Tree at the Top- Hampstead Heath

iPad drawing

I tend to work on a number of paintings in my studio at the same time. It means I have many on-going, some of which I may have started years ago. They might get temporarily abandoned if I reach a point where they’re not going so well or the thick oil paint needs to dry. The image above is an iPad drawing I made on Hampstead Heath in the summer of 2021 for a series I was working on. It’s was drawn probably at the highest point on the Heath near the Vale of Health. I loved the giant pine tree towering over the distant City of London.

So, the work in progress on the right of it is a detail of the oil on canvas version currently on my studio wall.

It’s large, about 140 x 80 cm.

Miami and Tenerife

I have just been into my storage to pull out some work of old. These two paintings date back to 1986!
They´re mixed media on paper about A2 size and they are going into an Air B and B here in Brighton. The deckchair image I made in Miami, a wonderful place I used to go to quite frequently. The other is of the amazing dragon tree in el Parque del Drago, Icod de los Vinos in Tenerife. This tree is a symbol of the island and was declared a national monument in 1917. It´s impressive and a must see!

Miami Beach Deckchair Mixed media on paper 40 x 56 cm 1986

El Drago Mixed media on paper 42 x 55 cm 1986

'Exploring Ink' Online course starts 09 March 2022

I’m about to finish up my current run of ‘Exploring Ink’ and I’m going to run it again in March. It’s an online evening course and I’ve had very positive feedback about it. Ink is an incredible medium. There are many ways you can push it and extend its use besides its more obvious applications, which I will cover in the course too. Have a look at the course details on this site under ‘Art Workshops’ and hopefully I shall see you online on March 09 at 6.30pm. If you have any questions please just ask. Thanks

Art Workshops

Norman Adams RA by Julian Vilarrubi

Rising to Bright Fragments oil on canvas 1980-1983

A cold, wet and dark evening a few days ago I’m walking up Cold Bath Road in Harrogate. I passed @108fineart and I was very pleased to spy through the windows a giant painting I instantly recognised. It was painted by my ex-tutor and professor of painting at the University of Newcastle who then became the Keeper of the Royal Academy Schools, Norman Adams RA (1927-2005). I first met Norman when I was 17 and doing A level art. My lovely art teacher knew him and very kindly took me to visit his studio in the small village of Horton-in-Ribblesdale, North Yorkshire. It was the first time I’d ever met an authentic painter and it had a very big impact on me. It was a meeting that would determine the course of the next 40 years. I owe him a lot.

Thank you Andrew Stewart of 108 for the very engaging chat and the photo :)

Painting currently on show at 108 Fine Art Modern and Contemporary

16 Cold Bath Road. Harrogate. North Yorkshire HG2 0NA

Exploring Ink course O N L I N E with Julian Vilarrubi from 19 January 2022

My online 6 part evening course Exploring Ink begins on the 19th. January. This course has demos, contextual examples, feedback and mini-projects. It will push you to explore ink and surface in lots of different ways.

‘This course has made me feel excited about drawing again. I've created work that I wouldn't have imagined. I'd absolutely recommend this course to anyone who feels that their drawing has become too tight and dull - or who wants to have a go at ink for the first time’. MF 2021

'I thoroughly enjoyed the 6 week course Exploring Ink. It was such a fun, experimental approach that gave an insight into different approaches to using ink. The 2 hours seemed to pack in such a lot, which included looking at artists using ink/mark marking/mixed media,  being given a new project to start, and a one-to-one discussion about our work from the previous week. While these sessions were on Zoom, due to current COVID-19 restrictions, this wasn't a negative. The sessions were well planned and worked well for our small group. I highly recommend this course. LF 202

For more details and bookings please go to ‘Art Workshops’ on this site.

New Art Workshops January 2022 by Julian Vilarrubi

I have some new exciting studio-based and online courses beginning in the middle of January 2022.

Painting is my passion and one of its most powerful elements is colour. Understanding how colour works is important in making choice decisions in your creative work. My one-day studio-based colour mixing course here in Brighton is on January 29th. If you need the fundamentals of theory backed by practical exercises then this course will cover that.

If you're itching to get going on digital drawing with the iPad using what is generally regarded as the best painting and drawing app, Procreate then I have two online courses, one for starters and one intermediate. I've been developing these courses over the last few years and they are very informative. Procreate really is a wonder app. The capabilities of working on an iPad for painting and drawing still amazes me after 8 years. My online Procreate courses begin on January 12th. and 19th.

I have a course 'Exploring Ink' which I ran last year for the first time. Ink is such an incredibly powerful medium and can be used in so many distinct ways. We'll be pushing it as far as possible, making our own inks to work from. Exploring Ink, online, starts on the January 19th.