Pureza Oliveira - Studio and Works

"studio cleaned - to start a project" ... pureza

"as the project went on the studio came back to its natural disorder" ... pureza

Pureza Oliveira

art of Pureza Oliveira

the light trough the glass bulb vase as seen, realized

and captured on camera by Pureza

Pureza with a finished project

"Photograph of a small glass container where I was mixing some paint today: Those are the things I get lost into, all this accidental beauty ; I am not a photographer so this is just a document of that small moment before I mixed the paint and it all got completly black." ...pureza

Living quietly, and working diligently in a small village near Lisbon in Portugal, is an artist who I consider to be one of the finest practitioners of modern art in our time. I am proud to know her, and proud to give you a glimpse into her studio and to see a little through Pureza's eyes.

Visit Pureza's website to witness her incredible work.

CLICK HERE

Paula Rego: Telling Tales Video

PAULA REGO'S STUDIO

Here’s something from the Saturday Guardian that you may find interesting. It shows a view of Paula Rego’s studio with a partly completed painting side by side with a series of home made lay figures. As I hope you can see in the photograph the painting is based on the arrangement of figures. According to the article they are made from plastic medical skeletons overlaid with cotton wool and stocking material. In the light of some of my previous posts on Paula Rego and Lay Figures I thought it would be interesting for some of you to see.

“One of the walls has wardrobes full of things to dress my props and models, along with props from other pictures, huge stuffed spiders and monkeys and all sorts. One box just has wigs in it. It is like in a theatre. The case has an accordian in it that was used in another picture; everything is used in different forms at different times.”

You can read more about this on the Guardian newspaper’s website

HEADLINES:

Police to quiz Madeleine 'suspect'..... McCann detective guilty of perjury..... British soldier shot dead on patrol..... Expenses anger 'helps independents'..... Expenses middleman has 'no regrets'..... Baby P's mother jailed indefinitely..... Pressure on to withdraw BNP invite..... Sisters' sadistic killer convicted..... Mother of sextuplets 'recovering'..... Spider-Man star's death 'baffling'.....

The artist has been at the studio since 1993

Daniel Carrier

27.06.08

Leading figures in the arts world are rallying to save the back-street Camden Townstudio of acclaimed artist Paula Rego.

Arts World backs Rego in fight to save her Studio.

Tate director Sir Nicholas Serotaand sculptor Anthony Caro are backing Rego, 73, in her fight against a development she believes will harm her ability to work.

A planning application has been submitted for flats on the roof of a garage next to the studio in Rochester Place where she has worked since 1993. She says the building would restrict the light that currently floods her studio.

The artist, who was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1989 and whose work is collected by the Tate and famous fans such as Madonna, is alarmed at the increase in the height of the proposed flats.

She said: "I have seen the plans and they will affect my light, casting a shadow across my work area. It will change the way I work. I have been using a lot of pastels and light is allimportant for my art. It will affect what I can create."

Rego has spoken before of the "marvellous daylight" that pours into the former industrial warehouse through skylights. It was the "perfect studio", she said.

Sir Nicholas called on Camden council to dismiss the application.

"The character of Camden Town depends on the presence of small creative businesses and a very mixed community, including artists," he said. "It is essential that good and affordable studios continue to be available to artists in the area.

"For this reason, I am sorry to learn that Paula Rego's studio may be under threat from redevelopment." Rego was born in Portugal but has lived in Britain since coming to study at Slade School of Fine Art. She lives in Hampstead not far from her studio.

Camden has a long tradition of housing artists, from Walter Sickert to Frank Auerbach.

Nino De Angelis, the garage owner who submitted the application, has worked on the site for 35 years and bought the freehold three years ago.

He said he was not in a position to build the flats now as he would have to close his garage business for a year.

But he added: "I may like to sell the property when I retire and I have been advised I would get more if I had planning permission for the flats upstairs. I have no intention of putting the flats in yet."

More of Wendy's studio space ... out on the deck

More of Wendy van der Drift's studio space ... out on the deck

I had a clunker moment ... sitting there in the dark corner of my internal studio space with lights precariously

positioned to create the best shadows and sphere, and went out to my kitchen area which is on the deck,

and realised how beautiful the natural light was out there. Fruit was dancing in shadows and light,

gentle reflections on stainless steel bench tops of reds and greens and yellows and dirt colors.

So without hesitation I gathered up my gear, brushes, pallette, paint, easels, canvases, turps the

list goes on, and repositioned myself onto the deck. Halellujah, I have found the light.

Then it got cold, dark and windy, and I came back inside. But I will not give up,

I will venture out as often as possible to that dear lighted area. Some photos of my new space.

Studio of Wendy van der Drift

A few photos of my studio in action. Messy at the worst of times, more messy at the best of times.

Studio of Elizabeth Cummings

The Studio of Elizabeth Cummings that inspired me to start this Blog.