Hello people & sorry for the long wait for updates! :-/
I am busy attending the 29th International Summer Academy PENTIMENT in Hamburg. Im am working in the course lead by German painter Klaus Hartmann alongside fantastic creatives and painting experts. The topic of cacti in all their forms and associations has become very rich and already created outstanding pieces of art in our studio under the roof of the Hamburg Uni for Art and Design. Despite the high temperatures and two very diligent air ventilators we keep concentrating on experimentation with form, colour, texture, material, size and literally everything that is modifiable.  
There will be a public exhibition on Sunday 12th August with all works from 11am to 4pm at HAW Mediencampus, Finkenau 35, Hamburg 22081, Germany. Would be great to meet you for a chat and mutual walkaround ;-D
​All the best and let's keep the good weather coming!
​E.

Being in good exchanges with the Artist and Founder of the AERA association Pat Harrison, I love to draw attention to the AERA website today to promote the constant work and development of contemporary realist art in both directions two and three dimensional works. 

I see so many great works from living artists worldwide that it seems to be an entering into a great new artistic area. 
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The works of artists like Marco Grassi, Javier Malavia Tabares, Cesar Santos, David Kassan, Katie G. Whipple, Eric Wert,  Joshua LaRock, Pamela Wilson, Lisa Lebofsky, Shane Wolf, Jonathan Pointer (just to name some!) have created absolutely stunning masterpieces that won't stop to excite and inspire me every time I look at them.

Don't miss out to research a bit on the web and in social media and be on the watch even more to get a chance to see some of their works with your own eyes. 

I encourage you to support realist art so that it can continue to grow and cast its wonder and beauty into our world.

https://realistart.wordpress.com

Always one of the best moments for a painter! ;-D

Busy like the bees in the garden these days. But I found the time to go and capture the Magnolia buds before they break into glory. And so there it is a small, rough Allaprima just done outside with a set of primary colours on a little piece of canvas. Not being so much trained in outside painting I thought that'll be a good old step out of the comfort zone and away from regular studio work.
And oh, how wonderful to be in the green! Enjoy the Springtime!

I start liking the Monday routing of 2,5 hours quick sketching at night. Reik was modeling for the first time and he did a brilliant job. Here is a peek into the results of the 2 and 5 minute sketches done in graphite. Have a great week everyone!

Different surfaces require special approaches in order to create a convincing illusion. I was working on a simple group of objects, all with a shiny surface which was the challenge. Especially when painting metal with sharp reflections and fast-changing values you need to observe very carefully to render the object's form and capture its presence in the space. I nearly finished with the small painting but give you here a glimpse to illustrate what I mean.

Monday I spent all day running around with graphite pencils, paper and sharping knive, enjoying my brand new H-foot studio easel to the max!

I am very excited to tell you about the Artinuum Academy that is going to get shape now. A project that I had in the drawer for a while now and that I want to bring to life with summer atelier in Hamburg in August. Last years training in Florence gave me the kick to launch this project and I am quite over the moon that I will be getting support from a very skillful person that I met in Italy who is coming to support the kick-off in summer. 
For all that read German, please have a look on the following crowd funding blog: 
www.kickstarter.com/projects/1843583926/the-artinuum-academy-ein-forum-fur-die-malerei?ref=discovery&term=artinuum
It would be great if you can support this project and could help getting the funds together to buy the professional equipment that will be needed. If all runs to plan, there will be ample information on this website about the Academy, the Ateliers and session dates published by mid March. I hope to hear from you as I will be happy to answer questions and share the excitement!
Happy Friday to You! :-D
​E.

Apart from organizing exciting activities for this year I am enjoying being back at the easel after a break due to moving houses. 
To warm up I am started with setting up a little still life for an oil painting to get back into swing. I chose a porcelain jar, a funky coconut bowl with a small copper can leaning inside and a red onion to complement the ensemble. The sometimes tricky thing of judging the values right makes me using the black mirror a lot, standing back and squint and taking a black-and-white photo at the end of each session. It's funny how much one discovers by reducing the picture onto a small screen in monochrome. It's really helping to refresh the eye and stay motivated throughout the process.

I am currently in New York and this afternoon despite the biting cold I had a lovely walk through the art district in Chelsea visiting my favourite gallery to see works of David Kassan, Sharon Sprung, Eric Wert and many more. The Gallery Henoch is absolutely wonderful and the gallery people warm and welcoming. For me a true treasure moment at the beginning of this year.