Registration for participation in the Cyprus Open Studios event in October has been extended until
15 May 2016!
If you haven’t already registered, now is the time to get going – the website is
Click on MEMBERSHIP and complete the form. Please note that the fee scale varies with the number of participants working in one venue: a single artist pays €95,00 and it comes down by €5,00 for every extra participant up to 5 or more, €75,00 being the lowest. Just click on the drop down menu next to “Membership plan” to see the scale.
You may also pay offline if you don’t like using the internet for financial transactions. Simply click on “Cash/Cheque” under the Payment button and we will supply you with an alternative method.
You will receive a notification that your form has been sent and after that you will receive an email, asking you to attach your images. Don’t forget to tick the box(es) to show which weekend(s) you will be open to the public.
There is still misunderstanding regarding the purpose and process of opening one’s studio/workshop – or kitchen table – to the public. The sole purpose is not (necessarily) to sell your work; the aim is to engage with the public on your home ground and make the viewers understand better what artists and artisans actually do. We, the organisers, will do everything in our power to bring those visitors to you and your work. To better understand how others do it, please Google open studios in other countries, for instance look at the fabulous Surrey artists here : and also this one: The networking possibilities are endless when you are a member of an open studios organisation.
We still have a long way to go to before we are that brilliant but, believe me, we are working on it!
COLOURS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN
When I went to Italy for lessons in Impressionism, Jerry Fresia, my tutor, used a palette of rainbow colours starting from the left with ultramarine blue and ending on the right with purple, covering all his chosen blues, greens, yellows, oranges and reds in between. Of course, white takes centre stage as it mixes with almost everything. Never use black! He teaches at Lake Como in Italy and his palette is perfect for the colours you see there.
However, around the Med the colours seem to be more vibrant; not that his aren’t – they are just different. On the Med, we are influenced by the spicy colours of North Arica, the ochres and burnt orange, limestone and burnt sienna, mixed with azure blues of all hues of the Middle East, and verdant greens and colourful coastlines of southern Europe. It makes for a heady mix!
I have come to the conclusion that Jerry is absolutely correct in that it is well-nigh impossible to put these colours on a painting surface using photographic images; you need to paint en plein air to do justice to Nature. One other thing I learned from Jerry was that one should never ‘paint like’ someone else; by all means use the role model’s methods, but paint like YOU. There is only one of you and you are unique; no one else in the Universe can do it quite like you. He said: “When you paint, you enter the zone where you do not see objects – you see shapes and colours. When you paint, you become more of who you are.” And that goes for any creative process, be it painting or sculpture or wood carving or whatever means you choose to express yourself in.
Now here’s the thing. All over the world there are people who cannot do what you do, the way you do it. Those people are interested in seeing the magic happening in front of their eyes. Yes, it comes back to that: an open studio is where you invite the world in to see how you make your magic. It’s like a visit to the circus or a magic show where things appear and disappear in puffs of smoke and people do amazing tricks. Do you remember how enchanted you were watching that? That’s what the visitor comes to look for in your studio! Magic!
Let’s give it to them – make them happy. In the process, you will be a much happier person as well.
For further information or any questions, please make contact on info@cyprusopenstudios.com, Facebook’s Cyprus Open Studios or give us a tweet or two on @COS_Promotor – we are here for you!
Remember, 15 May will come around in a flash – register now!
cyprusopenstudios 