Summer Course at Slade School of Fine Art

As usual, arriving in London felt like coming home. Of course, it was raining. The rain wouldn’t matter though as I’d spend the next days listening to art theory lectures at Slade and visiting as many galleries and museums as possible.

The Summer Course at Slade provided me with space to reflect on my paintings and to deepen my understanding of what makes great art. I have returned to my studio with a notebook full of prompts, ideas and learnings.

Hilma af Klint & Mondrian at the Tate Modern.

What a privilege and honour to see this work in person. Hilma’s creativity took my breath away and seeing the swan painting up close was very emotional. The confidence and freedom in both their work is incredible.

Hilma’s words “My work has great significance to human kind.” may seem arrogant at first but is a reminder that art truly matters and that us artists have all the right to approach a blank canvas with confidence and freedom.

Slade School of Fine Art, London (great coffee in the little hut on the left)

Another key take-away from the course was about charged space. A great work of art includes empty space. However, it is just as important that the space feels charged. Empty space can seem like a forgotten corner in an uninteresting composition. However, if the empty space is charged, it produces energy in the painting. This could be a space that a figure is moving towards or a tension between two areas that echo each other. It can feel part of the composition, like a breeze across the canvas.

“Fallen Angel” by Jagoda Buic and “Mti” by Betye Saar at the Tate Modern.

Each morning, I had breakfast in Hyde Park and walked the 20 mins through the park towards Soho. I was happy to discover that the green parrots still roam free and well camouflaged in London. In the morning, the park is peaceful and feels like English countryside… with only the dog walkers and runners reminding me of the bustling city outside the gates.

Lyndsey Ingram gallery in Mayfair (left) was one of the friendliest galleries I visited. A beautiful space and such marvellously curated show of Alexander Gorlizki’s work.

On the right, a very happy me visiting Beers gallery to see Adam Lee’s work in person.

Thank you to Slade for having me, to Rose Davey for her fantastic teaching, to the Summer Course group for being the most interesting mix of people I’ve met in a long time, and to Kate for long dinner conversations.

London, you have my heart and I’ll be back so soon.