Visionary art oil painting retreat with Daniel Mirante

Monday 26th June - Sunday 2nd July, 9am - 6pm
Price: £600 + booking fee

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Creativity is an ability of vast proportions, its true dimension lie un-mapped.

 

Join us for a group journey where we will explore painting craft with the instruction of painter and teacher Daniel Mirante, who will be fresh from teaching for 3 months at the Vienna Academy of Visionary Art.

 

We will be studying a diverse range of oil painterly principles centred around oils and egg tempera, known as 'Mischtechnik'. The mischtechnik is appreciated by visionary artists as a technique which lends itself well to depiction of realms, visions and dreams.

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Daniel considers it a great step-by-step inroad into the deep principles of oil painting.

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Daniel learnt directly from the lineage of fantastic realism via Brigid Marlin, then Ernst Fuchs. He is dedicated to dispensing this knowledge to his students openly to empower their own personal creativity, and in a collective way contributing to the rebirth of the 'dreaming' in the world. His workshops are widely regarded through many testimonies as being both deep learning environments but also fun and supportive.

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We will cover this ground:

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* Composition
* Working from a toned ground
* Beginning an underpainting (principles of value, chiaroscuro, blockin)
* Making and using egg tempera and lead white for luminosity
* Moving into colour - glazing and scumbling

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Along the way we will learn many essential fundamentals about archival methods - best practices in terms of materials and their use, based on the up to date knowledge derived from knowledge sharing within professional networks of the painting restoration and conservation communities.

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In Daniel's words: "It is a group journey everyone embarks on together in which the tremendous collective intelligence of the group becomes available as a resource to draw from, for the energy to pass through many creative thresholds."

Also on this intensive Mikaela Perera, founder of House of Alchemy, will be assisting Daniel Mirante and is an experienced, qualified yoga teacher.

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Each day starts with an offering of a gentle Hatha yoga class for those interested in joining.  This will help you relax and assist you in your artistic journey.  The class will consist of relaxation, pranayama breathing techniques with chakra clearing meditation and visualisation techniques at the end.

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After the morning's painting and tuition a nutritious vegetarian/vegan lunch will be provided with herbal tea and healthy snacks available throughout the day.  Another painting session follows in the afternoon, then the day's activities end with a Yin yoga session, which is a very gentle and relaxing style of yoga.  On sunny evenings this will be held in the garden or on the roof terrace to enjoy the sunset.

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As this is a painting intensive students are welcome to continue with a personal painting practice until 9pm.

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ACCOMMODATION

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Some residential board is available on a first-come, first-served basis.  Worthing centre has many B&Bs available for those we can't accommodate.  House of Alchemy HQ is a beautiful, spacious Victorian house with an original mature garden, roof terrace and yoga/art studio.  It's located in central Worthing a five minute walk from the main train station which has regular services form London, Brighton and all over the South of England.  There is also free on- and off-road parking nearby.  For students in residence dinner is provided and by arrangement non-residential students can also book dinner.  Dinner will consist of a nutritious vegetarian meal with organic wine.

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TESTIMONIALS

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"Daniel has achieved technical mastery of painting grounded in deep understanding of the chemical behaviour of paint coupled with highly specialised knowledge of the history, aesthetics, tradition and philosophy surrounding sacred, spiritual and esoteric art. He generously shared his knowledge and experience in his Introduction to Oil Painting Mediums workshop in Italy and throughout the Visions of the Mischtechnik seminar. It was a pleasure to be his student! I learned the essentials of why and how pigments, binders and modifiers should be combined and applied, and, more importantly, felt that Daniel recognised and encouraged the strongest elements in my painting." - Joanie Conwell

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"Daniel Mirante was my teacher at the Vienna Academy of Visionary Art, where he taught (among other things) classically derived painting technique in the approach of layers of oil paint and egg tempera. His breadth of knowledge is only rivalled by his amazing capacity for patience. I found that he was very present with every student that needed his assistance, and incredibly generous with his time and knowledge. He is a man that lives for the subject that he teaches, and this shows in every one of his classes. He also is very knowledgeable about philosophy and world religions, which gave the art classes added richness and depth. There is an underlying understanding in Mirante’s work and teaching that art can penetrate the deepest mysteries of life." - Jake Kobrin

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"As a teacher, Daniel is able to move the class from uncontrollable laughter to solemn inward reflection in a minute’s time. His dedication to his craft is palpable – he throws his heart into his work and constantly strives to improve himself as an artist and teacher through continuing research and practice. It’s clear that Daniel finds joy in disseminating his immense knowledge and sharing the richness of his mind and spirit. He conveys great beauty in his art, and guides his students towards this goal in their own work." - Hadley Seymore

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"I have had the honour of being taught by Daniel Mirante at two workshops so far where I learnt the intricacies of the mischtechnik (egg tempera oil painting). There is so much to learn from him! Daniel is a generous, thorough & sensitive teacher, & shared all manner of techniques & secrets, some of them rare & ancient. His teaching style was very encouraging, & he has a lightness of being, sense of humour & friendliness that I feel helps his students successfully produce works of the quality of established artists." - Patti Dragonfly

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"It freed me from years of creative block and frustration with my lack of skills. The safety, acceptance and love shown… allowed this to happen easily and naturally. I enjoyed the format, level of technical teachings and presentations very much. I would highly recommend this experience to anyone who wishes to express themselves with a paintbrush… A truly healing and magical journey." - Aoife Brown