The day we were landscaping

On our visit to the Abott Hall Art Gallery in Kendal some of the group had particularly admired on picture though none of us can remember the artists name! It was a sea view with a town in the foreground. The artists had first created a wash then worked rough blocks of colour to define the various elements. Then they had used pen to draw straight lines to define the outlines of the main shapes and details. They had then worked more in colours to define the detail. The way the wartercolour and pen were built up in layers produced a really effective image that stood out. Of course we had to have a go.

Using watercolours and basing our pictures on photographs we first blocked out the main sections. After this was dry we used marker pens to draw in the main details. Then another layer of colour and finally the finishing touches in pen. Some did more layers than others.

The day we got the maps out

We had been looking at the work of various artists who's work had either been inspired by or had been created on maps. We then set to working on top of maps, some redrawing and others incorporating maps into their pictures. A lot of the group liked theirs so much they took them away so here is a selection of what is left!

Most set to with chalk pastels. If you use a wet paint brush on the chalk after it produces a wash effect and can make the colours stronger. Others used watercolours or acrylic.



The day we visited Abbot Hall Art Gallery

We visited the Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Kendal. The staff were excellent and extremly helpful. I had planned that we would spend some time sketching in the gallery but in the end the group decided they did'nt want to. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him sketch! The gallery had provided us with pencils, boards and paper if we wanted it.

The various rooms contained a standing collection and a celebration of fifty years of the gallery. This was really interesting reading why individuals had chosen the various pictures. I was really pleased as the visit stimulated great discussion among the group about the pictures, how they were painted, the materials used, the meaning and the composition.

It has fired them up and they now have a long list of things they would like to try and do in the group.

I can highly recommend the gallery for a visit if you are in Kendal.

www.abbothall.org.uk

The day we charcoaled

Having worked with ink pens we had a go with charcoal. I encouraged the group to be quite free and easy not worrying about accuracy when trying to sketch each other round the table. We also explored smudging the charcoal to produce shadows.

After a while some of us turned to abstract ideas and began drawing freely from our own ideas just to see what we could do with the charcoal.



The day we pen and inked

Having had a few messy weeks with plaster of paris and marbling we opted for a less chaotic drawing session. We looked at the work of Stephen Wiltshire the autistic artist who draws scenes from memory in pen.

We had a practise to warm up and then set about drawing scenes from guide books or old photographs from the 19th century of buildings. We used disposable fountain pens. Using ink frees you up a bit as you know that if you go wrong you can't rub out. We found that going over lines and adjusting them worked well building up the image using multiple strokes to good effect.

The day we marbelled

Equipment needed,(the things we used)
Marble inks,(acrylic paint will do)
Various sizes and types of paper or card and envelopes.
Aluminium trays the larger the better (turkey size) or even a cat litter tray will do, emptied and cleaned of coarse!
Table covering.
Stirrers, bedstraws sticks cocktail or coffee stirres from a well know coffee café!
Cover table.
Fill tray with water.
Drop generous amounts of ink on top of water ( thin down acrylic paint if using.)
Using a stirrer gently mix the colours (not too much as starts to get muddy)
Gently place paper on top of water ,trying to avoid air pockets lift off and place on newspaper to dry.

We found that we had to keep adding more inks often as the were soon absorbed.
Some of us got so into the activity that clothes and faces were a little bit marked, so be warned! Great fun
We are hopping to try out some origami with some of the marbled paper we created amounts other ideas.

The second day we were inspired by Barbara Hepworth and went a little off track!

After leaving the statues to set for a week we set about removing bumps and cutting new marks and grooves into them using ordinary knives. The plaster of paris is very easy to work apart from a massive amount of dust. We then smoothed the surfaces further using fines sandpaper and finally damp cloths to achieve a nice finish. Then we sealed the surface with a wash of diluted PVA glue. Finally we decorated. Some used marbling, some painted faux marble effects and some used acrylic and scratched patterns into the paint.