Digital Sculpting Workshop in Porto: Meeting James W. Cain

Recently, I had the immense luck to get into a sculpting course by my personal idol, James W. Cain. I've been following his work since the very beginning of my career. When I was trying my first digital sculpts at sixteen, I drew inspiration exactly from his work. Meeting him in person was a dream come true.

I actually found out about the workshop entirely by chance when I caught a post on James's Instagram. I immediately contacted the Atelier de Arte Realista do Porto and expressed my interest. At first, everything felt quite punk rock. Their website mostly shows traditional academic studies, drawings, and paintings, but there was almost no information about the workshop itself. Still, I managed to communicate with the head of the studio via email. Unfortunately, I was told the course was already full. But I pushed a bit and asked them to contact me if a spot opened up. And several months later, that's exactly what happened!

Now onto the star of the whole course himself, James W. Cain. He is a tall British guy with a slightly stereotypical, likable down to earth London accent. He guided us through the entire course with great warmth, a friendly attitude and humor. It was great that even after six hours of hard work and a shared lunch, we as a group routinely went out with him to bars and dinners in the evenings. So far, I've spent a lot of time describing the atmosphere, so it's time to look at the reality of the work itself. The course took place in a room with many tables arranged in a circle around a live model. They had to hold a pose for several hours with breaks. It was therefore a very traditional, academic approach, and this mindset carried over into the entire week.

It was a very altruistic and friendly affair. The price of the course was, by my estimate, about a quarter of the price, compared to much worse and "colder" courses. The whole thing radiated pure love for the craft and art, which permeated every moment there. Behind this great leadership full of heart are Daniel Gamelas and André Jorge.

Over the six days, we were supposed to create two sculptures. The first two days were reserved for a "warm-up" portrait, the rest of the time to a full figure. The portrait went relatively smoothly, but on the first day with the full figure, I hit a wall hard. I spent six hours struggling to find the shapes, but I found absolutely nothing. The next day, I threw it all away, started completely from scratch, and developed a new sculpture that got a lot more punch within a few hours. The short personal consultations and demonstrations James did for us were incredibly helpful in this.

Another extremely important part of working in a group of such talented people was sharing know-how and perspectives on art. One of the regulars of the studio, the previously mentioned André, who helped organize the entire course, helped me more with a few minor pieces of advice than he probably even realizes.

I think I could write another hundred paragraphs about the course and my stay in Porto, but I believe I've captured the main points and highlights of this incredible ride. After the final party, in the early morning hours and in a quite inebriated state, one of my new friends (who worked at the hostel) asked me how I would rate this working vacation out of ten.

At that moment, I cheerfully blurted out: "Ten out of ten!" And now, with some distance of time, after healthy hours of sleep and with no alcohol in my blood, I still have to say: "TEN OUT OF TEN."