Contact
Tom Andrich
Phone: (204)667-1345
E-Mail: HogsHair@yahoo.ca
I have been painting and drawing for over 60 years and have experimented with as many mediums I could get a hold of including welding with gas and Mig welding. Some see me as a” Jack of All Trades” mastering a few. There are so many art materials and so many combinations to play with the results are endless.
I have been pursuing my art career fulltime since 1997. Previously, I taught art in the public school system for 6 years and have been an instructor at The Forum Art Centre in Winnipeg since 1990.
When I am teaching drawing or painting, I challenge students to tackle any subject they are interested in. When we’re challenged, we learn more and when we make mistakes, we learn from our mistakes. Some mistakes turn into “happy accidents”. If you don’t try something new you are just spinning your wheels.
During my 25 years of teaching drawing and painting to adults and children, I have come to the realization that the majority of expressionist and abstract painters do so because they do not have the drawing skills to do otherwise. I firmly believe we are losing the impetus to learn and teach drawing as a base for all forms of visual art. Art Schools are de-emphasizing drawing and promoting more free expression. Too often people are just told to express themselves without being given the tools and skills to do that. It’s like expecting an illiterate person to write a novel or someone who has never had music lessons to compose a piece of music.
I do the occasional “Abstract” for decorative purposes. When I was young I argued that abstract and expressionist Artwork required as much skill as Representational Artwork but as I have matured and learned more about painting, I realize I was totally wrong. We are losing the skills of drawing and painting. There are more skills required to create a Representational image than an Abstract or Expressionist painting.
After taking a week long workshop with internationally known artist, Frank Covino, my skills have improved dramatically. Frank Covino teaches the Renaissance techniques using Verdaccio under- painting. I find this produces colours that are much more natural than the umber or grey under- painting. I now teach my students to start their painting with a charcoal drawing on their canvas working out the values and compositional problems first. The next step is using a Verdaccio 10 value scale paint mixture to completely paint the under-painting in those 10 values. After the value painting is complete, it is much easier to apply the colour since the most challenging aspect of painting has already been accomplished.
I welcome any comments or questions regarding my artwork or my point of view. If you are interested in asking about a particular art material please ask. If I don’t have the answer I will do my best to get the answer.