Kerrie Lester’s third painting retreat at Daku was her busiest to date.  There was a difference this year in that much of the painting took place on the deck of the villa where Kerrie was staying, and it became a great meeting point for everyone and a useful storage for their work during the week. Something we’ll do our best to replicate next year.

Kerrie’s teaching style reflects her own exuberant, flamboyant embrace of painting – she has an overwhelmingly physical approach, almost wrestling the paint onto the canvas and mentally running alongside her ever-developing idea of what the picture will be. Christine Oxley, one of her students, described her as “quite out of the box in her teaching techniques. I woke up this morning already thinking about what she said -  it was a challenge for me not to use water as a medium and explore other types.”

Her main objective is to get her students to choose a subject then re interpret it with their individual slant: “Each student paints in a totally different way and I guide them individually to achieve the results that they desire and teach them ways to do that.”  To reproduce the scene to look like a photo is not encouraged! Christine Leaming talks of her constant push to excel: “Throughout the class she works with her students encouraging them to improve and push the boundaries, not paint the bathroom wall….which means don’t fill in, make every brush stroke count. She encourages us to use the paint with medium ( a liquid matt or gloss, thick or thin) which gives the paint more volume, keeps the lustre in acrylic paints whereas using water as a thinner results in a flat painting without any richness. So water is for washing brushes only!!”

The use of medium is a fundamental part of her teaching. She shows students how to use them to enhance the paint instead of using water. Mediums can help to give the painting the same effects as using oil paint: “so if you want to paint with very thick paint a la Ben Quilty, you use a medium to achieve that result;  if you want a to paint with glazing techniques another medium is used, and so on”.

Workshops took place on her deck at Daku Resort, and also out on location. She led trips into town to paint by the harbor and to capture images of the small, colorful market, a captivating sight, described by one student as “an experience in every way – there was so much happening – the people especially the children were so curious with their big brown eyes. It is an atmosphere unique to Fiji.” Choice of subject in the market varied enormously from close ups of the fruit vendors to paintings of the vegetables on display.

And then there were also portrait sessions using the Daku staff as models – something they undertook with many giggles at first, but great decorum and solemnity during the session.

Throughout the week there were a variety of trips to see the surrounding area and participate in Fijian life, from the simplicity of a rural village trip to seeing the operations of the local black pearl farm, the picture-postcard beauty of a swim in the lagoon on a beautiful Fijian beach and  a drink in the luxury Jean-Michel Cousteau resort down the road -  a complete snapshot of Fiji.

Several of the group mentioned the value they placed on having the chance to be surrounded by other creative artists and the inspiration they drew from their company. And as any good retreat should, they said “it gave me the opportunity to immerse myself  in what I really love and truly relax.”

Kerrie’s 2013 retreat takes place at the same time next year: 7- 14  September 2013

In September, Kerrie Lester was at Daku for her second workshop. One of her students, Christine Leaming, writes about the week and what she learnt.

It was a week was filled with painting, new experiences, laughter and relaxation. Each day began with a relaxing stroll along the waterfront, followed by breakfast around the pool. We then went up to the yoga shala, a lovely open sided platform above the resort, to paint the view and to complete the other paintings which we had begun in the market place or on the jetty.

Everywhere we were followed by the bubbly children and the curious townsfolk and I surprised myself at my ability to sit and paint with an audience!

And then each day ended sipping a wine as the sun set and sharing a meal at the poolside table with other guests. Our free time was filled with swimming, shopping, visiting the pearl farm and sightseeing.

Christine painting in the yoga shala, with Kerrie in the background.

Kerrie is passionate about painting and passionate about Fiji. She is an enthusiastic teacher constantly encouraging and pushing each of her students to observe and interpret what they see. She showed us how to achieve this through the use of surface preparation, using mediums with the paint and how to make the desired mark using brush or spatula.

As a result my painting is vastly improved and I am now confident to plan a good composition, tackle figures in the landscape, and to use colour and texture more freely.

So if you wish to be taught how to really use your paints and mediums, and unleash your artistic talents in an authentic Fijian environment, then join Kerrie in 2012 at Daku Resort … I know I shall!

Kerrie Lester’s 2012 art retreat runs from 8 – 15 September 2012. See the Paradise Courses page for more details.

“A picture tells a thousand words”, but which words do they speak?

Elena Parashko’s haunting painting of a marooned ship in a drought-devastated landscape was recently selected as a finalist in ANL Maritime Art Prize in Melbourne and then snapped up on the opening night. Elena, who leads a week at Daku next September, describes how she arrived at the idea.

Paintings not only work on a visual level, they also target the intellect and emotion of the viewer. A painting is an artist’s voice that carries their message into the world. But it’s not just a one way form of communication. The viewer also brings their unique personality and lifetime of experience to each artwork they engage with and this strongly influences their interpretation of the inherent message in the work.

As an artist, I am passionate about the creative process and the influence my work has on others. My observations, values and ideals are infused into each piece I craft but I also allow viewers to interact with my paintings and draw their own conclusions. I may pose questions through imagery but I do not dictate what response the viewer should have to it.

My painting, “Ever Changing Times”, was a fun on a technical level as I experimented with paint and mediums to create a parched earth effect. But delving beneath the surface, I also wanted to create a powerful painting that reflected current concerns about the impact of climate change on our environment. I did this by exploring an apparent contradiction in imagery. A ship sailing through the desert makes the viewer stop and think on a number of levels. “Ever Changing Times” was entered as a seascape in the ANL Maritime Art Prize in Melbourne, Australia – a bold move to enter a painting with no sea into a maritime art competition. But it must have struck a chord with the judges as it was selected as a finalist.

Proceeds from sales of paintings go to support Mission to Seafarers Victoria.

Elena comes to Daku from 1 – 8 September 2012 to teach a week entitled: Evoking the Elements : Tropical Seascapes and Landscapes.