Letters from an Artist Retreat - Pt. 2

Exploring Andalusia Spain with Rebecca Green

This email is BURSTING with photos and scans I am nearly at my content limit! I learned so much on this brief trip. I felt open to exploring new ways to use the medium “gouache” which I so often use. Rebecca introduced three ways to use the paint: Opaque (very little water for a graphic look), Transparent (watery), and Lush (a quick color fill that requires very loosely blending the colors with your brush and having them blend more on the surface while you quickly apply the paint). We also explored ways to create texture with dry brush and splattering.

I quickly found out that I was the “landscape painter” in class, which was mostly made up of very talented illustrators. Landscapes are definitely my comfort zone and I created some final paintings that I’m really proud of! I’ve scanned them and uploaded them to The Crafted Prints – they are available for purchase at various sizes. The originals are also for sale! Just reach out via my email allie@allieyacina.com

An exercise I struggled with during this artist retreat was getting away from the reference photo. I would definitely like to work on this more – I think it’s a matter of trusting my imagination and intuition. I think this will help me move more into narrative and illustration work which could be very fulfilling for me.

On day three or so, Rebecca had us quickly sketch from a reference photo to get down the basic information, then put away the reference photo and make a quick drawing from the sketch. Then, we put away the first sketch and make a final drawing and painting from the second drawing! My final result looked too stiff in my opinion. I was also experimenting with more muted colors so the final piece looked so unlike “me”. I was reminded again that it is important to make “bad” art! I’m happy to report that I made some more “bad” art yesterday and will continue to make more as I experiment and leave my comfort zone.

Thanks for reading! Take care and have a great rest of your summer :)

I asked Amanda to take my photo in an outfit that matched my final painting of El Gastor

Reference photo of El Gastor and the final painting

More reference material from Casa Del Rey Moro – a historical palace and garden in Ronda, Spain. These gardens were designed by the French landscape painter Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier and were inspired by the Hispano-Muslim garden and the geometry of French gardens. This place also had access to a water mine which went down over 200 steps (60 meters) to the river below!

My second finished painting from this reference photo taken at Casa Del Rey Moro in Ronda