Blog

STUDIO MORTIMER

Offering a Constructive Approach To Art

Studio Mortimer is the only art space in Jamaica that gives its students guarantees in learning outcomes. We are in every way fundamentally different from any other art teaching space to ever be established in this country as we are fully focused on not just offering our students the theory of drawing and art, but we teach and engage our students in the science and practice of drawing.

At Studio Mortimer we believe in learning from history. As such we study the techniques of the old masters and seek to apply them in our teaching/ learning processes. We believe that the techniques and methods which made them successful are still applicable today. We believe that Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Titian, Da Vinci, Raphael and many others were great so they have become our inspiration for teaching and learning at Studio Mortimer.  

1. Our students learn how to draw using time-proven techniques;
   2. Are taught by professional fine artists and teachers;
   3. They learn how to draw whatever they see or imagine;
   4. They progress from basic to advanced levels;
   5. They discover human anatomy;
   6. They are guaranteed value for money

We understand that many of us were never taught the basic and foundation principles of drawing, and it makes us sad to see and hear again and again how the Jamaican education system belittles people’s abilities to learn basic things. Somehow people are made to believe that anything slightly above elementary is difficult to study.

It is worthy of note that children who wanted to become artists in the Soviet Union were starting professional art education at the age of nine. In the very first year of the five-year art school curriculum, students were introduced to the concept of perspective and constructive drawing. This is as basic as it could get for a fine art student. All realistic drawing principles are based on this, so it is pointless to teach drawing without giving the foundation.

Ironically, In Jamaica, no school that purports to teach art teaches constructive drawing principles except Studio Mortimer. Perspective is barely taught in our schools and is not even understood by many who engage in the teaching and practice of drawing resulting in students leaving High Schools and even institutions of higher learning wth Masters and Doctorate Degrees and without these basic foundation skills.

We have become hung up on all the fancy tools and equipment and many of us are spending much money on gadgets for digital art yet lack the understanding that the fundamental rules of realistic drawing will be the same for digital art. Many do not realize that achievements in observational and free hand drawing principles will help the digital artist.

We are concerned that the drawing is ignored at our educational institutions and greatly so in our teacher training institutions. I have always believed that while one does not have to be a fine artist like a Michelangelo or a DaVinci, he must have some measure of artistic/drawing skill to be able to design, sculpt, decorate and paint well.

Because drawing is the process through which we probe and solve problems, it would only do our students a great benefit if they were exposed to drawing at an early age. They would not only become designers and draftsmen, but become good and great critical thinkers and problem solvers.

Being a painter/designer who never draws is a bit like being the musician who never learns a scale and simply plays by ear. That musician might be able to eke out some good tunes, maybe make some good recordings, but in the end, they will never escape the limits of their self-imposed exile from even greater achievements.

For instance, great color palettes can simply be copied. But there is math and hard science behind color theory that one can learn. Great layouts can be copied too. But again, there is demonstrable math and theory as to why a great layout is truly great. Drawing, along with study of things like composition and typography, all work in concert to make us designers even better designers than we would be without them.

All the elements of design are rooted in drawing, as is painting. Drawing is the fundamental skill of visual artists of any stripe. The better we draw, the better we paint, and the better we design, because drawing contains all the problems and pitfalls we must overcome as designers. If we never fully deal with the problems with a pencil, we never fully solve our graphic design issues with much cruder tools.

At Studio Mortimer drawing is a must and its rudiments started from day one and continued for all the time spent at the studio. There is no choice; every student has to go through all areas of drawing, becoming well educated and competent in various fields of drawing.

It is quite obvious that our fine art curriculum is designed to give an education with gaps in knowledge. And it is unfortunate that people are made to believe they have to resort to splashes of colour and profanity to gain attention. Ugliness and mediocrity have become the order of the day with many of our people so perverted in taste for the scatalogical that they have difficulty appreciating art of a high standard. It is  also unfortunate that so many want just to pass through enough to be seen, to “eat a food” and no one wants to become a “master” at his craft.

A master is someone who knows more than one small thing, digital drawing, for example. Yes, you can have a passion for a particular medium, but it should not stop you learning other things and learning them well.

At Studio Mortimer, you will learn how to draw, progressing from basic to more advanced topics:

• You’ll start with information on drawing materials and how to use them;
• How to draw with holding the pencil the correct way;
• How to render tonal values using various pencil hatching methods;
• You’ll learn principles of constructive drawing;
• You’ll discover golden proportions and how to use them;
• You’ll learn how to use perspective in drawing;
• You’ll learn sculpture for the drawing students;
• You’ll learn drawing for design and how to apply the principles;
• You’ll learn the human anatomy for artists and its application;
• How to draw still-life, portraits, etc.;
• And trade secrets of unique, creative techniques that are not taught anywhere else in Jamaica;