Mary’s surname of Hoade isn’t in the dictionary but it derives from the Old English word ‘hoath’, meaning heath dweller. In pastel pencils on the page with the word heath on it she drew a tree on heathland. Pastel pencils work really well on the thin dictionary pages.
Mary also completed an acrylic painting for the ‘In an English Country Garden’ subject. A gardener in his garden is beautifully painted.
Lovely artwork, Mary, well done!
Eighteen members attended on a lovely bright warm day
As usual there was an eclectic mix of interpretations of the theme ‘In an English country Garden’
Some members continued with the Wednesday challenge to paint or draw an image which related to a page from a book, newspaper or dictionary.
Well done all. Special mention for Tracy who with her image of Fuchsias managed to cover some flowery words with some well positioned leaves.
Some members, as usual ‘did their own thing’
Thank you to you all for sharing your company on such a lovely day
Our next meeting is on Wednesday 10th July at Chalk village hall from 7pm to 9 pm. Do remember that the meeting on Saturday 27th July from after 10am until 3pm is in the garden at Chalk Church
Best wishes
Painting images on dictionary pages has proved a very popular subject.
Brenda rose magnificently to the challenge of painting a picture for her surname which is Paternoster. In Latin Paternoster means ‘Our Father’, the first words of the Lord’s Prayer. The word also means certain beads on a rosary. She used watercolours to paint praying hands holding rosary beads and used metallic paint for the beads and cross.
Mary has drawn and painted several elephant pictures lately so created this image on the dictionary page that has ‘elephant’ printed on it. She used pastel pencils and the thin paper held the multiple pastel colours really well.
Tracy started her picture of a quokka, a small Australian marsupial, at the last session. She had used watercolours quite drily then added coloured pencils to deepen the colour of the paint. Coloured pencils worked really well on the thin paper and gives many options for further pictures without using water on the page.
Well done ladies, it’s really interesting to see the finished pages.
If you complete your painting on book pages do bring them along on Saturday to be photographed, or send your images to Tracy or Steve.
It was a quiet session with only eight members but what we lacked in numbers we made up for in creativity. Painting on a book page proved to be very satisfying with members painting on different types of paper, much thinner than our usual watercolour paper so we had to paint carefully. For those who didn’t bring their own paper there was a choice of books to choose from including a phone book, an RAC guide book, a couple of tatty old novels and a dictionary from eBay costing the huge sum of £1.79 including postage. No new or precious books were harmed during the session!
Removed from the dictionary were pages including the words married, wedding, sunflower and quokka. Words requested to paint another time include hare, lobster, crab, octopus and vulpine, so hopefully these pages can be shown when they’re finished.
Susan suggested this subject and we all agreed it was really interesting. She used a book about opera that had belonged to her late father. Watercolour was used to paint images from an opera on the page where that opera was listed and the paper absorbed the watercolours very well. A very clever idea, Susan.
Christine used an old map to paint a picture of Truro Cathedral on. The third photo shows the painting of Truro Cathedral in acrylics, just above the city’s name. An excellent way to use an old map as many of us have old maps just hanging around that we don’t look at any more.
Kay used the dictionary pages with the words marriage and wedding on to paint pictures of a bride and groom. They will be framed and given as a gift at a wedding she is attending later in the year. What a great idea for a unique present.
Wendy chose the dictionary page with the word sunflower on it and painted a bright and colourful sunflower in acrylics. The page accepted the acrylic paint really well.
Years ago Patrick typed a page about Zoroaster, the ancient Persian prophet. Instead of staying in a file the page has been used to paint an image of Zoroaster. In coloured pencil and pen the page has been repurposed.
Tracy chose the dictionary page with the work quokka on it. Look closely at the first photo for the definition of a quokka. She drew the animal in pencil and painted it in watercolours. Although the dictionary page is very thin, it accepted the watercolour paint well and the colours will be built up layer by layer, allowing drying time in between. There are other dictionary pages Tracy wants to paint but she may paint those in acrylics.
Angela gets a gold star for painting her two pages whilst on holiday in Devon. She had a National Trust magazine with her so used two pages to paint on. One she painted yesterday whilst chilling in the garden, the second today whilst 40mph winds blew outside. Typical British holiday weather! The first picture of a rose ties in nicely with our next session of ‘In an English Country Garden’.
Two members painted to their own theme. Denise repainted a friend’s garden plaque and Peta continued with her painting of a tram.
Well done everyone, there were some super ideas here.
The old books will be brought in to the next session, so if you missed painting on a book page you can cut out some pages to use. If there’s a particular word on the dictionary you want then email Tracy with that word and she’ll reserve the relevant page for you.
The next session is on Saturday 22nd June from 10am to 3pm.
Wednesday 12th 7-9pm – paint on a book page
At the last Saturday session we painted on oyster shells. This time use a page from a book or sheet music for another different surface to paint on. Don’t deface a treasured book but get an old one from a charity shop or use an out of date phone book. Some old pages may be quite absorbent so acrylics or very dry watercolours might be better than using very wet media. Newer books will have shinier, less absorbent pages, so make your choice.
Paint any subject, but you could choose a word from the page and paint that object. A page from an old dictionary would be the perfect prompt. If you use sheet music then the title may spark your imagination. A couple of old books will be available if you can’t find your own surface to paint on.
Saturday 22nd 10am-3pm – In an English Country Garden
Take inspiration from the lyrics of the song of the same name written by American country singer Jimmie Rodgers in 1962. The music is based on an old English folk tune from the 1720s called ‘Country Gardens’.
Paint a whole country garden with a house or cottage in, any colourful flower close-up or in a botanical way, birds, insects and maybe a gardener too if you prefer painting people. The choice of subject and media are yours, and if you love painting flowers then this session is perfect for you. Remember back to when we used coloured pencils with visiting tutor Amber Halsall to create viola pictures.
The song lyrics are below, but a few birds are from the Americas and definitely not from England!
Here’s the song on YouTube (if the link doesn’t work for you then just Google the song)… https://youtu.be/EUyxCP5Rvco?si=YKofuJ5p1UABxBUE
The Society of Botanical Artists have their annual Plantae exhibition online from today for the month of June… https://sbaonlinegallery2024.oess1.uk/Artwork/ViewByThumbnail
Here’s the main website about the SBA… https://www.soc-botanical-artists.org
Chalk Art Group 