It
only takes a week to become an exciting painter in the Matisse school.
Or rather in the Matisse villa. You can arrive without being able to tell a
palette from a palate, and a week later you will have covered both with a fascinating
variety of colors.
Joking aside; a week at Robert McLean's painting course in Villa Le Rêve in Vence near Nice, France, is a pleasant way of getting into the art of painting, or getting a little further. At your own pace, with your own style, but in an inspiring environment and atmosphere.
And after all, the word amateur in French still retains its original meaning of an enthusiast, not merely non-professional.
Evidently, each class and its participants will differ, and you'll have to expect a few slightly unconventional people. And hopefully a mix of entertaining, attractive, intelligent and gourmet-oriented people from different countries. Some courses are open to families, too, enabling parents to distribute the responsibilities of painting and baby-sitting, drinking and driving, and observing that even today's kids can enjoy themselves for a week without TV, video or PCs. If you tie them up and gag them with painting rags.
Attending an art course away from your usual surroundings also allows you to wear the clothes you never dare. You can also pretend to be a completely different character than you usually are. At least you can try.
The
following pictorial report presents an accidental
sample of people who attended the course in June/July 2002. As far as painting
course vintages go, 2002 was a very good year, in our humble opinion.
See also: The In the garden of Henri Matisse song prose, illustrated version
Whatsthepointilism - a tale of a participating painter's compact career