Jake Winkle 24 November 2018
Jake led a watercolour workshop on how to produce lively and colourful images of a pheasant and a highland cow. He showed us his wet in wet techniques for laying down adjacent contrasting colours to generate atmosphere and movement. He encouraged a loose approach, where hard edges were lost and colours could be blended. He emphasised the importance of applying tonal gradations to generate dramatic 'alive' looking images. Some of our achievements are shown below.
Bryan Dunford 13 November 2018
Bryan led an in-house workshop which explored the depiction of the human form in pencil and water colour. Excellent handouts and reference materials were provided, which allowed everyone to work at their own pace. Before tea we looked at head shapes and faces. This was followed by a life class with a seated model.
Linda Hampson 27 October 2018
Linda's workshop on the use of oil-based coloured pencils inspired all participants. She expertly demonstrated how to layer and blend the colours, which enabled everyone to produce stunning images of robins. We were strongly advised that a key ingredient for success in this medium is to keep our pencils very sharp! Click here to download Linda's ‘Colour Pencil Magic’ notes and extra material.
Rosemary Ensor 9 October 2018
Rosemary Ensor is a lively local artist who produces outstanding sketches of the human form. We learned to observe where the body weight is concentrated through a series of dynamic poses and how to stress weight and form within a drawing. We went on to sketch each other using charcoal. Some of us found this quite challenging but we all came away with a much better idea of how to start drawing a figure (see below!).
Leah Edwards April 2018
Leah's mixed media workshop encouraged the participants to experiment with different media to produce exciting collages created from materials selected to reflect their subject of interest.
Ann Denning February 2018
Ann Denning led an in-house workshop which explored alternative methods and tools, such as credit cards, for applying acrylic paints. As seen below, participants produced some wonderful dynamic paintings from subjects of their choice.
Richard Eraut January 2018
Richard led a workshop looking at the unique qualities of watercolour and the beautiful effects that can come from simplifying your subject. Choosing simple still life subjects as a starting point, he encouraged a looser more painterly approach, where edges could be lost and colours flow together.
By thinking tonally and painting first in black and white, then colour, we explored the importance of light and dark. Different objects and cast shadows could be allowed to merge together in some areas, with the light itself becoming the real subject of the painting.
