This summer we were invited to participate in a workshop in Jönköping with Alvaro Castagnet, fantastic, isn’t it, in Jönköping!! At first we thought it was a joke, but, no, he was going to hold a workshop there for two days. Julie Karlsson had arranged this in Folkuniversitet’s premises. My wife Margaretha and I thought it was exciting, and signed up. We gathered in Folkuniveristet’s premises, there were twenty of us, all enthusiastic about painting with Alvaro for two days. First a little talk and then he played a Jönköping motif. A picture he took the day before depicting a street corner with Konditori Bernard. First, Alvaro sketched, then a…

Today we were supposed to paint inside the hotel but Alvaro went to the square in Bugibba. There he quickly sketched up one street. Talked a lot. Alvaro added a first wash where the colors were allowed to flow together. When the image dried, he first painted some dark palm trees in one corner. So he started with something that was really dark. Tough, I think. Then he completed the picture bit by bit, he finished painting one house wall, completely finished, before continuing on another part of the painting. Had problems with the car which he removed a few times and rebuilt. The colors didn’t turn out so well, he…

Today we went to Marsaloxx, a fishing village in southern Malta. Alvaro looked around the dock a bit and decided to paint past and over some big boats. It was hard to find a place to paint, there were boats everywhere. He composed very freely. Used viridian green in the water which did not turn out well. Added a shadow to the foreground to make the water shine. Worked a lot with the focal point, the boats in the foreground. I was very fascinated by how easily and smoothly he got to the city in the background. Very good. We then had to paint ourselves. It was difficult to find…

Today we were to paint again in Valletta. Alvaro first went to Baracca Garden, a garden that overlooks the Three Cities. It was windy and Alvaro hesitated, he decided we would paint there later. We walked a bit into the town and Alvaro found a small square. He sat down and showed figures. He made a quick sweep of the brush, a messy stroke. Then he put heads there and painted bones there and suddenly there was a group of people. Figures should be painted, not outlined. Exercise, do 200 per day. He also showed that each image should contain five degrees of strength, from white to darkest dark. You must never…

Today we went to Mdina, Malta’s former capital. It is an old town with narrow streets, the only place in Malta where there are not so many cars. Alvaro painted a street with a church backlit.His first wash included hot and cold, that’s important. After it dried, he painted dark gray buildings, which surprised many, but he explained that it was backlit.The buildings were painted quickly and in one sweep, you can barely see the border between them. He also put in a cloud by the church which at first looked very dark but then faded and became absolutely perfect. He tinted the ground and placed two cyclists who happened to pass by, one…