In the Alchemist’s Studio (Bundle)

Yellow in alchemy marks the beginning of the soul’s awakening through the passage of its soul’s journey from darkness to light. In India, yellow is considered a sacred colour due to its relationship to the cow, symbolic of the mother of all creation. Yellow is one of the three primary colours; when mixed with blue or black, it becomes green. When combined with purple, its complementary opposite, its colour disappears, and we are left with grey. When placed beside purple, it vibrates with an extraordinary intensity.

Day 1 of the workshop will begin with a talk on the different yellows found
in nature – in minerals and plants, with examples of the processes by which these can be extracted from nature.

Day 2 will involve colour exercises exploring different shade of yellow and their relationship to other colours, with particular reference to the major and minor colours and how these can be employed compositionally using different colour harmonies.

Red has a particular significance in many traditions. In alchemical texts, red, which is synonymous with vermillion/cinnabar, is referred to as the alchemical wedding and was referred to as the philosopher’s stone as it symbolises the union of the opposites and also the union with God. Goethe said that all colours are ascending towards red and that red, therefore, contains all colours.

The first day of this course consists of a talk on the significance of red in the alchemical tradition and a few others. The tutor will also demonstrate the production of red iron oxide from nature.

Day 2 will involve a series of practical exercises in watercolour paint exploring the relationship of red to other colours and the creation of tonal relationships in red through tonal underlays and overlays. Examples will be given of the work of other artists’ exploration of their primordial colour.

Blue is the colour of the heavens; its nature is contemplative; its energy is inward directing. The qualities of blue are stillness, receptivity and depth. Kandinsky in talking about blue said that “it calls man towards the infinite”.

The different shades of blue are understood to indicate religious feeling. There are so many different types of blue in nature, some very cool and leaning towards green, others are more warm and are closer to purple. It is this subtle interrelationship of these different shades gives blue which bring life and beauty to a painting.

Day 1 of the workshop will involve looking at the symbolism of blue with reference to Goethe’s colour theory and parallels with the Persian poet and mystic Nizami Ganjavi. At the heart of colour theory is colour relationship; all colours exist in relationship to other colours and tones. It is through the understanding of these relationships that the beauty of colour resides. The language and grammar of colour and harmonic structure lies in the understanding of the dynamic interplay of these relationships.

Day 2 of the workshop will involve various exercises of watercolour on paper exploring blue through the use of tonal themes incorporating warm and cool shades of blue through transparent and opaque applications as well as colour layering exercises.

Green is the colour of nature, growth and regeneration. In Islam, green symbolises the prophet Mohammed and is considered the highest colour. In Christianity green symbolises immortality and resurrection.

The artist, Cecil Collins, referred to green as a colour of the dawn, the merging of night and day, being born out of the union of yellow (major) and blue (minor). Hilma af Klint saw green as a marriage of the opposites and thus spiritually significant.

During this two day workshop students will explore the many varieties of green through exercises in colour relationships; mixing different colours to achieve green, and explore how green is affected by surrounding colours.

On the second day, students will explore Goethe’s understanding of green and through a variety of exercises in green based on Johanne ltten’s research on colour at the Bauhaus.

Of all colours, black was one of the earliest pigments to be used by artists, evident in cave paintings over 60,000 years old. Symbolically black is the mother of colour, absorbing all other colours and light. Black signifies the receptive, existing beyond time and space, and embodies primordial feminine wisdom—the source of the universe. It is the hidden darkness from which all light emerges.

We will focus on the particular significance of black in traditional Chinese ink making, a craft that dates back to the 12th century. This process involves creating black ink through the burning of resinous pine, resulting in a unique black that is regarded as the finest of all blacks. Additionally, we will examine other historical black pigments, such as ivory, bone, lampblack, and vine black, and discuss how an understanding of ink-making processes is essential to its creative expression.

White is symbolic of spiritual consciousness and knowledge. It symbolises purity and has associations with the moon. It reflects all and therefore gives nothing but itself. In this sense, it is seen as the ‘father’, whereas darkness, which absorbs and contains all colour, is the ‘mother’.

White is the manifestation of the mystery of darkness. It is the other side of darkness and resides within darkness just as darkness resides within light/white. Without the other, neither can exist. White is the physical ‘created’ light whereas gold denotes spiritual, ‘uncreated’ light, eternal light which existed before the creation.

The first day of the workshop will be an enquiry into the nature of white, how it is made alchemically from darkness and its symbolic nature in the souls the awakening.

The second day will be a practical exploration with ink and brush on paper journeying into the nature of white in all its aspects through the seven tones and the seven levels of being, each tone expressing a different stage in the evolution of the soul’s awakening.