Royal Watercolour Society Friends in East Anglia Exhibition

October 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

For the next two weeks I am taking part in an exhibition in Newmarket. It is by the Friends in East Anglia of the R.W.S.

Exhibits are not only in pure watercolour, but also include any water based medium such as gouache , acrylics, or pen ink and wash.  The subjects are very diverse  -  from East Anglian seascapes and landscapes to further afield.  Abstracts, animal portraits, flower paintings, and architectural interiors are also included. Below are  a few examples of the paintings on show.

Pretty Prawn

“Pretty Prawn”  by Tessa Shedley Jordan

Swimmer

“Swimmer”   by Gillian Marklew

Prospect of Whitby

The “Prospect of Whitby” by Les Williams

Old Hulks, Pin Mill

“Old Hulks, Pin Mill” by John Glover

The exhibition is in the Palace House Mews Gallery

Exhibition

and runs until the 18th October.

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Painting at Pin Mill

August 10, 2009 By 1 Comment

Today, I went painting ” en plein air”at Pin Mill. This is a lovely spot on the River Orwell and is famous for its Thames barges, house-boats and the “Butt and Oyster” pub.

My preferred choice of medium was gouache and I worked on a watercolour board ( Hot pressed). It was a fairly grey day, but there were occasional hints of sunlight trying to break through the leaden sky. As always when working out of doors one has to work very rapidly. The clouds were  fairly scudding across the sky and I was aware that the tide which was high when I started , was very soon going to ebb.

Gouache painting of Pin Mill

I began by very rapidly blocking in the sky using a 1″ hog’s hair brush and diluting the paint with lots of water.  Raw umber, yellow ochre, ultramarine , cobalt blue and titanium white were the colours used. There was no time for fiddling around as the sky seemed to be getting darker by the moment.

Painting of Pin Mill

Still using large brushes and fluid pigment I add the distant horizon, trees and a suggestion of barges and houseboats. I begin to try to capture the play of light and reflections on the water. At times the light on the water is disturbed by tiny ripples as the wind starts to rise . In the foreground there is an almost heavy swell with deeper purple and brown shadows  broken up by the pale green of the water reeds. The temptation is to focus on one section but “time and tide wait for no man”.

Painting of Pin Mill

I now tackle the barges and houseboats. At this point a little more precision is required as I check the scale of them to the landscape and each other as well as height of masts etc. I begin to suggest the rigging using a very fine sable.

The tide is now on the turn and mud replaces what a moment ago was shimmering light. It also starts to rain. It is clearly time to call it a day. So far the painting has taken just over two hours.

It has been both exciting and frustrating. Just as one is beginning to get somewhere, tide, light and rain stop- play. What to do?

Tomorrow I will revisit the scene in the hope that similar conditions will prevail. But I will also err on the cautious side and take another board in case I have to start a different painting!

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Clare Art Club

May 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Last weekend, I took part in an exhibition of work by members of Clare Art Club. It is always a most enjoyable event. The atmosphere is warm, friendly and unpretentious and members all “muck in” to get the show on the road. There is a lot of laughter and joking despite the serious  business of getting the exhibition together- erecting screens, juggling and moving paintings , sorting out craft work. After a couple of hours, however, it is time to retire to the Bell Hotel next door for a meal and liquid refreshments!

Clare Art Club

There was a huge diversity of work on show from traditional Suffolk scenes to foreign landscapes, figurative paintings,  portraits both human and animal,  to bold bright abstracts, jewellery and craftwork. Something for everybody to enjoy as they wandered round the exhibition or sat sipping tea and eating cake.

The art experts

The following are some of the Club members and their paintings.

Sue

Sue Eaton

Jan Couling

Jan Couling

Kevin Franks

Kevin Franks

I had two paintings on show in the exhibition, both oils.

Tina

“Tina”    (40″x30″)

Granny McLeod

“Granny McLeod”   (20″x16″)

Clare Art Club is around 23 years old and was formed by its President Irene Corless. It has 99 members. As well as having two exhibitions a year, in the Town Hall at Clare in Suffolk,  the Club meets at the Bell Hotel for “demonstrations” on the 4th Tuesday of each month.  Anyone interested in joining should contact Jan Couling the Membership Secretary.

Shadow

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Pastel portraits

April 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

When I consider pastels, the words that leap to mind are, freshness, delicacy and spontaneity. It is the closest one can get to drawing and painting at the same time. They don’t require drying time , they don’t “sink” and the colours do not fade.( assuming you treat them carefully)

They have a relatively short history, being popularised in the 18th Century by artists like Quentin de la Tour, Perroneau and Chardin. In the nineteenth, Manet, Degas and Mary Cassatt were the leading proponents.

In this blog, I will demonstrate how I develop a pastel portrait and also show you a few other samples of my pastel work.

Pat, a pastel portrait

I work on tinted paper, the colour usually determined by the complexion, and character of the sitter. I initially block in with willow charcoal, trying to establish the likeness.

When fairly happy with that, I begin to apply colour.Pat, stage 2

I usually start with hard pastels, working boldly. It can be a little daunting, (particularly for the sitter), when this patchwork of bright colours appear. But I am thinking ahead, planning what I will overlay to modify them.

Pat 3

Here, I use a variety of techniques. I cross hatch, allowing the original colour to show through. At other times I apply solid pigment and blend with either my fingers, a torchon or soft cloth. As you will see I am now introducing a background, earring and jumper.

Pat 4The process continues as I modify and adjust the colours and tighten up on the accuracy of my drawing.

Pat 5

” Mrs. Pat Motherwell”

In this final stage, I added stronger highlights and reflected lights on the nose, a bit more detail in the hair, and more modelling on the chin and neck. All that remains is to finish the jumper and necklace.

The following are pastel demonstrations or sketches  I have done, usually in about an hour.The Commander “The Commander”

Young girl“Young girl”

Chris

Chris

Pastels are also lovely to use for life drawing.Peter “Peter”

Or, as I demonstrated in an earlier blog, for landscape also.

A pastel drawing of Kirkcudbright Harbour. I did this as a short demonstration in the pastel medium for the group who came on one of our Painting Holidays in the town

A pastel drawing of Kirkcudbright Harbour. I did this as a short demonstration in the pastel medium for the group who came on one of our Painting Holidays in the town

” Kirkcudbright Harbour”

Tips.  I use a combination of both hard and soft pastels. The general principal is that the soft are applied over the hard. Any areas, like the eyes where I need a fair amount of precision, I will use only hard pastels, pastel pencils, or conte chalks.

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Kirkcudbright painting holiday

April 11, 2009 By 3 Comments

I have just returned from a week’s teaching in Kirkcudbright, Scotland’s Artists’The Harbour and Harbour Cottage Gallery , Kirkcudbright Town.

It was a highly successful course and enjoyed by students and tutor alike. The aim was to introduce students to the charms of Kirkcudbright and the beauty of the surrounding Galloway landscape.

On the first morning , I gave a talk and powerpoint demonstration on Kirkcudbright’s artistic heritage. All of the following artists were discussed and examples of their work shown. The Faed family, Sir James Guthrie, George Henry, E.A. Hornel, William Mouncey, W.S. MacGeorge, David Gauld, William Robson, Jessie M. King, E.A. Taylor, William Hannah Clarke, Bessie Mac Nicol, Sir Charles Oppenheimer, and S.J. Peploe. The aim of the talk was to show what went before the association of the Glasgow Boys with Kirkcudbright and what happened when the peak of their success had passed. A great many of the artists and their work were completely new to the students, art history often omitting those who do not fit some neat category or movement.

Following this, we had visits to Broughton House, the home of E.A. Hornel, The Tolbooth, the Museum , and the garden of Jessie M. Kings “Greengate”.

But I also felt it important to travel further afield and show the landscapes and seascapes which inspired earlier generations of artists.  Dhoon Bay, the Carrick shore, and Mossyard were visited as well as the Galloway hills above Gatehouse.

Mossyard Beach

Students, therefore, had an amazing range of subject matter to choose from. There were the colour washed buildings of Kirkcudbright with their fascinating closes, as well as beautiful views of the harbour in early morning or evening light. Along the river could be found the rotting hulks of old timber vessels with their layers of peeling paint and rusting metalwork.

Decaying boat

A large and light studio was available, but students were also encouraged to take every opportunity to get out and paint “en plein air” . (More of this in a later blog) At the end of the week an Exhibition of students work was put on show. The wine flowed and a most convivial time was had by all.

During the week we stayed at The Selkirk Arms in Kirkcudbright. Douglas McDavid and his staff were absolutely fantastic in the quality of service that they provided- warm, friendly and humourous. Douglas even attempted to educate the “Sassenachs”  with an “Address to the Haggis” and employed a piper to ensure they were paying attention!

All in all, it was a superb week and one which we hope to repeat again next year.

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