Art In Lempa, Cyprus

If you happen to be in Western Cyprus and have an hour to spare, the village of Lempa is worth a visit. Last weekend we happened to be in Western Cyprus and had an hour to spare so we paid a visit. We found a village that had more art than most others we have been to.

As we drove into the village we were looking out for a building that's part of the Cyprus College Of Art. It wasn't long before we passed a wall constructed from a huge number of sculptures made from concrete, glass, metal and wood and probably a lot of other things too. It was fairly obvious that this was the building we were looking for.

A little further along the road we parked the car and found ourselves opposite the studio of artist Alessandra Desole. She was taking part in the Cyprus open studio event so we decided to look round. We were a little early but were welcomed by Alessandra who showed us displays of her paintings. These, mainly portraits, have a pleasant simplicity, painted in strong colours but with a softness of touch that makes them quite atmospheric and pleasant to look at. We also admired some of her small coloured stone figurative carvings. You can see some of Alessandra Desole's paintings on her web site. The Cyprus open studios continue during October 2011.

Strolling back to the college we were overwhelmed by the vast number of examples of the art produced by the students. Being a Saturday there was nobody there but a sign invited us to look round the grounds.

Within the walls we found a cacophony of widely differing sculptures, some abstract, some figurative, some made from found objects. Vicky liked the large carved wooden head and we both thought the group of dogs playing around a pole were fun. Here are more pictures of the students' sculptures.

As we left the College, a party of tourists arrived to look at the art too, guided by George, a local character who runs trips in his colourful old-fashioned bus. Returning to the car, the chatter and laughter from the crowd of tourists confirmed how delightful and exciting the art in the college grounds was. You can visit the web site for the Cyprus College Of Art And Design.

Our holiday in Cyprus was full of pleasant surprises and the hour or so we spent in Lempa was one of the highlights.

Vicky And Vince,

Love Your Art.

The Missing Link

We've talked about seeing art. We've talked about buying art. The missing link is doing art. So with cheque book in hand I called into Darlington Arts Centre and enrolled on an Introduction to Drawing and Painting course.

I have to say that I am not a skilled artist. I've done a bit of doodling in the past but nothing worth keeping. I can also manage to splash a bit of paint on the kitchen walls when they need it.

It was a chilly Wednesday morning in September when I joined the group of a dozen other students to learn what drawing and painting is all about and have a bit of fun at the same time. After the obligatory safety talk and introductions, we got started mixing paint to work out how to make virtually any colour from a basic half dozen tubes of paint.

By week two we were painting a watercolour landscape, a task that was pretty simple thanks to the carefully thought out approach of the tutor, Paul Dillon. Paul has over thirty years experience of drawing and painting and easily pointed out what each of us was doing well and how we could improve on the trickier aspects of painting.

One of Paul's main interests is landscape painting and this influences the classes to some extent. However, he's keen that everybody discovers their own preferences and techniques and he spent time with many of the students suggesting how they could develop their individual styles in the future.

Like me, the other students enjoyed the course too. They agreed that it had been a useful, broad introduction to painting and drawing. Those who had not done any art before had learned a lot; those who already dabbled a bit had refined their techniques and picked up a lot of hints and tips to take them further.

Although my artistic ambition is to create sculpture and mixed media art, this course has given me many of the essentials that I can use when working on my own art.

The course content covers drawing, watercolour and acrylic, observation and composition. It deals with the basic theory and provides lots of opportunities for practical work. So if you want to put things into perspective or find out how to use puddle management to avoid cauliflowers, why not have a go yourself.

The course was part of a programme of leisure classes run by Darlington Borough Council. More are planned for the New Year term. Contact the Arts Centre for details.

Love Your Art,
Vince