ART HISTORY WORKSHOP #1

PAUL GAUGUIN (1848-1903) Street in Tahiti, 1891, oil on canvas, 115.6 x 88.6 cm. Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, USA

PAUL GAUGUIN (1848-1903)

The vibrant colors of Paul Gauguin’s painting express his intense reaction to the mysteries of the “new Eden” that he sought in the South Pacific. Disgusted with modern European culture, Gauguin left France in search of a “less spoiled” way of life lived in intimate association with nature. His stated goal was to renew his art through contact with a non-European, pre-industrial culture. In 1891 he traveled to Tahiti and found it greatly influenced by Christian missionaries and French colonization. Disappointed, he eventually created his fantasy vision of “primitive” Tahitian culture on his canvases—though his actual interaction with Pacific Islanders was largely exploitative and even abusive. Street in Tahiti was among the first group of paintings Gauguin produced in Tahiti during his initial two-year stay. He conveyed something of the special character of the place—the limpid light, rich color, lush vegetation, and lofty mountains—through his use of strong contours, flattened shapes, repeated curving rhythms, and tautly patterned brushstrokes. However, minor notes of strain, such as the brooding woman and heavy clouds pressing down from above, introduce undertones of sadness and disquiet.

During the course of the workshop I will demonstrate how to go about painting this work, lead you through colour mixing and paint application. We will paint the work together step-by-step.

DETAILS:

Date: Sunday 10th January 2027

Time: 11:00 to 3:00pm

Where: Duthy Street Art, 6 Duthy Street, Unley

Fee: $150

WHAT TO BRING: *

• Canvas 60 x 90cm approximately (please ensure your canvas is a new canvas and that you have given it a layer of Gesso before the class)

• Your Oil Painting Kit:- Suggested Colours, Warm and Cool Primary colours :- (Titanium White, Ivory Black, Vermillion (or Cadmium Red Light - a cheaper alternative is Pyrrole Red Light), Alizarin Crimson (or Rose Madder), Ultramarine Blue, Phthalo Blue, Cadmium Yellow Deep (or a cheaper alternative is Langridge’s Diarylide Yellow), Cadmium Yellow Light (or another cheaper alternative is Arylide Lemon) - Useful additions to the Primary collection are: Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Cold Brown Oxide (or Vandyke Brown), Naples Yellow, Terre Verte Green, Viridian Green.

• Mediums, Odourless Solvent and a light odourless Medium

• Brushes, Various sizes

• *(note that we will be tracing the image onto your canvas from photocopies sized to the canvas - I will supply these for you)