Judy Alexander Caroline suggested that to get inspiration for your card it is a good idea to have a look at cards from earlier years. Christmas cards have evolved in their design from the Victorian age to the present day. We looked at several different cards from the Art Deco to the war years , here are … Read more
Keith started by mapping out the outlines of fuchsias in a vase using a 4H pencil. To create more interest in shapes and colour he added in two butterflies. He then carefully painted in the background by filling in the negative spaces between the flowers and leaves. Remember that the shapes created by the negative … Read more
Caroline introduced a session on oil pastels by saying that it is wise to use the best quality pastels. The ones she had were Sennelier (£3.50 a stick, or can be bought in boxes). For paper, a rough surface is needed and she was using a brown paper scrapbook (Seawhites).Caroline had a photo portrait of … Read more
Mark Rothko. B 1903 D. 1970 Markus Rothkovitz was a Latvian of Jewish descent. His family emigrated from persecution and settled in Oregon in 1913, where he started painting. In 1920 he moved to the New York Art School where he became anti-establishment and was influenced by Klee, Cezanne and Picasso. Rothko taught children for … Read more
Van Gogh was born in 1853, and had a tormented life with a lot of anxiety. It is possible that he may have been a manic depressive. He only started painting aged 27 and tragically died aged only 37. However during those 10 years he produced roughly 2,100 pieces of work. His early work was … Read more
Collage was first used as early as 1910 and Picasso did some collages. Collage is a great way to add new dimensions to your paintings. The list of things you can use in collage is almost infinite, but here are some suggestions :- Natural things like – shells, stones, pieces of broken glass, seeds , … Read more
Guest instructor, Zara, introduced her favourite method of developing an acrylic painting by using many washes to slowly develop the picture. She said that this meditative process left a painting which was both translucent and in a illustrative painterly way. She used two subjects to paint at the same time so one could dry … Read more
Brushes come in various shapes including round, filbert (a semi round top and great for portraiture), fan, angular, and the flat brush. Each has it’s own uses. Caroline Marsland demonstrated the use of the flat brush at class. These brushes come in all sizes. She chose a medium and medium small to show how one … Read more
Degas was one of the forerunners in impressionism. He preferred to work in his studio, and was not impressed with his contemporaries who painted en plain air. Born 1834, he was a little older than the others. He was a trained draughtsman, who then went on to study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. He … Read more
Caroline Marsland lead us in a demo of a Monet painting. She pointed out the Impressionists of whom he was most famous, were into seeing colours in their environment. `Monet painted with thick oil paint later stumbling with thick paint when his eyesite become poor. He used small strokes that blend often giving a feeling … Read more