring an artist and an art movement for additional inspiration! While our own art may look totally different / we may not want to create in this way / we dislike a particular artist and their work, I believe we can still learn something about ourselves and how we create from it. It can get us thinking in new ways and open our eyes to new perspectives!

 

Surrealism aims to liberate thought, language, and human experience from the oppressive boundaries of rationalism by championing the irrational, the poetic and the revolutionary. Surrealists often challenged perceptions and reality in their artwork, combining a realistic style of painting with unrealistic subject matters. Learn more here.

 

This month, I wanted to invite you into the magical dream world of Spanish surrealist painter, Remedios Varo. Her works are like “detailed puzzles that link ideas from Surrealism, magic, alchemy, astrology, and psychology.”

María de los Remedios Alicia Rodriga Varo y Uranga was a Spanish surrealist painter working in Spain, France, and Mexico. Born on December 16, 1908 in Anglès, Spain, Varo studied at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, before fleeing Spain for Paris during the Spanish Civil War. In 1941 she was forced to leave France during WWII and settled in Mexico where she found stability and painted for the last 13 years of her life. 

 

Techniques Varo used included painting in oil in short, layered strokes (usually done in tempura), decalcomania, blotting and scratching, and fumage (painting with smoke) to name a few. 

 

Read more about Varo here and here's another great article with a timeline of her works.

 

What parts of Varro's paintings grab you? Which elements are you drawn towards? What don't you like? Is there a technique, pattern, concept, or idea you can expand on or replicate and make your own?

Don't forget to consider different ways of creating: painting, drawing, collage, weaving, abstract, realistic, etc. and mixing different elements together!

 

I will talk to you on Tuesday with a check-in email. If you have any work you'd like to share (it can be WIP, a close up of a detail, or a written paragraph on what you plan on doing) please email me or tag me on social media. Don't worry about getting things done for check-ins--if you miss this one I will include it in the next one!

 

I can't wait to see what “dream” inspires in you!