art Demonstrations

Dupont instructor, Caroline Marsland gave a demo on painting snow on Dec 13/17. She used acrylic paint mixed in big batches of colours and started with a quick sketch. She informed us that snow was painted cool the foreground and warmer in the background. It works dark to light. Very often tracks in the snow … Read more

The title of this week’s demonstration may not sound that exciting, but Caroline presented a very interesting session, bringing a rather ordinary subject to life with innovative techniques. There were three images of different forms of rust, each requiring different treatment, as sectioned below: Mosaic Rust Acrylic Mixing  Cadmium Red and Cadmium Yellow deep making … Read more

This demonstration was most helpful for those of us wanting to paint animals and birds. Caroline started by introducing us to painting short feathers, as those on the owl below: Mix three shades: dark, medium and light of the colours of the feathers. Start with the dark shapes , loosely and with little strokes. Use … Read more

Caroline started her talk by showing some examples of people in motion. Artist Sergei Chepik used strong exaggerated poses to bring energy to his paintings such as the bullfighter.   While Mary Cassatt used the strokes of her pastels to convey movement. She painted babies and toddlers who were “caught in the moment ” as … Read more

Today Caroline presented a selection of mediums: Pencils, both lead and coloured, charcoal, watercolours, acrylics and pastels, along with her personal recommendations as to brands. Pencils Caroline favours 8B for drawing, as it is possible to get a really dark tone with it. HB she finds too hard and light, but these can be used … Read more

Painting with Oils  6th September Many materials can be used to paint on: canvas, canvas board, hardboard or paper, but all must be sealed before starting. Those bought ready made from art suppliers are “ready to go” but if you use hardboard or paper, you will need to apply a coat of size or, as … Read more

  The use of  glazes over a black and white portrait painting  gives a different glowing result. Caroline had a photograph of a young person and had painted it in black, white and greys to start with.  She pointed out that it is vital to get tonal values set first. Working from light to dark, … Read more

Thanks go to Lesley McBride, who recorded Caroline’s talk, and to Judy Alexander for the images. Caroline Marsland’s talk today was especially helpful, with the Club’s upcoming exhibition in August now only weeks away. Some valuable advice about choice of frames and examples of different effects will be valuable to those who are putting work … Read more

Caroline began her demonstration with some points to consider before starting an open air painting session. Reconnoitre before choosing a site. Are there a lot of possibly intrusive people around? Consider the weight of your equipment. A half-size easel will ease the load, as you may have to climb for a better vantage point Do … Read more