ADVENTUROUS ARTISTS

 

The next event on our programme is the first of our sketching days. Members are to meet at Tudor House Museum at 10-30am on the 15th. May to try their hand at sketching different subjects. If the weather is bad there are plenty of subjects indoors to keep everyone busy. Hopefully this will be well supported and these days will become a regular part of our programme.

 

WATERCOLOUR WORKSHOPS

 

The three workshops held on 25th April were well supported with about 25 members enjoying the day. The subjects for the workshops were quite different.

Glenys concentrated on animals in watercolour and her group  produced paintings of  different subjects including giraffes and pandas. All were painted loosely in striking colours.

Ruth's group ventured into landscape painting producing pictures of local views and even Ruth's own studio. Ruth demonstrated techniques for subjects such as water, trees and buildings and members felt they had added greatly to their painting knowledge.   

Botanical painting was a completely new subject for most of Betty's group but all enjoyed producing the detailed but aesthetically pleasing pictures which typify this branch of painting.  

At the end of the afternoon everyone agreed that they had thoroughly enjoyed the day and that the one-day workshops are a great success. Our thanks are due to Di who organises the workshops and to the three leaders -Glenys, Ruth and Betty.

Overall view of the workshop

 

Glennis and her Group

 

Ruth demonstrates

 

Betty and her group

 

David's Painting

 

The botanical painters

 

Vic Betteridge and his painting

Last Meeting

 

NAIVE  ARTISTS NEW MEMBER

Roy Fisher has been selected to become a member of the Association of Naive Artists. If you look at the website www.britishnaives.co.uk you can see selection of Roy's paintings which made up his successful application.

Congratulations, Roy! -  a great achievement.

 

AN EVENING WITH VIC BETTERIDGE

 

Vic first showed us how he drew and sketched and then produced an African scene of a lion hunt.

 

To get the basic form of a subject Vic looks for connecting shapes and curves. He uses lining paper(for wallpaper) for practising. Everything is carefully measured and drawn to scale. Movement is indicated by shading or by drawing the front of an animal in detail and fading out the rear end. Indian ink or Paynes Grey paint are used for sketching. For subjects Vic makes use of B.B.C. wildlife programmes and likes to go to sheepdog trials!.

Vic likes to use chalk on black which means highlights are drawn instead of shadows.

After sketching the subject it is traced then the back covered in white pencil or chalk and a splender blender used to rub in and shade the pencil lines.

We were then shown how Vic painted an african hunting scene.

The canvas was first wetted then the sky painted in cobalt blue, alizarin crimson and white with a large brush. The foreground was painted in yellow ochre and a touch of red. Some was removed with a paper towel to give the impression of dust clouds. Acacia trees were painted in green using a flat brush and palette knife.

The animals were then drawn using a small brush as a pencil.

Rocks and grass and dead logs in the foreground are formed by painting a block of burnt sienna and yellow and then "flicking " the paint out with a knife to show grass. Some green and paynes grey were added as more grass and shadows.

Finally more colours such as raw sienna and white were placed around the outline of the animals to give form.l

As a last tip Vic suggested we all try drawing with the wrong hand to loosen up!