This practical drawing and painting session will begin with a short talk exploring Maria’s life and work by our tutor Luisa, before exploring how to recreate elements of her compositions and what we can learn from her dynamic and bold use of colour.

A self-taught artist whose work comprised no fancy tricks and certainly no expensive mediums, Maria painted on what she could afford and what surrounded her; simple, inexpensive paper and often her own furniture, walls and even the outside of her house! Despite this Pablo Picasso famously described Maria as “ that brilliant Ukrainian” recognising her as a unique talent among the artists of his generation.

Born in a humble village called Bolotnia near Kyiv, from an early age Maria showcased an extraordinary blend of natural talent, empathy towards Nature, and an innate understanding of colour and composition.

Maria often found that inspiration visited her in her dreams, her mythical creatures partly conjured by her imagination, and partly derived from her deep and abiding interest in Ukrainian legends, folktales and Fairy Tales.

In this session we will also delve into some of the incredible history of the Ukrainian folk tales and legends which inspired Maria, creating our own imagined Worlds inspired by them and populating them with Prymachenko inspired, wildly colourful flora and fauna.

This session will be an amazing opportunity to let loose and explore the seriousness of play! From our innate use of colour to our childhood fascination with monsters and legends, this session aims to re-create some of the in-built creativity that we all possess as children, yet often gets reprioritised when we formally ‘learn’ art.
We can’t wait to have you join us for this session!

MATERIALS
PAPER, AND LOTS OF IT! We suggest a large pad of cartridge paper,
PAINT! Preferably Gouache as Maria used (available easily online or in art stores -it can be any type of gouache), but acrylic will be just fine!

Luisa-Maria MacCormack is a practicing artist, art history tutor, drawing tutor and feminist educator currently working in London. Luisa studied for her Foundation Degree at Chelsea College of Art and for her BA at London College of Fashion specialising in Surface Textiles for Fashion Design. She then went on to study with the Royal Drawing School and completed her MA in Fine Art at City and Guilds of London Art School in 2021. Luisa is one of the founders of London Drawing Group, and the director of The Feminist Lecture Program.

You can follow more of Luisa's work on Instagram at @luisamariamfineart or visit her website at http://www.luisamariamaccormack.co.uk/

This is a recording of a live session hosted by The Feminist Lecture Program in June 2020. The reading list for the class can be found alongside this rental.

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Happy watching!
FLP x