INTRODUCTION TO BOTANICAL PAINTING BY BETTY RACKHAM

 Betty's introduction to botanical painting at our August meeting was packed with information on its history, materials and techniques.

The paper has to be smooth and extra white. The paints have to be archival quality so that they do not fade and the lighting must be even.

She gave us a simple tip for reproducing the exact colour on an object.

Paint your chosen colour onto a spare piece of paper. Then punch a hole in the coloured section with a hole punch. When you hold the paper against the flower/object you will be able to see whether or not it is a match.

Watercolour paint is applied in thin layers with a small brush, taking care to erase pencil marks with a small rubber and keep the paper clean.

Betty showed us how she first drew the hibiscus flower on a piece of tracing paper then transferred the drawing on the paper.

Starting with a very thin line around the edges, she painted petals of the flower (held in a block of oasis) very carefully.

Thin washes of watercolour were perfect to describe the delicate petals.

Masking fluid is used to reserve the paler sections or white areas. Betty would then remove the masking fluid and apply the lighter wash.

The thin stamens were loosely brushed on allowing very fluid paint to meander across the paper.

We could appreciate how much time and skill goes into botanical art.

Many thanks to Betty for sharing her techniques.

She is currently a member of the New Forest Botanical Painting Archive group of botanical artists. Some of their paintings of New Forest plants have been showing in local galleries during 2024. Their botanical paintings are destined to be retained in the permanent archive of the New Forest Heritage Centre in Lyndhurst.

A WINDY DAY IN THE MAYFLOWER PARK

"We all tried to do the Adventurous Adventurous Artists thing outside, but ended up in our cars so we could capture some quick people sketches without losing our paper." (Helen, our sketching organiser)

A strange new vessel floated into view. It was one of Norway's new United European Car Carriers dual fuel ships, built in China and powered by (LNG) liquefied natural gas and batteries.  A generator charges the batteries while the ship is at sea. It can move in and out of port solely on battery power. 

After some in-car sketching, we adjourned to the calm of the Dancing Man Brewery for refreshments, a good chat and sharing our sketches.

TIME TO EXPERIMENT AND PRACTICE IN AUGUST

Some of our August afternoon artists were painting / drawing with mediums that they use infrequently.  

Tina used oil pastels on canvas textured paper. She uses soft pastels and pastel pencils more frequently.

Di painted over an old acrylic painting using water-mixable oils and her own photograph. Her usual paint medium is acrylic paint.

Ali often uses coloured pencils these days. The points were finely sharpened for her robin.

Sue continued her series of colourful buildings using watercolour, a favourite medium.

Kay used watercolour for her colourful houses and this time, marker pens as well.

Linda used coloured pencils to paint the fine details of her cat. She often paints using acrylic paints.

Lesley painted shells in watercolour with great precision. 

The more we practice, the more we improve!

SUMMER EXHIBITION AT ELING TIDE MILL

Our TAS five day summer exhibition at Eling Tide Mill Experience was fabulous! It took place from Wednesday 7th August until Sunday 11th August.

So glad that all the hard work that went into organising, presenting and running it paid off. One visitor commented on Facebook: "I popped by this afternoon, and a really lovely uplifting exhibition".

Past President Mary Maskell cut the ribbon and opened it.

One visitor, a past member of the society, felt a connection with one of the portraits!

Fifteen red dots by the end of the exhibition and some cards sold.

Mary Maskell with members who made it all happen - our amazing committee members, including those not pictured: Chris our Treasurer and Henry our Vice-Treasurer.

JULY MEETING USING LINDSEY COLE'S TECHNIQUES

Our Lindsey-style evening workshop using some of her techniques was popular.

Members prepared to experiment by bringing a range of different art materials to use.  The results were highly individual - as usual.

Of course in addition, discussing and sharing our work is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding activities that we do as artists.

Fluids such as liquid acrylics and inks could be used to create paint runs as shown in Gail's picture. 

Silicone brushes may be used to create sharp edges or to scrape away layers of paint.

Lindsey loves to use flashes of colour in foliage as in this painting.

Challenge yourself and you will increase your creativity!