painting

Art Deco – March 2025 – Saturday

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Last month many of the artists liked painting to the natural Art Nouveau theme and this month we decided that bold, geometric Art Deco was just as interesting!

Eighteen members drew and painted images inspired by New York skyscrapers. Clarice Cliff pottery designs, elegant ladies by the artist Tamara Lempicka, objet d’art, interiors, railway posters, fashion, wrapping paper designs and car bonnet mascots.

Some pictures were finished but others are works in progress, to be completed at home.

Some members created pictures to their own theme, including from the previous session on Michelangelo.

Lovely work everyone!

Look out on 1st April for the next newsletter and the next session will be on Wednesday 9th April 7-9pm.

Michelangelo – March 2025 – Wednesday

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Fifteen artists attended the session and we enjoyed drawing and painting pictures about Michelangelo and other subjects. Michelangelo was a difficult subject but the pictures produced were well drawn and will be finished at home.

There’s Michelangelo’s portrait, the hands of Adam and God, Eve from the Creation of Adam too and the Cumaean Sibyl from the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Also the chest and head of the sculpture of David in the Accademia Gallery of Florence.

Other members finished or continued their pictures from the previous subjects of Fauvism and Art Nouveau or their own themes.

Lovely work everyone!

Our next session is on Saturday 22nd March from 10am to 3pm. Please note that March has five Saturdays but we meet on the fourth one.

Art Nouveau – February 2025 – Saturday

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We had very busy session on Saturday with 26 artists attending including 5 new members. Welcome to Vikki, Chris T, Julia, Sandra and Nick. We hope you liked drawing and painting with us and we enjoyed meeting you!

The suggested subject was Art Nouveau and it proved to be a popular theme with many pictures drawn and painted during the day in pencils, pastels, acrylics and watercolours. Sinuous, natural shapes adorn the pictures. Two paintings had silver and gold metallic watercolour paint on them so they’ve also been photographed at an angle to show off the shiny paint. Some artworks are finished, some are works in progress.

Some artists drew and painted to their own subjects in different mediums.

Well done everyone for your enthusiasm on Saturday, it was fantastic to have such an interesting and creative session!

Next month’s subjects will be posted on Saturday 1st March and the next session will be on Wednesday 12th March from 7-9pm.

Fauvism – February 2025 – Wednesday

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This session’s subject on Fauvism was well attended with 13 artists and most painted like Les Fauves, the Wild Beasts, using bright colours and bold strokes.

Using original artworks or other paintings or photographs as inspiration, the mediums used were acrylic paints, watercolours, acrylic pens and felt tip pens. Some paintings are finished and others are works in progress and will be completed at home.

Some members came along and created pictures to their own subjects and there’s one coloured pencil drawing inspired by the last Saturday session on winter.

Lovely work everyone, well done for being so bold and colourful with your paints and pens!

The next session is on Saturday 22nd February from 10am to 3pm and the suggested subject is Art Nouveau.

February 2025

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In January we had a quiet Wednesday session and a very busy Saturday session where it was good to catch up with everyone. Here are the suggested idea for February based on historic art movements, but if you’d rather come and paint to your own subject that’s absolutely fine.

Wednesday 12th – 7-9pm – Fauvism

Fauvism emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century as a group of artists moved on from the style of Post-Impressionist paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Neo-Impressionist pointillist paintings by painters such as Georges Seurat. Fauvism used strong colours and fierce brushwork and the colours used were often not connected to the colours of the subject. This style of painting emerged around 1904 and carried on past 1910, but the years the movement were most productive were 1905-1908.

Painters such Henri Matisse, André Derain and others used vivid colours straight from the tube and spontaneous brushwork that an art critic called them Les Fauves (the wild beasts). Whilst you may not have heard of Fauvism you will have probably seen many paintings by famous painters.

Choose a subject and use any media to create a painting inspired by Fauvism. Paint one of the Fauvist artists if you prefer portraits.

Info from the Tate Gallery – https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/fauvism#:~:text=Fauvism%20is%20the%20name%20applied,strong%20colours%20and%20fierce%20brushwork

Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauvism

10 famous Fauvist paintings – https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/fauvism-in-10-paintings/

Fauvism paintings on Google images – you will recognise many – https://www.google.co.uk/search?client=safari&sca_esv=05dc5d931443a7b3&channel=mac_bm&q=fauvism+artwork&udm=2&fbs=ABzOT_CWdhQLP1FcmU5B0fn3xuWpA-dk4wpBWOGsoR7DG5zJBsxayPSIAqObp_AgjkUGqenLclubdwP4zrQWfEJDEVVFVXswA8wQATANG0VCCiWAMu4ejmjJF88YytNA4ooH7UaQnCzCG9kHDJcsZiEnf682ytYLMNWtL7sMF7t6s8j1r6aG8tF1Ey2OdkbWmbYM880tDLYpDJgsGVOWrdtT4dkx-ceNUQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjlv7HrqaOLAxU4XEEAHUiCLggQtKgLegQIEBAB&biw=1804&bih=1209&dpr=2

Saturday 22nd – 10am to 3pm – Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau, ‘New Art’, both predates and postdates Fauvism, from c1890 to the beginning of the first world war in 1914. It is such a well known and international style that thousands of examples adorn the world’s museums, art galleries and great houses.

Inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous shapes of plants, flowers and animals, the moment had roots in the works of William Morris (who was our subject in February 2024) and the Pre-Raphaelites. Using dynamism, asymmetry and movement there are not just paintings but sculptures, furniture, textiles, ceramics, jewellery, buildings and other objects. In France this time was called La Belle Époque, ‘The Beautiful Era’, and the Style Moderne and several Metro stations still have their Art Nouveau entrances.

Draw or paint anything inspired by Art Nouveau, or if you prefer portraits choose one of the many artists connected to this style.

Info from the Tate Gallery – https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/art-nouveau

Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Nouveau#Bibliography

Paris Métro entrances – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Métro_entrances_by_Hector_Guimard

10 artists – https://www.invaluable.com/blog/art-nouveau-artists/

Art Nouveau at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York – https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/artn/hd_artn.htm#:~:text=From%20the%201880s%20until%20the,%2C%20graphic%20work%2C%20and%20illustration.

November & December 2024

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Please read everything as there’s lots of info…

Here are the dates of our next meetings-

Wednesday 13th November – 7-9pm – finish paintings or DYOT

Friday 22nd November – 7-9pm – hanging evening

Saturday 23rd November – 10am-3pm – Open Day  (Visitors from 10.30am to 2.30pm)

Wednesday 11th December –  7-9pm – Christmas Party

On Open Day you don’t have to hang your paintings on the walls or in the browsers, it’s not compulsory. We call it an Open Day not an exhibition as a way to open the hall for a day so visitors can see what we paint at our sessions. It’s a good way of showing the group to people who are looking for a local art group to join. So if you have interested friends or family please ask them along. 

If you aren’t showing your paintings please come along and enjoy a day of painting. 

Wednesday 13th – 7-9pm – Finish paintings or DYOT

We all have paintings we started and haven’t got around to finishing. Bring these paintings and finish them off, especially if they’re for Open Day. If you’ve already decided which paintings to show for Open Day bring them and mount or frame them.

If you’ve already mounted and framed your paintings then come along and DYOT – ‘do your own thing’.

Friday 22nd November – 7-9pm   – Hanging Evening

Please email Steve ASAP with how many framed paintings you will be hanging for our Open Day, along with their names and price or NFS (Not For Sale). 

Framed paintings – up to 6 and not too big to hang from the hooks. No clip frames please as they easily break. Use D rings and cord across the back with a label hanging down below the frame or on the front with your name, name of the picture, medium and the price or NFS. 

Mounted pictures – any number for the browsers but they must be for sale, all labelled front or back. There won’t be a list of mounted work, so keep a record yourself of which ones you bring along. 

If you need insurance for your artwork then please make sure it’s in place for today and tomorrow.

From 7pm drop off your paintings or stay and help hang them all up. Please bring scissors to cut the hanging cord.

If you can’t come on hanging evening then please arrange from someone else to bring your artwork. 

Saturday 23rd November – 10am-3pm –   Open Day

*****Visitors welcome 10.30am to 2.30pm*****

We open our doors and invite friends, family and Chalk locals to come and see what we paint. Please don’t be upset if you don’t sell anything. It’s lovely to welcome people into the hall to talk about art and painting. 

There’s no set subject, just bring along something to paint during the day. 

So no one gets stuck in the kitchen for hours please take your turn making teas and coffees for visitors and also wash and dry up the cups and saucers. Please wash up the teaspoons too as they don’t wash themselves :o)

Membership – If any visitors want information about becoming a member please take them to Steve who can tell them about joining the group. 

Sales – If anyone is interested in buying a framed or mounted picture please take them to Tracy for payment. We don’t have a card reader for debit or credit cards, it’s cash only.

Wednesday 11th December –  7-9pm –   Christmas Party

Come along in your Christmas jumpers, sparkly outfits or fancy festive hats and enjoy some quizzes and Pass the Parcel. No painted wood slices this year, we already have several for our Christmas trees!

Bring along a plate of food to share and pop it on the side tables. Also bring your own plates, cups and drinks. 

If your food is for vegans or coeliacs please label accordingly and place on the separate table.

Your partner/family are welcome to come along too. Please email Tracy if you’ll be coming so we know numbers for pass the parcel. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be available as usual.

Finished horse pictures

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The subject of George Stubbs and his horse paintings was popular last month and several pictures were started. Four have now been finished…

Mary found an adorable photo of a huge shire horse and donkey foal in a newspaper, drew it carefully and painted it in watercolours.

Angela used pastels for her horse picture, using rich browns and tan colours for her bold horse head portrait.

Janet W printed words about Stubbs on to Bockingford watercolour printer paper and painted a picture of Whistlejacket over the top in watercolour. She used the watercolours quite dryly so the words didn’t smudge. The painting is already framed as has just been exhibited in a Gravesend Art Group exhibition in the St.George’s Art Centre.

Tracy chose the Triumphal Quadriga as her subject, otherwise known as the Horses of Saint Mark, in St.Mark’s Basilica in Venice. Believed to have been sculpted in the 2nd or 3rd century CE in Rome or possibly the 5th or 4th century BCE in Greece, they were displayed for centuries at the Hippodrome of Constantinople until the sack and looting of the city by Venetian forces in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade. The four horses were then mounted above the entrance of the basilica in Venice until they were looted by Napoleon in 1797 and taken to Paris, but were returned to Venice in 1815. Copies of the four horses are now outside St. Mark’s Basilica whilst the originals are displayed inside under spotlights which highlight the original mercury gilding that remains.

Tracy started with brown paper and used black, white, yellow, orange and brown coloured pencils to create her picture of the horses.

Well done everyone! It’s always interesting to see finished pictures which were started at previous sessions.

The next session is at the hall on Saturday 28th September from 10am to 3pm.

Finished pictures

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We have so many different subjects in our sessions that we often start pictures but don’t get around to finishing them.

Here are several pictures that were finished at home from sessions on Frida Kahlo, painting on a book page, Underwater Life, In an English Country Garden, and Chalk Church.

Brenda’s colourful picture of Frida Kahlo is in pastels as are her images of the dragon and the parrot on a dictionary page. The cockerel is painted in watercolours.

Steve’s posterised image of Frida Kahlo was painted in acrylics and the other in black pastel on grey pastel paper with a dramatic pop of lip colour in pink. Chalk Church was created when we visited last month, again in pastel but using many colours for a realistic picture.

Tracy’s images of Frida Kahlo were painted in watercolours, as were the underwater eagle spotted rays. The cottage garden at Sissinghurst is in coloured pencils, lightly pressed on to the paper so the finished effect is delicate.

Well done, it’s great to see all your finished pictures!

Frida Kahlo – July 2024 – Wednesday

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Just 7 members attended the session yesterday evening, with several members away on holiday or others watching England in the Euro football semi finals. We had a good natter and enjoyed creating our pictures to do with the life of artist Frida Kahlo.

Several portraits by Brenda, Steve and Tracy, a flower study of similar blooms Frida wore by Myrna and a picture by Angela of the Casa Azul (the Blue House) Frida’s family home were started and will hopefully be finished at home. Chris couldn’t attend the session but completed a portrait at home, sending a photo for inclusion. If you do draw or paint the suggested subject at home, please send a photo to Tracy or Steve and they’ll be happy to add to it the relevant post.

Here are our pictures, including a photo of Tracy wearing a t-shirt and holding a bag and tin all with Frida Kahlo’s image on.

Patrick drew a picture of the Frog Princess.

Two more dictionary pages have been finished and they will be shown in the next post.

Our next session is at Chalk Church on Saturday 27th July from after 10am to just before 3pm