Aurora Spain

Artist Details

Artist Name: Aurora Spain
Artist Home Page:
Contact Aurora Spain
View All Aurora Spain Artwork

 

Tuition

FOR REGULAR WEEKLY CLASS IN SUNNINGDALE SEE BELOW

Painting workshops that leave you buzzing!

With the Atelier 21st Century Workable Acrylics
"the world's most versatile medium"

New workshop 2013
Brilliant Colour Mixing
Take the guesswork out of colour mixing -a succession of 'Aha!' moments. Official method of the International School of Colour

Using the theories of Michael Wilcox (author of the revolutionary analysis 'Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green', students gain a true understanding of foolproof colour mixing and why the old 'three primary' system lets them down. Each one-day workshop covers theory, creating colour grids and producing a simple painting using a specific range of hues:
Bright colours
Mid Intensity Colours
Dull and Darker Colours
Neutrals and Greys
A series of workshops covers the whole spectrum

Each student receives a set of complimentary paints relevant to the workshop, courtesy of Chroma Europe!

All workshops available as single events or a series. Prices on request.

Workshops are normally one day events from around 10.30 to 4pm but timing is flexible to suit the group

'Excellent workshop' -Sunbury art group

'Excellent, informative, enjoyable' - Petersfield Arts
and Crafts

'Fun and exciting' - Princes Risborough Art Society

Other workshops:

Painting copper and brass the Old Masters way
Texture and Monoprinting
Abstracting the Realistic
The Bigger Picture - creating a collaborative modern work of art based on a familar old one

Contact Aurora on 07710 349804
or at aurora.spain@talktalk.net

Professional associate of SAA and registered tutor with the International School of Colour
................................................................................

"RENDEZVOUS RENOIRS" - weekly class for adults, Village Hall, Church Road, Sunningdale, Berks; Monday mornings 10.30 - 1. Fee £145 per 10-week term.Concessions available.

This popular class runs again from January 14th 2013. New students are welcome. his year we are exploring the techniques of some of the great masters such as Turner, Renoir and Monet. This is a great opportunity for those who enjoy painting or want to learn. The classes are aimed at all abilities from beginners to those who have been practising their art for some time.

Subjects covered include colour theory and colour mixing following the International School of Colour method devised by Michael Wilcox. We also cover working with a limited palette, harmonious colour combination and good composition.

By the end of the term students will have a better understanding and practice in all aspects of colour, scientific and psychological, as well as producing the effects they want. They will be able to mix the colours they want without waste or frustration. Besides working on their own guidance charts, students will produce a painting or paintings using their new knowledge. There will be opportunities to exhibit work.

Aurora is a experienced and proficient artist. Her subject matter is varied and she has studied and experimented with many different techniques and media. She is a popular trained teacher. She is passionate and enthusiastic about her work and enjoys guiding and encouraging others to go forward with theirs.

For any further queries or to book a place please phone Aurora on: 07710 349804
or email: aurora.spain@talktalk.net
...............

Recent demonstrations and workshops around the South East include:

Petersfield Arts and Crafts Society, Landscape workshop

Crowthorne and Sandhurst Arts Society, Landscape

Guild of Wiltshire Artists, flower painting

and other subjects at Cuckfield, Amersham, Guildford and elsewhere.

Teaching style: I encourage both beginners and experienced artists to develop their own style whilst learning about the tools of painting technique - colour, composition, value, rhythm, the use of mixed media and many other aspects. I am a WEA-trained tutor and an experienced course leader on all aspects of painting.

Please see gallery called Workshops for other details.

 

Biography

BIOGRAPHY
 
Aurora Spain
 
Born in West London to a kind and loving mother and a somewhat serious minded father, and with a scientifically minded older brother who was to become a professor at Sheffield Hallam University, her childhood was a dreamy affair. Classical music often filled the home, her father being a self-taught amateur cellist and a fan of the great composers, and much of her time was spent playing in her Grandfather’s smallholding next door where trees, flowers and wildlife made an oasis in suburbia. This is where her deep connection to nature began.
 
Holidays were rare, but trips to the countryside were frequent, and further cemented her interest in the natural world. It was a fairly solid upbringing  and a time when her excitement about anything colourful took root. She would spend hours making colourful drawings, decorating any object that came to hand, making her own greetings cards and  creating her own clothes out of any hand-me-downs. These garments always turned out distinctive, to say the least – some would say over the top – but this style has rather remained with her as her personal norm to this day.
 
Stability didn’t last. At the tender age of 17 she had her heart broken, which led to her dropping out of academic education. Her wish to pursue an artistic career was rejected by her parents as they saw it as an insecure option. Yearning to leave the nest, she rebelled and got married at 19, and moved with Richard, her kind and caring husband, to Ascot, Berkshire, where she felt sure she could be true to herself, surrounded by woods and nature’s creatures. There were good times, but the effects of the previous few years took their toll and for almost  ten years she was to suffer from recurring bouts of severe depression. Eventually after five years of trying to start a family and after several miscarriages and intensive fertility treatments, the couple gave up – but it was then that Zoe was born, a true little miracle and adored by  them both. 
 
There followed a long period of struggle to express herself through her art, with many obstacles and much frustration. Eventually this became something of a crisis, and sadly her marriage also broke down. However, she embarked with new seriousness on study of everything about art which fascinated and intrigued her, and this marked the beginning of a new phase in her life and the pursuit of her professional career as a painter. Life drawing at South Hill Park in Berkshire was followed by a course with a diploma course with The Open University of The Arts and then advanced study with the JJA Academy of Art and Design in London.  This was a very exciting time, coupled with an in-depth journey delving into the science of colour, the use of it in paintings and the way it influences our moods.  This in turn led to studying with the International School of Colour and becoming an accredited tutor of their system. She became a Professional Associate of the Society of All Artists, and after teaching  painting  and the application of decorative paint effects for the WEA, she branched out on her own and runs her own classes locally as well as demonstrating and running workshops for art societies across the south east of England.
 
Using all these sources to become a successful painter, she has spent the last 20 years producing copious paintings experimenting with different techniques and styles. Interested in physics and theories about the workings of the universe and our place within it have been a major part of the inspiration behind her most recent work, which still abounds with the lyricism of flowers and other natural forms.
 
Aurora has had several one-woman exhibitions and taken part in numerous joint shows. She has carried out many commissions ranging from large murals of Shakespeare’s plays to tromp l’oeil scenes, triangular paintings on the eves of a converted barn, and nursery paintings on an antique bath. Her work is in many private collections both here and abroad and 2000 prints of her Venice collection were sold through a TV channel.
 
For the past eighteen years she has been living with her writer partner, Gabriel, and their dog Charlie in a  lovely old Victorian cottage overlooking woods between Windsor and Ascot where they support each other in their creative and romantic adventures.
 
..........................................................................................
 
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
 
Aurora Spain
 
 
The purpose of my paintings has always been to uplift the spirit and excite the eye. My new body of work “The Touchables” goes a step further – they are tactile. At the same time, my adventurous and studied use of colour deliberately reflects the optical laws of physics whereby the after-images complete the spectral effect, leaving the observer with a deeper sense of satisfaction.
 
After experimenting with different painting styles over a number of years, I discovered the combination of elements which distinguish my current body of work: large, bold forms, vibrant colour and sculptural textures to bring out the deep emotionality which I find in living forms. The objects, plant life and landscapes which inspire me are still discernible to varying degrees in the paintings but resonate between abstraction and representation. . Underlying the subject matter is my extensive interest in science, understanding the evolution of the universe and the place of nature in it. My deep study of colour theory, combined with painstaking practice, has given me a command of exceptional tonal combinations, but I put these at the service of spontaneous and lyrical concepts.
 
These paintings are created not only to be looked at but can be touched too, to give the viewer a sense of discovery and freedom to explore. A combination of several successive types of varnish render the work resilient and archival. Leaf metals in silver, gold, copper and variations of shiny precious minerals delight the eye and add richness to the work.  Textural and light effects are achieved by sculpting certain areas with gels, paste and mineral materials. Each item in the series is lovingly designed to excite the emotions and the sense of touch.  I do hope that they give you as much joy as producing them gave me.
 
 


 

Exhibitions

TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS

Professional artist since 1990
Open College of the Arts
JJA Academy of Art and Design, London
International School of Colour
South Hill Park, Easthampstead, Berkshire
Mentored by Ralph Thompson (Wild Life Illustrator) and Ken Payne (Pastellist)
Professional Associate of the Society for All Artists
Accredited Tutor with the International School of Colour
Accredited Adult Education Tutor

(More detail on my life is available in a separate biographical note and artist?s statement)

EXHIBITIONS

Brownlow Hall, Warfield ? Annual Northern Parishes of Berkshire Exhibition, 2012 (and four previous occasions)
Chelsea Art Society Summer Show, 2012
Jubilee Event, Alexandra Gardens, Windsor, 2012
Reading Art Show, 2012
Coronation Memorial Institute, Sunningdale, Berks Annual Exhibition 2011
(and two previous occasions)
Art In Action, Waterperry Gardens, Oxfordshire, 2008
River Road Gallery Exhibition, Chertsey, 2007 (and one previous occasion)
The Stoke Poges Centre, Stoke Poges, Bucks, 2003
Cookham Art Society Annual Show, 1998
Swan Walk, Crawley, Sussex, 1998

GALLERIES, 2000 ? 2012

Eton Street Gallery, Eton, Berks
Windsor Street Gallery, Windsor, Berks
Riverside Gallery, Barnes, London
The Picture Gallery, Princes Risborough, Oxfordshire
Circle Gallery, Sunninghill, Berks
Oberon Art Gallery, Burnham, Bucks
The Art Shop, Portsmouth, Hants
The Art Place, Windsor, Berks
Marrakesh Bazaar, Windsor, Berks
The Gallery, Kew, London

OPEN HOUSES

Windsor Open Houses, 2009
Brighton Open Houses, 2008

DISPLAYS IN RETAIL OUTLETS, 2006-12

JAGZ Jazz Club, Ascot, Berks
Cartier Polo Event, Smiths Lawn, Windsor Great Park, Berks
Sytner Car Showroom, Sunningdale, Berks
The Chocolate Theatre Cafe, Windsor
Blonde?s Restaurant, Windsor
Royal House, Henley on Thames , Oxfordshire
Windsor Central Station, Windsor

PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENTS

Workshops and demonstrations for 45 arts societies across South East England, 2005-12, sponsored by Chroma Europe and Cuthbert Mills;
Co Project leader, ?The Big Draw?, community project celebrating Jubilee Year and Olympic Games, Northern Parishes, Berks, 2012;
Technical Adviser for Atelier Paints, Chroma Europe, at four-day ?It?s all about art? event, Business Design Centre, Islington, 2010 and 2011;
Demonstrating for Artists and Illustrators magazine at four-day ?Art in Action? event, Waterperry Gardens, Oxfordshire, 2008

SALE OF PAINTINGS

Private collections in England, Spain, France and USA
2000 prints of The Venice Collection sold via a popular TV channel, 2004

COMMISSIONS

Portrait of Gabriel Chanan, MBE, 2011
Garden scene for private house, 2010
Trompe L?Oeil garden scene for private house, 2008
Theme painting on antique bath, 2005
Decorative painting of flowers on wooden pillars, 2005
Theme paintings on heirloom cot, 2004
Decorative house signs and stained glass effects, 2004
Triangular panels of vistas in converted barn, 2003
African style treatment of tulips for private house, 2002
Large murals of scenes from Shakespeare plays, 2001
Family home, 2001
Large floral murals for florist?s shop, 1997

_______________________________________________________________

 

Media

Acrylics, Chinese Brush, Collage, Fabric, Gilding, Glass, Gouache, Mixed Media, Oils, Pastels, Pen And Wash, Pencil/Charcoal, Varnishing, Watercolour

 

Subjects

Abstract, Animals, Buildings, Colour Mixing, Decorative Art, Expressionism, Fantasy, Figure, Flowers And Gardens, Illustration, Impressionism, Landscape, Portrait, Still Life