In early December 2005 Juan Martinez shared his old masters “Italian School” oil painting techniques with Portrait Society members through his two-day workshop at Toronto’s Arts and Letters Club. The major themes of his portraiture workshop were twofold: to apply the paint emphatically and to create form. Juan explained “the goal of applying the paint is not to use fancy colours, but to create the form. Furthermore, the painter should not play with the paint. The paint needs to be applied emphatically to be effective.”
Students found Juan to be a well organized, effective teacher. He demonstrated how keeping the pallet organized allows the painter to achieve greater control of tone. The master instructor took participants through a two day process that included a thin underpainting, a first application of colour and a second day of refining the colour.
Participant Iris Shields explained, “Juan presented a very different way of mixing colour. His tones are developed with white paint. Through this workshop I really discovered how to keep consistent tone…”
“I wanted to learn to use mediums. I’m thrilled, it was very exciting!” said participant Judy Finch.
Morris Piccone added, “I wanted to take a realist painting workshop where a really good artist was involved. In this session, I discovered the easiness of the human form and an easy approach to realistic painting. I do a lot of drawing of renaissance masters so this workshop was a great opportunity to paint in the realist tradition.”
“I have read about Juan and his work. I was encouraged by the Portrait Society to consider taking this workshop and I did because it was a great opportunity. I generally work in pastel, so this is a new and exciting day. Juan is an excellent teacher –he is perhaps the best teacher I have had in oil,” stated Florence Maud Pinhorn, visiting Portrait Society member from Newfoundland, Canada.
