Chris W chose to create an orangutan pastel picture at the workshop but used a different reference photo to Paul’s. She completed the picture at home by adding to the orangutan’s face and colourful fur and putting in a soft green background. Super work, Chris!
Dot continued to work on her Art Deco lady at home by changing the background from lots of small geometric shapes to larger ones. This has made the lady much more prominent. Lovely use of colours too, very striking.
Dot completed her orangutan pastel picture from the last session which was the pastel workshop. She’s added more hair around the head, beard and on the body using several orange and red pastels colours.
Tracy finished her orangutan pastel picture by adding more gingery colours to the body hair and and taking time on all the wrinkles and highlights on the face flanges. She particularly enjoyed creating the orangutan’s hands and using pipe lagging to soften the greens in the background.
Good work ladies, thank you for finishing your pictures for us to see!
If anyone else completes paintings or pictures from the pastel workshop, please send photos to Tracy or Steve to add to the blog.
18 members attended Paul Hinks’ 5 hour soft pastel workshop and 2 members came along to paint their own subject. Soft pastels for some was a totally new medium and a day of learning for all.
Paul talked about pastel paper and different makes of soft pastel sticks and pastel pencils that he has used or uses now. Pipe lagging and paper stumps can be used to blend pastels and an ordinary plastic rubber can lift pastel from the paper. We were shown how to add a grid to a photo on an iPad using an app called ‘CopyIt The Grid Drawing Method’, which costs £9.99 from the Apple App Store, and how useful the greyscale tonal chart is for finding the tonal value of an area of a picture.
Paul had asked which wild animals the members would like to create in pastels and the top three animals requested were an orangutan, lynx and elephant, with a crocodile also suggested as you don’t see many in pictures. Using a large sheet of white Pastelmat paper he divided the sheet in 4 and used each quarter to concentrate on an animal.
With the orangutan Paul showed us how us how to complete the initial drawing and then add colours and shapes to achieve the texture of the hair and flanges. On the lynx we were shown how to achieve likeness of the fluffy ear hairs by using several colours of pastel pencil. The crocodile had scale shapes added and on the elephant we saw how to use dark pastel to create the trunk’s wrinkly shapes. Such a brilliant way to show all 4 animals in one go. Here’s the sheet at the end of the session…
The workshop started in a structured way as we coloured backgrounds and started sketching but soon we worked at different paces as some began adding pastel slowly and others confidently dived in with their pastels. Paul walked around several times to give advice to everyone individually and was a very personable and patient tutor as we could ask him anything and he helped us. Some members brought in their own wild animal reference pictures and he tailored his advice to each person.
Have a look at his accounts on Facebook as ‘Paul Hinks Art’ and Instagram as ‘paulhinksart’ to see his other artwork and commissions as they are amazing. Please give him a follow to see new works as they are posted.
Several photos were taken of members’ work at lunchtime as they left their desks to get another tea or coffee, but not all are shown. These photos show the many different makes of pastels being used and how we were a bit messy!
At the end of the session all the pictures were placed along the ledge at the side of the hall for all to see. The photos are grouped by similar animal, with individual ones at the end. Some are finished and others will be completed at home, so please send your photos to Tracy or Steve when finished. No one did the elephant’s head and full trunk, so will anyone give it a go at home?
Thank you, Paul, for such an informative and enjoyable workshop, we all had a marvellous day learning from you! We hope you will return for another workshop with us.
May’s sessions will be posted on Thursday 1st and the next session at the hall will be on Wednesday May 14th 7-9pm.
The group has had a good start to the year with five new members and most other members attending one session or other which is great news. For those too poorly to attend at the moment, we wish you well so you can paint with us again very soon!
Here are this month’s session ideas and, as always, they are simply suggestions, you can come along and ‘do your own thing’.
Wednesday 9th – 7-9pm – JMW Turner 1775-1851
Born 250 years ago this month Joseph Mallord William Turner is known mostly for his oil paintings but he was also a printmaker and watercolourist. We had a session on Turner a few years ago when his image first adorned the new polymer £20 note, but as it was a successful session and everyone was inspired by his use of light and drama, we return to him. Draw or paint a dramatic scene using colour and light in any medium.
Info on Wiki… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._M._W._Turner
National Gallery info, scroll down to see his paintings… https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/joseph-mallord-william-turner
10 Turner paintings… https://animato.uk/blogs/news/turners-top-10?srsltid=AfmBOoo1eUNFk_g7e7rAvrq8napKD7t4z6hyZ7qacDsRkj6cHRdZ4iS2
Saturday 26th – 10am-3pm – Soft pastel, wild animal workshop with Paul Hinks
Paul Hinks ran a workshop with us in March 2024 and as there have been so many positive comments about the day, he is returning. Paul is a local artist whose work you may have seen at an Under the Rainbow exhibition at Bluewater and at events in Gravesend. His pastel artworks and paintings are absolutely amazing and you can see them here on his website… https://paulhinksart.co.uk
Here’s the blog post of Paul’s last workshop if you want to see what we did… https://chalkartgroup.uk/2024/03/24/saturday-23rd-march-2024-paul-hinks-soft-pastel-workshop/
It will be a soft pastel workshop and the subject will be wild animals again as this is his speciality. More details of photographs and equipment needed will be supplied very soon to give you time to purchase items, but you don’t have to spend anything if you don’t want to, bring along what you have. Oil pastels are not suitable though, you do need soft pastels which are the chalky ones.
At March’s Wednesday session Tracy asked everyone what animal they’d like to create in pastel and eleven different animals were suggested, with several people not minding. Paul will find reference pictures of the top 5 animals suggested and send Tracy an email which will be forwarded to you. If you’d rather source your own reference photos of wild animals that’s absolutely fine, just make sure that you have the correct colours for that animal. It’s no good choosing a flamingo or tiger then realising that you only have blue and green pastels!
The cost will be £12 each to cover Paul’s fee, the hall hire fee already covered by your subs. Please note that Paul is booked for 5 hours from 10am to 3pm so we plan to have an exhibition of all our work on the ledge about 2.45pm to admire what we’ve created.
Please turn up promptly to start at 10am so we don’t waste any time. If you arrive late (we appreciate parking can be difficult at times) please find a free seat and unpack quietly.
Check the date first to see if you are available. If you are free and want to attend then EMAIL Tracy on her usual email address, or text or use WhatsApp to message her.
*** PLEASE DO NOT USE the comments box below as messages can take days to get through! ***
Once Tracy has confirmed your place please pay the £12 by bank transfer (preferred) or cash.
Paul hasn’t set a limit on numbers so hopefully everyone can come who wants a place.
Please don’t book a place then realise the day before that you won’t be able to come. Unfortunately in the past we have had members cancelling on the day or just not turning up. If you can’t come please let Tracy know in good time.
As you have already paid for the hall in your subs we aim to make the hall accessible for everyone on the day, even if you’re not taking part in the workshop. We’ll have the workshop set up towards the big window end of the hall and a couple of tables at the kitchen end of the hall available if you wish to come and ‘do your own thing’ on the day, but please work quietly. Thank you!
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.
Both artists have completed the pictures they started at the last Saturday session on ‘Winter Wonders’ and Steve has also finished a canine portrait.
Steve’s pictures were made using soft pastels and pastel pencils on Pastelmat paper. The winter picture feels so cold that you can imagine the snow crunching under your feet as you walk along the lane to the house.
The dog picture works so well in pastels as they make it’s fluffy fur look soft and strokeable.
Angela’s picture of a blackbird was painted in acrylics. Lovely use of paint with the blackbird in focus in the foreground and the background out of focus using larger brushstrokes.
Well done Steve and Angela for completing your super pictures and thank you for sharing them with us.
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.
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!
Steve’s surname of Goldson isn’t in the dictionary so he used the pages with the words ‘gold’ and ‘son’ on to create images of other words on the pages. He used soft pastels to draw a golden eagle and a man wearing a sombrero.
Very imaginative, Steve. Great colours and details you’ve achieved with the soft pastels, well done!
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
Chalk Art Group 