Well, here is the next stage in the picture. I have to tell you, working on the letters is extremely difficult and I was a bit frustrated. The only difference from last week’s picture is the “body” of the letters, which had to be done with the shading and highlighting. This took me 90 minutes, and I can’t say I’m thrilled with the result.
The teacher reminded me that I have only been doing this for a short time, and the masters study for years, so that made me feel better. But I hope it’s easier next week.
Other than the dinner on Friday night, I haven’t really been out much. I have instead spent quite a bit of time at home working on my various art forms and projects.
I did actually go out yesterday afternoon as it was a lovely springlike day, with the intention of going somewhere to sketch. But it was one of those days when I couldn’t find anything I was in the mood to sketch. So what did I do? I went to one of my favourite outdoor cafes, ordered a glass of champagne, pulled out my mini sketchbook and began to doodle. This is what came out!
Weird!
On Friday I did the next couple of stages in my fileteado project, and you can see them both in this photo.
I began, at the teacher’s instruction, by painting the outside scrolls. They will eventually be a nice warm yellow, as yellow on a dark red background is quite traditional. But the first coat is just flat ochre, which doesn’t look like much here.
Then I did the second stage of the lettering, which is what is called the body of the letter, done here in light blue. Next week I’ll get to the shading, which is what brings it alive.
All this took an hour-and-a-half — it’s certainly painstaking work. Stay tuned for next week’s effort.
This morning when I went to San Telmo to pick up my Fileteado Porteño picture from Martin, he suggested I visit a church just around the corner. I had often seen this church and one of these days I will sketch the beautiful outside of it.
But Martin told me an old fileteador had created and donated a wonderful collection of fileteado and donated it to the church, so I did pop in and have a look. It was amazing. Not only are there paintings around the entire church, but some of the church furniture, such as the altar and the door, also had fileteado motifs.
Finally, I finished my first fileteado painting! It’s an incredibly difficult form and I’m proud I was able to turn out something decent. As you’ll see from the little video I made at Martin’s studio on Sunday night, I am going to go back for another series of classes in April before I go back to Canada, because I want to learn how to do the fileteado lettering, which is an integral part of the images.
If you are ever in Buenos Aires and interested in learning this, you can find the studio of the Asociacion de Fileteadores at Balcarce 1053 in San Telmo. Martin is one of a number of teachers there, and I can wholeheartedly recommend him, not only for his own talent but for his teaching skill, patience and sense of fun. Gracias, Martin!
Last night I was supposed to finish my Fileteado Porteño painting and I was looking forward to posting it this morning. Alas, it’s still not done!
It’s incredibly difficult work, and it’s a good thing Martin is a patient teacher. Based on what is still left, though, I should be able to finish it OK next Sunday. So stay tuned for next Monday’s post!
Yesterday I began a four-week series of classes in Fileteado Porteño, an art form traditional to Buenos Aires.
It began as a way to decorate carriages in the early 19th century, and from there moved to doors and windows, and now you see it on all kinds of things. I’ve bought some of the small signs they sell to tourists. (This is not my work — it’s by a master of the art!)
It’s one of those things that isn’t as simple as it looks at first glance. There is incredible precision in the widths and curves of the lines, and the light and shade that make the designs look three dimensional.
I’ve had a hankering for a while to learn how to do it. Last week when I was in San Telmo with Venetia, we stumbled across an association for the artists, and it turned out they give classes. No groups in the summer, so I’m having private lessons with Martin.
Yesterday I learned about the history of fileteado, and the traditional way of getting the design on paper to start with. I also had a go at painting lines with the special brushes, which is clearly something that takes time to learn! Anyway, I can’t wait for my next lesson and I will put up a photo of whatever I produce by the end of the course.
A nice bonus was the tango music in the background!
