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.
On Saturday twenty one members enjoyed an ink and workshop with artist and tutor Victoria Wainwright. We learned about different types of inks, including acrylic and Indian inks and used several colours in different paintings. It was the first time we have done four paintings at one workshop and we all went home having learned a lot and appreciated her knowledge, inspiration and encouragement.
As art group subs covers the hall hire, members not attending the workshop are welcome to come along and create pictures to their own theme.
We started the workshop by doodling with a pen on a sheet of paper, filling in some or all of the shapes, choosing 3 different coloured inks from a large selection and painting the shapes. After this exercise we placed all the pictures on the floor to view them.
For the next exercise Victoria showed us some examples of paintings of everyday household kitchen items. We chose items from a selection for a little still life. We drew the objects in pencil, used inks to paint outside the lines then drew loose lines in pen for the outlines and details of the objects. Having painted within the lines for many years we were encouraged to paint outside the lines, add splashes of ink and it was quite liberating!
After lunch we moved on to watercolours to paint birch trees with a coloured background. Victoria drew vertical lines for the tree trunks, put clean water between the trees then added watercolours wet in wet to create mixed colours. Whilst the paint was wet we added large salt granules to the colours which made interesting patterns when dry. Once the dry salt was brushed off we used Quink ink in black or blue with a cocktail stick to add the lines and details on the birch trees. By adding more Quink to one side of a tree trunk and using a brush with water to create a darker side it made the trunks become rounded and not flat. We added more paint to the bottom of the picture by using sponges and a bunch of elastic bands loaded with paint. It makes a difference to the atmosphere of the woods by the paint colours used.
The first three birch tree paintings are Victoria’s and the rest are ours.
For the last painting we had a reference photo of a fishing boat. We loosely drew the shape of the boat and used watercolours for the sky, land and boat, emphasising the rusty areas. When the painting was dry we used Quink ink or a black pen to outline the boat and pick out areas of interest.
The first photo is the reference picture, then Victoria’s painting, then ours.
We all really enjoyed the workshop, learning about and trying different types of ink, using cocktail sticks with Quink, drawing with a pen and taking home four paintings. Thank you, Victoria, for a tiring but inspiring day!
Look out for the next newsletter on 1st May and our next session is on Wednesday 13th May from 7-9pm.
The hall was abuzz with chatter and laughter on Saturday with 26 members attending the session. The suggested subject of People in Winter was popular and everyone worked industriously on their pictures.
Some members were inspired by the Winter Olympic Games in Milan/Cortina in Italy. If you enjoyed watching the events, don’t forget to watch the Paralympic Games which start on Friday 6th March
Some paintings are finished and others are works in progress. There are so many interpretations of the subject, it’s interesting to see all the themes.
Some artists drew and painted their own themes. Sandra’s stoat is beautifully drawn in many colours and looks a cheeky chappy.
Paintings from previous sessions on Animals in Winter and the Chinese New Year of the Fire Horse were worked on and some completed.
Fantastic artwork, everyone, you did so well this month!
Our next session is on Wednesday 11th March from 7-9pm when we start drawing and painting for our annual competition.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 