Thank you to Kay who gained permission for the art group to meet in the King’s Orchard, the private gardens behind Rochester Cathedral. Ten members enjoyed sitting in the gardens drawing and painting the rear view of the cathedral and the stump of a 250 year old sycamore was interesting with insects flying around and into the tiny holes in its trunk. The day was due to be dry but overcast so we were pleased that the sun came out for most of the day and it was lovely and warm. We had a whip round and the cathedral will gain £72.50 including Gift Aid.
A few pictures are finished and others are works in progress to be completed at home. We used pencils, coloured pencils, watercolour pencils, felt tip pens and watercolours. A beautifully drawn squirrel and a hairless cat called Potato join the pictures.
Here are a few views in and around Rochester Cathedral. In the nave is a Short Scion floatplane originally built in 1937 and mini golf with a bridge theme in the garth is free to play. Both are there for another week if you want to visit.
Thank you for a most enjoyable day with arty friends for a good natter whilst drawing and painting en plein air.
The next session is back at the hall on Wednesday 10th September from 7-9pm.
Here’s what we’ll be up to in August, but as usual you can draw or paint anything you want to.
Wednesday 13th – 7-9pm – Paint on a Postcard
It’s now the summer holidays when many of us go away then send a postcard home of where we are visiting. Picture postcards were first sent in Germany in the 1880s but the UK used postcards just to write on until in the early 1900s black and white photographs were printed on one side of a postcard, with the writing and the address on the other.
Whilst sorting through her late mum’s items, Susan came across some postcards of Mount Fuji which have been painted in rich colours. Aren’t they beautiful?
What a great idea for a session. Lots of old black and white postcards of UK scenes have been bought from eBay, with the idea that we paint on them and give them a new, colourful, lease of life. Acrylic paints used thickly work best, though you can use them thinly and still see the photo below.Coloured inks work and coloured pencils, though don’t press too hard or you’ll dent the surface. Watercolour doesn’t work on the shiny postcards but might on the rougher-surfaced postcards and Posca pens don’t work well either, unless you want really bright colours. Gouache and pen markers might work but haven’t been tried yet.
Use colours that would be in the scene or use different colours for a more mysterious or abstract effect. A few postcard have already been lightly tinted and the subtle effect is very pleasing.
Some of the postcards have been used and still have stamps on from the 1920s, 30s and 40s, with words saying having a lovely time, the weather has been good, or it’s been raining. No different to what we write nowadays!
Here’s an article found by Susan about the Japanese postcards. It’s an interesting read…
Saturday 23rd FROM 10am-3pm – Rochester Cathedral’s private gardens
We will be meeting in the King’s Orchard, the private gardens behind Rochester Cathedral, for this month’s outdoor session. We first visited these gardens three years ago and Kay has kindly gained permission for us to sit and enjoy the gardens again whilst either drawing and painting the view or painting our own ideas.
There are a couple of benches but not enough for everyone so you’ll need to bring a folding chair to sit on and your own water to rinse your brushes in. Bring lunch too, but hopefully the cafe in the crypt will be open on the day if you fancy eating there. Travel light with your art equipment, don’t bring everything or you’ll be stuck with a heavy bag on the day. If you use acrylics be aware there will be nowhere to rinse equipment, so bring a carrier bag to take home your unwashed palette and paintbrushes. Watercolours, pastels, coloured pencils, sketching pencils or ink pens would be a better choice.
The toilets are a few minutes walk away round and through the Cathedral and into the garth (gardens) where they’re on the far side.
Please email Tracy asap if you would like to attend or not, as we need to know names for the lanyards that must be worn at all times.
Further details about dropping off your art equipment and parking information will be sent by email nearer the time.
Start praying for good weather, but if it rains we will still meet but inside. If this happens we can’t use any water, so bring pens, pencils etc as ‘dry’ mediums to use.
The Cathedral are not charging us to use the gardens so we will be having a collection on the day.
Tracy saw a handmade ceramic plate online of a boat and colourful, curving waves. She painted something similar using watercolours in many shades of blue, green and purple, then outlined all the shapes in gold watercolour paint. The boat’s hull is currently white but she might paint it orange or red or maybe vermillion, as the colour in between the two. Decisions, decisions!
Last year we had a session on drawing and painting on printed paper, including dictionary pages. One of Tracy’s daughters loves capybaras so that page in the dictionary was cut out and finally used this year. Tracy used coloured pencils and very dry watercolours for the capybara and left the dictionary entry of capybara free of colour. Once framed the page was given as a present.
For the last Wednesday session the theme was the Live Aid concert of 1985. Tracy drew Freddie Mercury singing under a spotlight in white coloured pencil on black craft paper. She’s pleased as the effect is what she was aiming for.
If you complete pictures from previous sessions please send them to Tracy or Steve. We’d love to see them finished!
Angela drew Bob Geldof’s portrait for the recent Live Aid 1985 session and completed it at home. Beautifully drawn it captures Bob and his intense stare at the viewer. Good work, Angela!
Thirteen members attended the session on a muggy summer’s evening, but the aircon kept us cool. Some artists painted the theme of Live Aid, the dual concerts held in London and Philadelphia in July 1985. Freddie Mercury and Bob Geldof were the most popular subjects to draw and paint.
Chris W’s painting of an animal carcass in a barren landscape and an RAF C-130 aeroplane carrying food and supplies is a sombre reminder of the concerts’ aim to raise money for the 1983-5 famine in Ethiopia. £40 million was raised on the day, equivalent to £100 million today.
Most pictures are works in progress to be finished at home or another session.
Other artists drew and painted to their own theme, including a finished picture from Peta of the Angelina Tea Room in Paris which she visited last year.
Lovely work everyone, well done!
Our next session will be on Saturday 26th July at St.Mary’s Church in Chalk, from 10am to just before 3pm, not at the Parish Hall.
Dot’s portrait of Tina Turner for the different ethnicity theme is ‘Simply the Best’. In soft pastels the portrait captures Tina in full singing mode, vibrant and full of character. Well done, Dot!
Chris W has finished an amazing portrait of Sir Winston Churchill. It’s in pastels and she has captured his skin colour tones in such a beautiful way. Well done, Chris, super artwork!
Lesley has called this painting ‘Sheila’s Hounds’ as they are her friends two greyhounds painted for her birthday in July. The background on the original photo is of a radiator but Lesley has changed this to the Scottish Highlands instead. What a great idea!
Lesley has not been able to attend sessions for a while but hopes to be well enough to return in the Autumn. We look forward to your return :o)
Angela started drawing Sepoy Namdeo Jadhao VC at the last session and finished it at home. He won a VC in 1945 at the age of only 23, details of which are from the National Army Museum… https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1966-04-5-1
Lovely work, Angela, with good use of pencil in many tones on Namdeo’s face.
Tracy enjoyed drawing and painting a face she saw online during the recent VE Day commemorations. Dorothea ‘Pixie’ Barron is 100 years old and gave an interview with The Big Issue about her life and joining the Women’s Royal Naval Service after she left school and serving as a Wren during WWII. Last year she celebrated her 100th birthday with a Spitfire flight! Read the interview here… https://www.bigissue.com/life/ve-day-second-world-war-dorothea-barron-interview/
After an accurate drawing was made Tracy used watercolours to capture Dorothea’s beautiful face.
Julia started her painting at the session on Art Deco, with colourful, geometric circles her main focus. She spent a long time drawing the circles then hours painting each one in acrylics. Many of the circles have more circles on them.
Chalk Art Group 