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Imagine The Imagination

February 23rd, 2010 by Meg Woodsworth

imagine-the-imaginationNew book available in the beinArt Online Shop:

‘Imagine The Imagination’

This book aims to show the variety of contemporary surreal art including almost 100 works in different media: traditional painting and drawing, digital painting, fractals, photo-manipulation, photography, mixed media, sculpture, traditional prints, and more. The collection will be classified in 3 groups: Visions, Dreams and Nightmares, all this mental manifestation has been the source of inspiration for this revolutionary movement since the 1920s. The mind gates are open to explore the deepest of the subconscious in this visual dialogue with the “other”, in the omnipotence of dream, in the disinterested play of thought.

Including Reinhard Schmid, Amy Kollar Anderson, Arif Bahtiar, Steve Smith, Bogdan Zwir, Janelle McKain, Bernard Dumaine, NoMe Edonna, Alessandro Fantini, Robert Steven Connett, David Whitlam, Kris Kuksi, Joe MacGown, Otto Rapp, Leo Plaw, Deborah Valentine, Miguel Tio, Adam Scott Miller, Tassos Kouris, Dariusz Skitek, Pete Hamilton, Suzzan Blac, Renaldo Renaldo (Rens Ink), Pedro De Kastro, Jon Beinart, Joseph Larkin, Ben Tolman, Ton Haring and many more.

Workshop with Venosa and Hoffmann

June 11th, 2009 by Meg Woodsworth

venosa-hoffmannPainting the Fantastic - 7-Day workshop with Martina Hoffmann and Robert Venosa.

September 2009

Rhinebeck Campus: Rhinebeck, NY (US)

Limited enrollment, register early. More information or a list of things to bring is provided after registration.

This 7-day workshop offers the rare opportunity to learn oil and portrait painting with internationally renowned visionary art masters Robert Venosa and Martina Hoffmann. Open to both beginner and accomplished artists alike, this workshop takes us on a creative adventure into expressing our personal visual language. From the initial exercises of free-form painting through to the detailed finished work, we tap into the technical expertise and creative abilities within our reach, while discovering the joy and illuminating power of visionary art.  The program includes introduction and application of the misch technique, oil painting, portrait painting, a power-point lecture on the history of visionary art, presentations by and about the instructors, and a group exhibit.

The Fantastic ‘implies a lack of restraint in the imagination’, and such is the approach to painting taken in this unique workshop. For beginners and accomplished artists alike, this workshop is for all those wishing to tap into the artistic capabilities that lie within their reach and discover the joy and illuminating power of painting. Utilizing a simplified approach, which the leaders call ‘Serendipitous Exploitation’, an emotional outpouring of color and form is first applied to a surface, followed by studied, individual detailing of the personal visions the imagination presents. Through this simple process, the artist can begin to create essential form and color that is enlivening, enlightening and amazingly fantastic. The premise: to exercise right-brain potential in a non threatening, effortless, and exuberant manner that instills joy, self discovery, and newfound self-esteem. With an emphasis on individual attention, this workshop covers the needs and desires of all involved while exceeding all expectations.

The visionary art of Robert Venosa has been exhibited worldwide and is represented in major collections. He has done film design (sketches and conceptual design for the movies Dune, Fire in the Sky, and Race for Atlantis), and his work has been featured on several CD covers, including those of Santana and Kitaro.

German-born artist Martina Hoffmann’s work has been exhibited internationally and has been published in books, calendars, and magazines such as True Visions, Noospheres, Illuminatus, The Return of the Great Goddess, Shaman’s Drum, and WellBeing. She teaches visionary painting techniques around the world with her husband Robert Venosa.

For more information and to register, please visit the Omega Website.

Old Masters – New Visions

April 28th, 2009 by Meg Woodsworth

Philip Rubinov Jacobson\'s beinArt GallerySummer Academy with Prof. Philip Rubinov Jacobson

From Sunday, August 9 until Friday, August 28, 2009, Prof. Philip Rubinov Jacobson will be running seminars on Mixed Technique and Oil Painting at the Marien Hof, one hour from Vienna, Austria.

1, 2 and 3 week study options are available.

For more information visit Prof. Philip Rubinov Jacobson's website.

Right: The Mission 1, The Journey" by Philip
Rubinov Jacobson
, Egg Tempera and Oil on Canvas, 24 x 28 inches, 2002

Sketch Theatre Exhibition

March 11th, 2009 by Meg Woodsworth

Sketch Theatre SiteThe Art of Sketch Theatre at Gnomon Gallery

Opening Party: March 21st, 2009, 7pm – midnight with live models, DJ and an open bar.

Sketch Theatre is a website that offers its visitors the unique opportunity of watching contemporary master artists as they work.

The sketches filmed for their site have now been compiled for all to see in what will be Sketch Theatre's very first gallery show.

Sketches from the following artists will be on exhibit:

Wayne Barlowe, Michael Hussar, Travis Louie, Ana Bagayan, Chet Zar, Steven Daily, Greg 'Craola' Simkins, Munk One, Gris Grimly, Shawn Barber, Nate Frizzell, Nikko Hurtado, Luke Chueh, Cameron Davis, The Black Frog, Gene Guynn, Tod 'Junker' Waters, Kali Fontecchio, Meats Meier, Molly Crabapple, Jeff McMillan, Levon Jihanian, Jim 'Gay Bigfoot' Wirt, Raul Aguirre and more. (For a full artist list visit the Gnomon Gallery Site.)

Gnomon Gallery, 1015 N. Cahuenga Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90038

Chet Zar is one of fifty artists featured in 'Metamorphosis' (beinArt Publishing).

Michael Hussar, Travis Louie, Greg 'Craola' Simkins and Shawn Barber are featured in 'Metamorphosis 2' (beinArt Publishing).

Itching For House of Scratch

November 5th, 2008 by Meg Woodsworth

sean-chappell-12News from Sean Chappell:

We'd like to announce the launch of House of Scratch online juried exhibition gallery website. Not satisfied to sit in the corner and let others dictate our fate for us, we created House of Scratch to bring together and promote unknown and under-appreciated artwork within the fields of Surrealist and Visionary Art.

House of Scratch offers the opportunity for previously unknown artists to be juried into an online show of surrealist art every month. We're looking for the best of the best and visitors to the website will be able to help us by voting for their favourite artist within each exhibition. One artist per show, the one with the most votes will be deemed the 'Best of the Best' in that show.

Once we have a roster of artists from consecutive monthly shows under the 'Best of the Best' banner, we will be mounting our first ever House of Scratch physical gallery show here in Toronto, Canada, showcasing those very artists. It's really going to be something to see!

For this project to achieve its full potential, interaction with the public at street level is paramount. It is our goal to continually develop House of Scratch, promoting annual and eventually bi-annual shows of some of the most unique and undiscovered art ever created. We hope you will be there with us!

Our very first Call for Artists is about to go online. House of Scratch will be looking for Surrealist and Visionary artwork to fill its Inaugural December show. Applications are being accepted from November 1st (12:00am) to November 30th (11:59pm).

Please visit House of Scratch for more details.

Thank You for your time,

Sean Chappell & Cathrene Gehue                                     

right: 'Pumpkin Portrait' by Sean Chappell

Visions in the Mischtechnik – Laurence Caruana’s Painting Seminar in Torre Superiore

October 10th, 2008 by Leo Plaw

Laurence Caruana hosted a painting seminar in Torre Superiore, an eco-village in the foot-Alps of Liguria, Northern Italy this Summer past. Originally Maura Holden was also intended to teach at the seminar, but owing to flooding which submerged her house she had to attend to the salvaging of her home. I have been since told that Maura is back on her feet again.

The seminar was called Visions in the Mischtechnik because it pursued visionary ways of seeing while also teaching the Mischtechnik. It attracted an enthusiastic and talented group from around the world.

  • Martin Barbero – Argentina
  • Jimmy Bleyer – USA
  • Dan Cohen – USA
  • Francesca Wilkins Corrà ­ Italy / England
  • Micha (Colory) Krebs – Germany
  • Lauren May ­ New Zealand
  • Taiko (Tao) Puk ­ Turkey / Germany
  • William Rutledge – USA
  • Jason Shutzman ­ USA / Italy
  • Mitchell Skillman ­ USA / Germany
  • Anne Thorsen – Norway
  • Radhika Hersey ­ USA

The seminar group made a number of day trips including to Damanhur, which are subterranean temples dug into the Vidraco hillside.

Five students visited the Ernst Fuchs in Klagenfurt after the seminar. Once Ernst saw samples of their work, he invited them to stay. Three of them did and, for several weeks, painted with him in the Apocalypse chapel. Laurence joined them there a few weeks later, staying on for a week.

‘Manifesting the Vision’ by Yog Sothoth, is a 12 minute video featuring interviews with the participants and live painting from the seminar.

Revolutionary Xchange

July 13th, 2008 by Leo Plaw

Revolutionary Xchange R6XX.comPreviously there was Nemo's Utopia, an eBay store where all sorts of psychedelic and visionary inspired goodies could be purchased. It has now taken on a new incarnation as the Revolutionary Xchange (R6XX).

The focus of R6XX is to help creative people bring their passion to the world. The web store carries a wide range of media, from CDs, DVDs, books to artwork.The intention is to help people looking to expand their minds and discover new things about themselves and the universe.

Some of the artists supported by the Revolutionary Xchange are:

Adam Scott Miller, Luke Brown, Martina Hoffmann, Maura Holden, Robert Venosa, Satoshi Sakamoto

Review: Barany’s ‘Carnivora’

April 27th, 2008 by Meg Woodsworth

Barany Books‘Carnivora: The Dark Art of Automobiles’ from Barany Books

 Themed art books can be a tough sell: where do they fit on the bookshelf? When more than one artist is represented, it gets hard to determine the best way to market such an animal: exploit the better known names? play up the variety? promise a new and unexpected treatment of a certain aspect of art? provide a unique insight into the 'post-romodern' life that we all inhabit?


'Carnivora: The Dark Art of Automobiles'
on the new imprint Barany Books (more on that in a moment), does a very fine job of covering all the bases. The layout and design are flawless, and decidedly clever; it will appeal to the aesthetics of the visually inclined, as well as to the gearheads out there (which, apparently, has a great deal of cross-pollination). The look of the book is impressive: the cover is eye-catching and has a list of all contributors printed on the back. The sheer scope of the book – stated purpose of which is to explore our societal obsessive love and loathing with the modern chariot on a variety of fronts – is incredible, featuring not just masters of the recent past, such as H.R. Giger and Robert Williams, but also an amazing list of other established – as well as up and coming – artists between pieces of prose ruminating on the way cars have impacted everyday life.

Some of those ways, as the title implies, are not for the faint of heart…

Barany Books The book is a companion piece to the C-Pop Gallery exhibit in Detroit of the same name, now moving on to Los Angeles, to L'Imagerie Gallery. Les Barany (the editor, and Giger's agent for some time now) has done a fine job in bringing together over 100 different artists and writers (and their perspectives) and creating a coherent, cohesive whole. A wide swath of different styles and techniques are represented: a cursory flip through the tome reveals cartoon, literature, photo-montage, sculpture, mixed-media, acrylic and oil painting and digital imaging, to name just a few. While some pieces work better than others, there is more than enough material to satisfy even the most discerning palette, be it a preference for modern, edgy, surreal imagery, dark landscapes or bizarre machine/human juxtapositions. There is a smattering of eroticism, but only a few true nudes; the sexual elements (perhaps wisely) are left more to the imagination – in the guise of some very good written memoirs – rather than presented in purely graphic terms.

 
Exceptional written works abound, and will ultimately change from person to person (or, for some folk, moment to moment), but a few are worth pointing out. Notable remembrances are on display from William Levy (intense and poignant), William F. Nolan (historical and wide-ranging), Steven Cerio (concise and quirky; he also contributed an interesting illustration), Rick Manore (thought-provoking), Carlo McCormick (pensive and introspective) and Daphne Graham (grueling and sad). Harlan Ellison is also accounted for, with his excellent short classic Along the Scenic Route.

 
Barany BooksThe imagery, though, is where this volume shines, and there is no disappointing; it delivers on the questions postulated in the first paragraph of this review, and then some. Standouts include, in random order: Gregory Brotherton, Marshall Arisman, Zdzislaw Beksinski (middle right), D. Hwang, H.R. Giger (below right), Jason D'Aquino, Coop, Andre Lassen, Tanino Liberatore, Stanley Mouse, Robert Williams, J.K.Potter, Winston Smith, J.U. Abrahamson, Tomi Ungerer, Vincent Castiglia, Demetrios Vakras, Hugo Schuhmacher and Chet Zar. Remember, this is just the tip of a very large iceberg, but a helpful mini-biography section in the back places the contributors in good context, as well as offering the casual reader insight into their personalities, via the inclusion of their personal vehicles (or lack thereof!).

Overall, Carnivora has tremendous impact: whether the interest is cars, modern life, sexuality, death, consumerism, anecdotes about personal experiences or just awesome art, it’s hard to put down, and impossible to go wrong.


Jason V Brock

The Visionary Art Show

March 10th, 2008 by Jon Beinart

Zeljko Djurovic’s GalleryThe Magical Mystery Tour – Visionary Art Exhibition.

The organisers of Landau Traveling Exhibitions believe that it is important for art museums to connect with the community by reflecting what is relevant to society at any given moment. Visionary Art, the result of man’s artistic journey through his psyche as artistically portrayed through the evolution of the historical art movements, is certainly not a trend. It is now a part of history, and deserves the participation of the art world in presenting this art form.

This Visionary Art Show focuses on the art of painting; it represents the Visionary Art from the last half of the twentieth century, from the formation of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism in 1946, to the psychedelic school of the 1960’s and 1970’s, to the digital present.  However, it is important to trace the thread of visionary art as it weaves its way throughout the history of painting, in order to better understand and appreciate these more recent schools.

The Visionary Art Show consists of four (4) major groups from around the world. The European Group includes, Arik Brauer, L. Caruana, Zeljko Djurovic, Ernst Fuchs, HR Giger, Rudolf Hausner, Erik Heyninck, Hundertwasser, Wolfgang Hutter, Hanna Kay, Anton Lehmden, Ljuba, Dieter Schwertberger and, Eli Tiunine. The American group features, Isaac Abrams, Allen Atwell, Lee Barslaag, Linda Gardner, Andrew Gonzalez, Alex Grey, Carol Herzer, Martina Hoffman, Philip Rubinov Jacobson, Mati Klarwein, Brigid Marlin, Angelo Miranda, Richard Sica, Olga Spiegel, Surya Das, Roman Villagrana and Robert Venosa. The Asians are Yoshitaka Amano, Chalermchai Kositpipat. The California group stars Lee Conklin, Robert Fried, Rick Griffin, Alton Kelly, Bonnie MacLean, Peter Max, Vincent Moscoso, Stanley Mouse, Wes Wilson, and others to numerous to name.

For more information on this landmark event, go to: The Visionary Art Show Website.

Sketch Theatre

February 22nd, 2008 by Meg Woodsworth

Sketch TheatreI recently came across Sketch Theatre, a website that showcases footage of artists sketching in fast motion from the first mark to the finished product. It truly is astounding to watch these drawings come together. Artists featured include Chet Zar (right), Michael Hussar, Shawn Barber and Meats Meier. It is fantastic that aspiring artists have the opportunity to watch other contemporary artists produce these sketches.

Visions in The Mischtechnik Seminar

February 15th, 2008 by Meg Woodsworth

Caruana & Holden SeminarCome spend three weeks in a 14th century village, learning Old Masters' techniques from a new generation of Visionary artists. Experience communal living in Torri Superiore, an eco-village in the foot-Alps of the Italian Riviera, just two steps from Ernst Fuchs' home atelier and the  Torri Superiore is a labyrinthine village of spiraling stairs and narrow passages, built from the local limestone in 1300. In this cozy and creative atmosphere, students will develop two original works: one following the classical Mischtechnik employed by Ernst Fuchs, and the other following a modern variation developed by the teachers and employed in their latest paintings.

Laurence Caruana and Maura Holden will lead the seminar together, setting up their easels and painting alongside the students…. Visionary methods and materials, practical tips and secrets of the craft – all will be demonstrated and applied hands on. You will learn how to make fine lines, apply smooth glazes, eliminate brush strokes and paint details like eyes, hair, jewels and halo's. The teachers wish to guide their students with intuition, humor and understanding, knowing that these techniques are not easy, and require much patience and skill. For more information and to register.

The Seminar will take place from July 12th – August 3rd, 2008. 

Please visit: Maura Holden's site or Laurence Caruana's site.

Feminine Mysticism in Art

January 14th, 2008 by Meg Woodsworth

Feminine Mysticism in ArtPress Release: 

New Paradigm Publishing Presents

Feminine Mysticism in Art: Artists Envisioning the Divine

Editors: Victoria Christian and Susan Stedman

This colorful and inspirational coffee table art book will be a stunning collaboration of visual works of art by contemporary visionary artists, writers and musicians from an assortment of spiritual traditions.  Some of the contributing artists are Martina Hoffman, Maura Holden, Mark Henson, Daniel Mirante, Amoraea Dreamseed, Paul Heussenstamm, Blaze Warrender, Mariela de la Paz, Francene Hart, Hrana Janto, Jon Beinart, Suzanne Deveuve and several mind blowing emerging artists. Included with the book is a supplemental DVD that reveals more of the genre set to music.  The purpose of the book is to not only document a genre of art referred to as feminine mysticism, but also to reveal powerful images of the Divine in his/her myriad forms. The ultimate mission of the book is to assist humanity in evolving a conceptualization of the divine, transcending out of antagonistic, dualistic and hierarchical gender associations and into a new mode of consciousness that is more inclusive of all of God's creation.  If you are interested in learning more about the book and purchasing a first edition signed copy, you can do so at Victoria Christian's site.

Les Barany’s ‘Carnivora’

January 8th, 2008 by Meg Woodsworth

Les Barany’s Carnivora myspace sitePop Gallery Proudly Unveils The World Premiere Of:

Carnivora: The Dark Art of Automobiles

Curated by Les Barany

January 12 to February 22, 2008

which will coincide with the book release of the same name published by Barany Books/Scapegoat Publishing. OPENING RECEPTION

Saturday, January 12th, 2008 at 7 PM

4160 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48201 (corner of Woodward Ave. & Willis, 4 blocks south of the Detroit Institute of Art)

A book signing will follow by a number of the showcased artists on Sunday, January 13th, from 1 PM until 5 PM

BOOK INFO: Published by the new Scapegoat imprint, Barany Books, Carnivora features work by 112 artists and writers. Advance copies of the book will be available at the January 12th, 2008 opening of the ©Pop exhibition of the same name. The exhibition, showcasing art from the book, will run concurrently with the Detroit International Auto Show. It will then move to L.A.'s L'Imagerie Gallery at a soon to be announced date in the Spring.

More than 90 internationally renown artists contributed artwork for the Carnivora book and exhibit. For a complete list of artists in the book visit BaranyBooks

Some artists included in the exhibition are: Zdzislaw Beksinski, Glenn Barr, Guy Aitchison, Vincent Castiglia, Coop, Jason D'Aquino, H.R. Giger, Goldmine Shithouse, Viktor Koen, Travis Louie, Shag, Stainboy, Robert Williams, and Chet Zar.

Carnivora is a shadowy realm where flesh and machine coalesce into humanity's greatest technical achievement — the Automobile. Indispensable extensions of our nervous systems, cars are metallic monsters as dark and destructive as the men and women who drive them.

Carnivora: The Dark Art of Automobiles takes you on a chilling joyride powered by the Automotive Age's hottest artists.

Pop Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 12, Noon until 7 PM and Sunday from 1 PM until 5 PM.

Taxidermia on Wurzeltod

December 18th, 2007 by Meg Woodsworth

Wurzeltod SiteSuzanne G's site Wurzeltod is a fantastic resource for artists and features artwork by Ray Caesar.

Wurzeltod's "Taxidermy and Grotesk" section has a comprehensive list of over 60 taxidermy, cryptozoology and animal curiosa artists including Jessica Joslin, Jane Alexander, Sarina Brewer (right), Hyungkoo Lee, Cai Guo-Qiang and Mike Libby with samples of each artist's work.

Wurzeltod will be thoroughly enjoyed by those with exquisitely bad taste.

Visionary Revue #4 Entheogens & Art

August 6th, 2007 by Jon Beinart

Maura Holden’s Gallery News From Visionary Revue:

Just released, the 4th issue of the Visionary Revue explores the complex relationship between entheogens and artistic creation. Ten Visionary artists recount their experiences – the sudden lucidity, the hyper-perception and enlightening visions – each artist exploring a different entheogenic path. Holden, Heskin, Venosa and more… 266 pages, loaded with images and in-depth articles, edited by L. Caruana. The Visionary Revue is an on-line journal documenting emerging trends within the international movement known as Visionary Art.

www.visionaryrevue.com

EXCERPTS:

At last I had pierced the veil. Sitting with my eyes closed, I entered a land of accelerated time. Centuries elapsed in moments. I watched fantastic temples of sandstone accumulate and erode. Countless sunsets merged into a flickering twilight. Behind my eyelids, pink and gold-veined carvings swirled over the pillars, cornices, stairways and domes of ancient, but alien castles or mosques. Fascinated, I gazed at the tiny gargoyles. Charming new elements attached themselves to these: extra eyes, beautifully patterned scales, finely wrought exoskeletons. The temptation to take up a brush and begin recording these details was strong.

Maura Holden

The Cosmic Mountain

Then, the painting transformed. Everything that appeared 'rendered' became absolutely real. The paint dissolved, the frame disappeared, and all deficiencies gave way to perfection. I marvelled at the jewels in the shadow of the wings. These were not 'artfully rendered' to resemble transparent orbs of glass – they became them… deep crystals glowing from within. I was now 'seeing' in the presence of the Sacred. Only when I pulled myself out of it, slightly, did I realize how different 'the vision' was from the support, the painting. It is so difficult to describe, this state of 'pure vision' because, when I'm in it, I'm entirely in the image. It isn't an image at all, really. It's a timeless experience of immersion into sacred wonder.

L. Caruana

A Mirror Delirious

Art and Ayahuasca are both teachers that can reveal that whilst we live on the surface of things, there are yet deep layerings and extensions to our everyday selves. Each being is like a ten-thousand armed, multi-faced deity, such as those depicted in Indian temples. We extend outward across the fields of nature, manipulating and weaving energies in a myriad of realms. The art of the greatest visionary painters emphasises this hyperdimensional aspect to the human being

Daniel Mirante

Realms

Hopefully the domains of what we conceive of as entheogens can be blown wide open through realizing that it is truly the essence of our nature to strive toward the light & spiritual understanding. All of us. So, what can one artist do but mimic the creator in all its glory? Expressing gratitude and reverence for the unfathomably vast and unknowable through our own acts of creativity, thereby fusing Artist & Divinity simply by being in the act of creation, by becoming an embodied god droplet manifesting beauty upon the earth. Beyond judgment of technique or application. The act of creating art induces god.

David Heskin

Art (v.) = Entheogens

Drawing Workshop with Kris Kuksi

July 16th, 2007 by Jon Beinart

Kris Kuksi’s DrawingsKris Kuksi will be hosting a drawing workshop in the small Bavarian village of Viechtach, located about an hour east of Munich. The local Burgermiester of Viechtach has invited Kris to return again after giving one last summer. Kris, an established Surrealist, holds master's degree in painting and drawing, sculpture, and art history. His techniques are never formulated and believes in having a fresh and experimental approach to art and hopes to share in his enjoyment with others eager to learn to new tricks and methods.

Class time will be Monday through Friday from 2:00 to 5:00 August 13th through the 17th. The class will be 5 days with a total of 15 hours duration and will be held in the city center at the Alte Rathaus. In the drawing workshop we will emphasize development of formal rendering skills as well as knowledge of the principles and elements of design. We will examine approaches to technique and style through the use of contour and gesture drawing while analyzing forms and textures. Value and tonal ranges will be heavily emphasized in creating both realistic and stylistic work.

We will explore the uses of shading and many textural devices as a means to build the illusion of three-dimensional form. It may be likely we will work from a still life or if you have photos of images that you are bringing you can work from those. Good drawing skills make for great paintings and this brief course will introduce you to both traditional and experimental drawing approaches.

For further information please contact: Kris Kuksi or Monika Häuslmeier 

‘Painting The Fantastic’ Workshop

June 12th, 2007 by Jon Beinart

'PAINTING THE FANTASTIC'

with

Robert Venosa & Martina Hoffmann

June 22 to 29, 2007 at Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY, USA.

Martina Hoffmann’s Gallery Please join us for this 7 day intensive painting workshop in upstate NY. The event offers the rare opportunity to learn oil and portrait painting with internationally renowned visionary art masters, Robert Venosa and Martina Hoffmann. Open to both beginner and accomplished artists alike, this workshop takes us on a creative adventure into expressing our personal visual language. The program includes introduction and application of the misch technique, oil painting, portrait painting, a power-point lecture on the history of visionary art, presentations by and about the instructors, and a group exhibit. The teachers will give personal assistance to all participants. For more detailed information please visit The Omega website. If you wish to sign on, please contact the registration office at Omega Institute.

Venosa & Hoffmann are 2 of 50 artists featured in our first book: Metamorphosis

From INSCAPE To Art of Imagination

May 14th, 2007 by Jon Beinart

The following article was written by Brigid Marlin. This is the first time it has been published online. Thank you Brigid.

Brigid Marlin’s Gallery"In 1960  a few young artists in England banded together to study techniques of painting, and to inspire each other. We called ourselves the INSCAPE  group, because we wanted to depict the inner landscapes of the mind. We met in Peter Holland’s studio in the attic, where we could pour gesso over everything and splash paint on top. Peter was an inventor as well as an artist and created robots that could serve us tea. It was an inspiring time. We all worked together intensively, preparing gesso panels, and painting vigorously to the sounds of music for inspiration, varied occasionally by odd recordings Peter had made of the amplified sound of snails eating cabbage. Peter specialized in Surreal pictures of umbrellas; Jack Ray did Cathedrals in copper and resin, and Steve Snell, Alan Senior and I did Visionary paintings.

The Inscape Group flourished, and we were joined by artists Richard Jones, who was a dwarf and painted powerful pictures of dwarves, Christiane Kubrick, who painted magic realism, Jan Clutterbuck our first watercolourist and Diana Hesketh, our first Sculptor.

We began to show our work abroad, and were invited by Ernst Fuchs to take part in an unusual Summer Seminar at a huge Castle in the Austrian mountains.

Ernst Fuchs had gathered artists from all over the world; America, Japan, Iceland, Sweden, Germany, Israel. Artists set up their easels;- some in turrets, some in the balconies or the vast high ceilinged rooms, and we vied with each other to produce our greatest masterpieces, exchanging ideas and techniques It became the sort of artistic Brotherhood I had always dreamed of.

Ernst Fuchs’s GalleryErnst Fuchs showed us the astonishing egg tempera and oil technique of the Italian Renaissance Masters, which he had rediscovered after much research, and now called the ‘Mische Technique’. We worked in layers of white egg tempera separated by coloured glazes. It took us far beyond our own approaches to studying technique.

In the evenings everything changed, and we became just as eager to have fun! There was dancing, singing, and heated discussions about Rembrandt, Vermeer and Jackson Pollock in corners. Wolfgang Manner, who directed the Seminar and was also a Mountain Rescue leader, would umpire heated discussions (possibly brought on by the Schnapps made by the local farmers from cherries) between  New Yorker Phil Jacobson (who now leads Summer Seminars himself), an Icelander known as "Fishfingers" and Yoko Shiraishi (who's mother had bright pink hair and was the top Japanese poet).

Ilan Kutz, a Major in the Israeli Army, who had just returned from the Entebbe raid, played and sang for us all on his guitar. Elisa Halvegard from Sweden made garlands of flowers for everyone to wear, and embroidered fairies on people’s clothes in odd places when they weren’t looking. At night the poorer artists slept in a dormitory and when one couple started sharing a bed, and being  too noisy, Richard Jones got up and poured a jug of water over them. There were some strange characters there. Marielle (from Germany) got up early every morning to collect butterflies, and was enraged when Joseph (from Haarlem, New York), ate them.

At the end of the Summer there was an Exhibition in the Great Ballroom of the Castle, and the local dignitaries were invited to the Opening and a Masked Ball.

Richard- who although he is a dwarf has a giant voice – stood at the top of the Grand Staircase wearing a black cape and a sword (he said he was Draculet). He held up a flaming seven branched cantlestick and shouted; “Men can only speak to the Gods through the Dwarves. But the Men are killing all the Dwarves. And soon, the Men will no longer be able to hear the voices of the Gods!” Then he staggered into the gardens and was sick.

Back home in England when everyone had recovered we decided that this was a marvelous experience, and returned every year for over a decade. Then in 1993 Ernst Fuchs called a meeting in Metternich Castle in Austria for Imaginative artists and Patrons. There Laurie Lipton and I met H R Giger, Bruno Weber, De Es Schwertberger, Mati Klarwein, and Mauro Albarelli,  Ernst Fuchs asked us all to work to help promote Fantastic and Visionary Art, and thanks to Inscape International we were ready to form the Society for Art of Imaginaton, which is open so we changed the small INSCAPE Group' into the SOCIETY FOR ART OF IMAGINATION; open to any imaginative artist in the world. Since then we have been privileged to help many artists to further their careers, and to stage Exhibitions all over the world. It has become truly a Brotherhood of Artists!"

Brigid Marlin is also one of 50 artists published in: Metamorphosis.

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Metamorphosis Art Book - 50 Surreal, Fantastic and Visionary Artists

The beinArt International Surreal Art Collective & beinArt Publishing were founded in 2006 by Jon Beinart. All artists have granted permission to be featured on this website. All art herein is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without the express permission of the respective artists. beinArt.org represents contemporary artists working in one or more of the following art traditions: Fantastic Realism, Surrealism, Symbolism, Pop Surrealism, Lowbrow, Psychedelic, Visionary, Esoteric, Erotic & Macabre Art. This website was designed by Leo Plaw.