Maria Lancaster offered us a wonderfully varied day inspired by the vision and teachings of the late Cecil Collins.
We started with a short film about Collins: ‘The Eye of the Heart’, made by Stephen Cross for the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1978. This showed Collins talking about his work, painting and teaching. In it he discussed some of the images that occur in his work including the Fool (the innocent, clear-seeing part of each of us), the soul, the angel, and he also talked about his own painting process.
We moved straight into a life drawing session with a lovely model in a good variety of poses. We used a variety of processes that Collins had used with his pupils, including a variety of quick poses using different materials and exercises with music and movement, which had a powerful effect for some of us. After another splendid bring-and-share feast of a lunch, we had a couple of hours to paint in oils in the afternoon, which was a first discovery of oils for some of us. A huge variety of work emerged: some inspired by the film; some working from the morning’s life drawing, and some from other parts of our imaginations, and it was good to reflect together on the day.
Altogether it was an inspirational day: well-prepared and tightly organised, yet liberating and leisurely and loving, in a perfect venue.
I really enjoyed the day – I experienced much light and love for art and the human soul through what Maria brought and shared with us.
A wonderful day, interesting and exciting. Well organised and run by very approachable people.
This helped a lot to let myself go without thinking too much and being too much in control…..I will carry on exploring even deeper in future, trying to bring out the fool in me.