Painting a picture of learning

Armed with a palette knife, a shower squeegee and splodges of paint on paper plates, Mark Lobert’s art quickly comes to life.

The renown artist, who recently visited Blackfriars to work with Year 8 students, takes just one lesson to transform three blank canvasses into diverse and beautiful works.

He then challenges the boys to mimic his techniques to create their own artworks.

It is just the third time Lobert has run such a workshop in a school, but he is thrilled to be able to play his part in inspiring a new generation of artists.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

His own career started with “earning some extra pocket money” by turning unloved second-hand furniture into bold, vibrant art pieces.

He then turned his attention to terracotta pots, which he painted and sold at local markets – and were wildly popular.

↓↓↓ SEE THE BOYS’ WORK BELOW ↓↓↓

“I thought, ‘maybe there’s something in this art thing’,” says Lobert, who then moved to painting on canvas and whose work now appears in homes and businesses around the world.

“And so, a hobby turned into a lifestyle and now a highly successful business and sought-after brand.”

Back at Blackfriars, Lobert explains to the boys the different techniques he uses to create the pieces – a vase of flowers, a school of colourful fish and a beach scene – and encourages them not to be afraid to make a “mistake” in art, saying it is all part of the creative process.

See Lobert’s work here.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•