Gravesend Art Group are holding their annual exhibition from Tuesday 1st to Sunday 6th September at the St.George’s Arts Centre, St. George’s Shopping Centre, Gravesend. See flyer for times and their website details.
Do pop in, you will receive a warm welcome!
When we visited The Friars at Aylesford, Vikki took a photo of one of the gardeners as she worked in the Rosary Way. Vikki’s finished the watercolour and it’s been painted in great detail with a beautiful use of colour. Good work!
Tracy took lots of photos on the day and also on a previous visit when the wisteria was vibrant in the great court. A tree growing in the gardens behind the shrine also caught her eye. After sketching the subjects Tracy added coloured pencils and will probably paint the door and wisteria in watercolour.
Last Saturday we didn’t meet at the hall in Chalk, we visited The Friars at Aylesford, Kent for an en plein air drawing and painting day. 20 members came along and Sue’s friend Annick from France also painted with us, using watercolours for the first time, which is quite an achievement.
The Friars is spread over a large area so some sat with a friend and others with a larger group. It was a hot, sunny day but we all found shade under trees by the pond, in the Great Courtyard, the Rosary Way and near the main shrine. When the sun moved and our chosen spots became warmer we changed to a different area and the gentle breeze kept us cool. Most of the photos were taken by Tracy, but thank you to Gloria and Jane who also took photos. Most people had their photos taken but apologies to Pat and Graham as Tracy didn’t find where you were painting during the day!
During the day we drew and painted what was in front of us using watercolours, pen and ink, graphite pencils and coloured pencils. Some pictures are finished and others will be completed at home. Vikki had the brilliant idea of asking a gardener to pose for a photo before starting to paint her. Some members created 3 or more sketches or painted more than one picture so it was a very productive day
The Friars is a peaceful place to visit with beautiful grounds to walk around and quiet areas for prayer and contemplation. They also offer overnight stays if you want a retreat from the chaos of every day life. Some of us were quite tempted to stay for a few days!
It’s free to visit for all faiths or none, with a £2 donation for parking. There’s a good cafe serving hot and cold food and drink.
The Friars website for more info… https://www.thefriars.org.uk/home
Here’s a surfeit of photos because around every corner was another beautiful view.
Thank you for your company, it was a really enjoyable day!
Our whip round raised just over £70 which was taken to the office and more was raised as some members paid their donation to the box in the car park or at the cafe. Thank you all.
Our next session is on Wednesday 12th August 7-9pm back at the hall in Chalk.
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Our evening session on a blazing hot day saw only 9 artists attend the session, but what we lacked in numbers we made up for with enthusiasm for David Hockney! Also painting with us was Christina’s friend, Sharon, who we hope enjoyed the session and will join us again.
The long life of David Hockney and his thousands of drawings and paintings gave us adequate reference material. Many pictures are works in progress and will be finished at home. Most members drew to this theme apart from the last picture.
We start with Jackie’s super painting. She drew a tree at Shorne Country Park with water soluble graphite pencils then painted the subject in the style of David Hockney, using a couple of reference pictures.
Good work, everyone, it was a very interesting subject and some of us will look further into Hockney’s life and works.
Our next session will be at The Friars, Aylesford on Saturday 25th July from 10am to 3pm.
At last weekend’s workshop Peta came along too and sat quietly by the big window to paint her own pictures.
She begins by intricately drawing the subjects then adding colourful watercolours for all the details.
Lovely work, Peta!
Nineteen members met on a very hot Saturday for an acrylic workshop with trees run by artist and tutor Joe Norris. Workshops in the last few years have been soft pastels, watercolours, and inks, so for those of us not used to acrylics it was great to use them again under tuition. Joe was a very patient tutor, informative on the acrylic colours we used gave us many tips during the day which will be useful for further paintings.
Joe brought along paintings of landscapes with trees that he has painted previously for us to see his style and use of colours.
Here’s his website for further info and contact details if you’d like him to visit another art group… https://joenorrisart.co.uk
We painted one picture before lunch and one afterwards. We started by painting our acrylic paper and boards with raw or burnt sienna then not drawing the image but diving straight in with a mix of indigo and yellow to define the shapes of the trees within the landscape. Joe walked around to give advice as we added lighter greens to our paintings and then the grass area. Most of us hadn’t heard of ‘sky holes’, painted on trees to give reference to the sky, but we tried this technique using white and alizarin crimson or red. We also used palette knives and old credit cards to add texture to the foreground.
Here’s the art group working hard, nicely cooled by the air con. Thank you for the photos, Joe.
We all used the same reference image but every painting created had its own unique feel. Some of us didn’t have time to paint the bluebells but we will paint them at home using a mixture of white, purple and blue.
For the second picture we used the same paint colours to paint trees with a path meandering through them. This time the light was ‘contre-jour’ meaning ‘against daylight’, with the camera/artist facing the primary light source with the sun shining through the trees in front of us. After painting the trees and path we dabbed on white and yellow paint for the sun with a fingertip and then used dampened kitchen roll to lightly spread the paint across the painting for the light effect.
Again it was interesting that we all used the same reference photo but every painting was different. Some could have been painted early morning, midday or in the evening and some were of very mysterious woods.
At the end of the session we put our paintings along one wall and Joe gave us helpful critiques of how we had painted during the day.
We thoroughly enjoyed this workshop with Joe as he patiently taught us with his knowledge. Thank you for coming, Joe, we hope to have you back again!
Well done everyone, you worked very hard for hours and took home two almost-finished paintings.
Look out for the next newsletter on 1st July. Our next session is on Wednesday 8th July from 7-9pm.
Thirteen members met in the evening to draw and paint their interpretation of the word ‘reflections’, in a real or imagined way.
Some pictures are finished and others are works in progress to be completed at home. It’s interesting how one word can lead to so many different interpretations. Well done to Brenda who brought in a mirror and drew a self portrait.
Two members created pictures to their own subject.
Good work everyone!
Our next session will be on Saturday 27th June, 10am to 3pm, and will be an acrylic workshop with Joe Norris. There are a couple of spaces left so please email Tracy asap if you want a place.
At St.George’s Church Gardens, Gravesend, from 10am to 3pm.
Fifteen members met on Wednesday evening with the suggested subject being Sir David Attenborough as he reached his 100 birthday last week. An event about his life was filmed at the Royal Albert Hall, London on his birthday and was broadcast on BBC1. If you missed it, it’s called ‘David Attenborough’s 100 years on Planet Earth’ and is currently on BBC iPlayer through your tv or online. Well worth watching.
Many portraits were started and one picture was inspired by David’s animal kingdom interest around the world. Mediums used were graphite pencils, coloured pencils, Quink ink, watercolours, acrylics and pastels. Some are finished but most are works in progress and will be finished at home .
Some artists drew and painted to their own theme, starting or continuing with their work. The first photo is of Sandra’s beautiful landscape using pastel pencils on Pastelmat paper with amazing attention to detail. Super work!
Well done everyone, it was a very productive evening.
The next session is on Saturday 23rd May from 10am to 3pm, see the post from 1st May for more info.
The follow was seen on Instagram. Given David’s long life and his decades of documentaries, is it a possibility? ;o)
Chalk Art Group 