JUNE SKETCHING & THE NEW FOREST LAVENDAR FARM COTTAGE GARDEN

Our Adventurous Artists set forth into the heat at The New Forest Lavender Farm, Landford.

The Cottage Garden was fabulous.

Plenty of choice with quirky arches, shading giving shelters....

elegant planting...

ponds...

pots, tubs and urns...

...providing lots of subjects for our sketches.

Everyone made the most of it!

We enjoyed welcome refreshments and passed round the sketchbooks while cooling off in the tea garden roundhouse.

JUNE ART AFTERNOON

We welcomed another Sue to our art afternoon in June! 

She specialises in animal portraits.

Ali's wolf is still howling.

Claire's cygnets are making waves.

Sue C's pony looks at us curiously.

Di's Eling sun is still setting.

Helen celebrated her birthday. 

The tide is in at the mill.

Henry uses a spare strip of paper to test his colours.

Tina's fence is still being built. 

Creative vibes all round! 

JUNE TRANSPARENCY WORKSHOP WITH GAIL

Gail masterminded our Saturday Transparency Workshop in June, giving two examples: glass and water. She advised that water-based paints using few layers work best.

 

Some paint pigments are naturally transparent. They are the most suitable for transparent washes.

Everyone could bring their own reference pictures, so there were a variety of subjects.

 

The results ranged from soft and delicate to colourful and dramatic!

Many thanks to Gail for such an empowering and enjoyable challenge!

GILL DREW'S GETTING TO KNOW YOUR SUBJECT FLORAL WORKSHOP

Southampton artist Gill Drew presented us with several challenges at our May meeting on the theme: "Getting to Know Your Subject". She encouraged us to make changes in our approach to the subject. It proved to be a fascinating evening!

Starting with drawing, we attempted to experience the flowers in different ways using all our senses. 

We drew the contours of the flowers on our tables loosely, without continually checking the marks that we were making for accuracy. That meant we also looked at the spaces between the flowers. (This could help our overall composition.)

Next we held a flower behind us and feel its texture. Then we were to draw the texture, still without looking at the flower, using different marks.

After that we recorded our emotional response by writing words to describe how the flowers made us feel. 

Progressing to the painting stage, Gill suggested loosely applying thin washes of colour to create a background on a clean sheet of thick A3 paper. Next she showed how she applied paint with a rag, twisting it to suggest petal shapes. 

We were not painting individual petals and leaves, but rather making marks to give an overall impression of them. 

During those two hours Gill had challenged us to think differently about the way we interpret the things that we choose to paint. 

We can try improving our painting style by using our senses in order to achieve a painting with more personal emotion. 

Gill exhibits and sells her work and in several exhibitions throughout the year.

See more online at:

 https://www.gilldrew.co.uk/.

https://www.instagram.com/gilldrewart/

https://www.facebook.com/gilldrewartist