PAST EVENTS
Lynda Kettle
‘Art and Design in Theatre and Television as a Production Designer’
Lynda Kettle came to our April meeting to talk about her career as an Art Director and Production Designer in the theatre and television.
She began by telling us how she was inspired at an early age, when a teacher had taken her class to the theatre and they had visited the back stage area. From then on she wanted to be a theatre designer and later found the perfect course in Birmingham. She described the training, where the students were required to design sets and costumes for different plays. She brought along models of sets for us to see and slides of some of the costume designs.
After some time working in the theatre, Lynda secured a post with the BBC at Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham, where she worked on many popular television programmes for over 30 years. These included Howards Way, Two Point Four Children Angels. She gave us an insight into how things worked in the studio, all based on detailed technical drawings used by the whole team. She commented that currently filming is more often done on location, rather than in the studio.
Lynda left the BBC and worked as a freelance designer before taking up painting again. She now has a studio in Sidmouth, exhibits regularly and teaches a wide variety of art workshops in the South West.
SIMON RIPLEy: Printmaking
DEMONSTRATION AND WORKSHOP
Simon Ripley is one of the founder members of Double Elephant in the Phoenix Art Centre in Exeter.
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His morning demonstration covered a wide variety of techniques, producing a fascinating diversity of prints. He certainly opened our eyes to to the tremendous breadth of style within the print genre.
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In the afternoon we were treated to three techniques, each utilising the very satisfyingly tactile printing press.
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Mono printing using found and gathered objects such a s leaves, textures and cut card to make spontaneous and free colour images.
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Collagraph which is used to build a cardboard printing plate that can be printed in multiple colours.
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Drypoint, which is an etching or drawing based process to make line work that can be based on previous sketches or other ideas.
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"Taking Three Lines For a Walk"
by John Miller
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Our speaker for February was club member John Miller.
Following his retirement fromjohncharlemiller.com a busy professional life as an architect, John has been engrossed in painting and print making. He paints in Indian Inks and oils and prints with relief ink and silk screen.
Favourite subjects include landscape and architecture. He is fascinated by the particular qualities of place, the 'genius locii'. His work is figurative but often semi-abstract.
John exhibits annually in Budleigh Salterton and Scotland.
His website can be found at johncharlesmiller.com
JAKE WINKLE
DEMONSTRATION AND WORKSHOP
Our demonstration this month was given by Jake Winkle. Jake did a foundation course at Bournemouth College of Art in 1984, before going on to study Expressive Arts at Brighton Polytechnic. Graduating in 1987, and after a spell in industry, he became a full time artist and began to focus on watercolour painting.
In the demo he told us of the techniques he uses to produce his very expressive watercolours - mainly of animals. First of all he uses Arches paper because it absorbs the paint better than Bockingford and that way it doesn’t lift off the wash and he can build up layers. He always uses wet into wet and round sable brushes. The initial sketch is done in a 2B pencil onto ready stretched paper. His palette has a separate area for mixing his paints and he uses all the primary and secondary colours. If he uses masking fluid he coats his brush in soap or washing up liquid first so it creates a barrier and doesn’t ruin the bristles.
Jake chose to paint a picture from a photograph of two tigers face to face which he drew freehand but he does sometimes trace his drawings. He started with the eye and nose and then needed to wet the paper again with his brush and work quickly. He used cobalt blue for the shadows and lots of oranges, sienna etc to do the basic colouring adding black to the painting whilst still quite damp so the black softened around the edges. All this was done very quickly with added flicks of white and black before painting the background a neutral colour and adding whiskers! The end result looked incredible considering the time Jake took to paint it!
The workshop with Jake was enlightening. He demonstrated his version of the colour wheel and gave tips on mixing watercolours. After a brief practice of the ‘wet in wet’ techniques we had seen in the morning we all traced, and then painted our own cheaters. The results were magnificent and participants have been encouraged to bring their painting to the next club meeting for display.
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CHRISTMAS CRAFTING
Thank you so much to everyone who attended our November Art Club meeting last Wednesday morning! It was great to see you all getting stuck in to cutting and pasting, along with drawing, printing and colouring to make your own personalised Christmas cards!
Thanks especially to Lisa ( and her helper Gerri) who taught us all how to print using designs made on thin foam boards with cocktail sticks/pencils and a little imagination! It was very popular with all who tried it! Great fun and something we can all emulate at home!
We also had Norma doing jello printing and another table which included Lucy and Jill making 3D cards!
There were some brilliant designs and I’m sure everyone was inspired to go home and try some new ideas out!
Thank you also to the social team who provided us with coffee and biscuits to start with, followed by delicious mulled wine and mince pies during our break!
The feedback we had was amazing, there was a great atmosphere and we all had a lot of fun! Someone said it took them back to their school craft days and how therapeutic the morning was! So hopefully we can do it all again next Christmas!
If you didn’t come there is a small taste of what was produced in the photos to follow - we asked everyone to submit their ‘best’ effort, and I am sure you will be impressed!
Wishing you all a Happy Christmas from your events team - Gilly and Steve , and see you all on January 29th when we have a Jake Winkle demonstration in the morning and his workshop in the afternoon!
david wilsher DEMO AND WORKSHOP
For our demonstration this month we had the Topsham artist- David Wilsher. David is a very accomplished artist who specialises in acrylics and oils. He brought along some of his wonderful artwork and cards for sale of Venice, Topsham and Exmouth. Before he started his demo he had printed out a postcard size photo of his subject for everyone to have and compare to his painting. It was a scene of St Peter’s church from outside the gateway and he told us he would make it look Christmassy with snow!
He started by painting a background on his canvas, which was canvas paper that comes in a pad and made by Loxley. He used some burnt sienna and with a wet washing up sponge, spread it over the canvas until it was covered. Apparently it doesn’t take long to dry this way.
David uses quite a limited palette of paints -he admitted that he is colour blind, and rarely mixes them so for example he will use greens straight from the tube. He prefers to use tear off palettes and uses acrylic hair flat and angled brushes. He also sketches the subject in paint rather than drawing it.He talked us through the process of his painting and which parts to highlight or tone down. It was fascinating to watch the picture take shape with David quietly working away. In the end he had a wonderful snowy painting of our local church which was greatly admired!Some of our members were lucky enough to take part in a workshop with David in the afternoon.
At the workshop David demonstrated pencil drawings of figures using the “pea & carrot” technique! The figures started simply and became more involved carrying handbags, heavy cases and acquiring children and dogs! We then worked on an acrylic painting of a boat by a jetty. Most of us produced a pretty good interpretation of the boat, most looked like they wouldn’t sink! With guidance from David the sea washed up against the hull and shadows added to the realism of the paintings . The time went all too quickly and most of us took the canvases home to complete.
KARI MCGOWAN DEMO AND WORKSHOP
The lovely Kari McGowan, a fantastic, highly experienced watercolour artist showed us her skills at our September demonstration.
Her floral composition was very delicate and well thought out.
Kari has a very varied palette and a fabulous way with colour. Kari worked on the outside of the paper inward, and the art came together as if by magic at the end. She explained about the nature of watercolour allowing for an expression of light, both intense and subtle, with varying transparency and opacity across the page.
In the afternoon the workshop was interesting and very relaxing with lots of learning of new skills and techniques.
EXHIBITION PRIVATE VIEW AND AWARDS CEREMONY
After a day of transforming the Public Hall into our outstanding art Exhibition on the 16th August, we welcomed the judges, Alan Cotton, Phil Creek, Angela Yarwood and Roger and Fiona Hennah to judge the artwork submissions. The judging categories and winners are on the Awards tab. We held our Private View- an opportunity for club members and guests to get a first look of the exhibition and to celebrate our collective achievement in our efforts of quality and enthusiasm for art. It was a lovely atmosphere and this year's vibrancy, and risk-taking in our outworks were commented on.
During the ceremony, the judges not only announced their award winners but also chose to give mentions to those they had been especially impressed with- this was a lovely way to encourage our club members. We thank the judges for their time and expertise and we hope that the exhibition inspires others to pick up a paintbrush and have a go!
If you are interested in joining, please see our membership page.
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Above left, Exhibition Secretary Liz Dunne
Below: our judges
PAINT AND PROSECCO
On the morning of Wednesday 7th August, the Art Club held a paint and Prosecco event at the beach. About 25 of us gathered at the BBQ area near Steamer Steps and then dispersed to various points on the beach to paint or draw. We also had a challenge from Steve to decorate a fish cut-out - in anyway we wanted, which we made into a mobile at the end of the session.
Unfortunately the weather was very cloudy and windy but we all managed to have fun despite that and assembled later for our reward of a glass of Prosecco to round the morning off.
Many thanks go to Steve Hagger for organisng the event aided and abetted by me - Gilly, though I just needed to be on hand to pour the drink really!
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CHERRY FERRIS DEMO
Our artist for July was Cherry Ferris.
Cherry demonstrated Pyrography as an art which some of us had never seen or experienced before.
Cherry is a self taught artist and started out as a tattooist in Cornwall. Unfortunately due to her husband’s health she had to give this up and they moved to Devon. Because Cherry was used to using needles, it was an easy progression for her to find a way of
using Pyrography on various surfaces using different style nibs -like tattooing!
Basic Pyrography is apparently very similar to old fashioned poker work that was used in Victorian times for marking initials on hides or saddles etc. Its using fire and heat to produce artwork and Cherry told us that the name for Pyrography artists is 'Toasties'!
Her talk was illustrated with a slide presentation which showed us in great detail her ideas and the various illustrations she has produced. She also explained every aspect of Pyrography from the wood you should use to the materials and mixed media to add to your work.
The types of wood that you should use are beech or poplar but definitely NOT MDF! The wood needs to be sanded down first. So if you have a piece of beechwood or an old cupboard door etc so long as it’s well prepared and sanded it can be used.
A thicker quality of paper (300gsm plus) is another medium that can be worked on and depending on the tools you have, you will need it to be a higher temperature apparently! Leather and hide which is untanned can also be used.
There are many different types of nibs available and Cherry showed what different marks they make and which ones were best for different styles of illustrating.
Cherry likes to add to her Pyrographic drawings by adding watercolour, acrylics, inktense pencils- wet or dry and even oils. But she also loves using imitation gold leaf and after our break, in which we could all have a try with the Pyrography tools,- Cherry showed us how to lay down gold leaf on an artwork she had already made. The end result was amazing and really enhanced the brilliant Owl that she had designed.
It was a fantastic demonstration and had us all desperate to give Pyrography a try and produce something completely different to our everyday art. Cherry has written a book - which many members bought today and this month had an article in the SAA's magazine explaining her techniques.
We were very honoured that she came to talk to us and next year she has promised to run a
workshop which I am sure will get booked up very quickly!
Thank you Cherry - amazing art and an inspiring artist!
This years Chairman’s Outing was arranged at Bicton Arena. In addition to an excellent buffet style lunch, we were able to watch a show jumping event which was taking place. This event showcased top quality horses and riders trying to qualify for the Horse of the Year show, which takes place at the end of the year. Our small marquee was situated adjacent to the main arena and literally feet away from one of the jumps, so we had ringside seats!
The excellent food was provided by the Bicton Arena caterers who looked after us throughout.
For members who had never been to Bicton Arena, this was a new experience and several said that they wanted to go back when other horse events take place throughout the year.
Fortunately the rain held off until we had our lunch and didn’t dampen the enjoyment.
Thanks to all who came and feedback has been very positive so we are pleased everyone enjoyed themselves.
CHAIRMAN'S OUTING
ANNA BREWSTER DEMO AND WORKSHOP
Our speaker for June was Anna Brewster. Anna works primarily in watercolours or inks and she brought along some inks and reeds to demonstrate how she uses them in her illustrations.
The reeds, which are in the dried state (so firm) are cut to size and sharpened using a knife to make a nib and are then used with Indian Ink.
Anna had brought some flowers and grasses with her which she arranged in a jar ready for drawing. She suggested using Bockingford 140lb paper as it has a good texture to it. The drawings were not an exact replica of the flowers etc but more of a hint of the flower and position.
Once the ink drawing is done it needs to be left to dry thoroughly before adding colour. This can be using acrylic inks or watercolour and as you can see from the photos her style is to splodge the colour on and is very effective! She also did a picture using meadow flowers and said you only needed 3/4 as you can draw each one at different angles. One tip she gave was that if you were drawing daisies then not to draw the petals around in a circle but to draw them randomly so it looks more natural!
She uses a small pallet of 5/6 colours of ink and a full brush with a pointed tip to use for more delicate areas. She mixes the inks on a flat plate/pallet so they don’t run into each other.
In the afternoon 18 of us took part in a workshop with Anna and we tried to replicate her work at the morning demonstration! She talked us through the various stages again and and helped us choosing and mixing the right colours for our paintings.
It’s fair to say we all produced great pieces of work and we were all very inspired to go off and produce some more flowery pictures using ink and reeds! It was certainly a very different method of drawing/painting and we all had a lot of fun especially as Anna was a great teacher with a good sense of humour and coped really well with 18 of us instead of her usual 10! We would like to thank Anna for coming and we know quite a few people enjoyed it enough to have signed up for other workshops at her studio, so it was great success all round!
CLAIRE WESTERN DEMO
Our demonstrator for May was Claire Western. She gave an excellent presentation and, working on gesso primed board, she used mixed media surfaces, newspaper and magazine articles as backgrounds. The Sunday Financial Times and the Hindu Daily got special mentions!
She then painted thinly over this with watered acrylic paints. While this was drying she prepared some rich, painted surfaces using a small sponge. Drawing objects on the reverse of these sheets and then cutting them out- we were amazed at the results as she collaged over the backgrounds. Claire used an assortment of equipment such as sponges, scrapers, stencils and conte pencils to enrich an add detail to the final piece.
CLAIRE WESTERN workshop
Claire’s workshop was a great opportunity for members to immerse themselves in this exciting experimental approach to abstract collaging.
Her expert teaching and guidance was invaluable in encouraging everyone to work very differently from their normal practice.
Artists created a range of imaginative and colourful still life abstracts and collages. One of the great things about using this particular approach is that objects can be created separately and then positioned around the paper/artwork. These techniques and approach to composition could also be incorporated into land and seascapes.
All materials were provided and included acrylic paint, sponges, papers, glue, scissors and stencils etc. Claire also brought along many different objects such as jugs, shells, fruit and bottles to draw and then cut out from our backgrounds that we had already made. She took us through each step to remind us of the process which she had showed us in the morning demo which proved a great help.
Creating this style of art says Claire “is hectic and requires constant decision making and self criticism.”
For us it was great fun and Claire was an energetic and inspiring communicator and we all produced very different interpretations of 'Still Life' in this form!
A very big thank you to Claire for her time and effort plus her enthusiasm and patience with us all! See some examples of the artwork produced below!
LUCILLA PHELPS DEMO
Lucilla Phelps Our meeting this month consisted of a very interesting and informative talk from Lucilla Phelps who used to be a photographer for Sothebys Auction House. Lucilla told us how she started her career in photography when her children were small, as a freelance portrait and school photographer. Then she was asked by a friend to help photograph some antiques for 3 weeks at Sothebys and she ended up staying 15 years becoming Head Photographer. Lucilla talked about all the equipment and all the many staff they had to take with them wherever they went, which was often to Europe to photograph antiques in castles and stately homes. The job could take up to 6 weeks at a time. Then the catalogue would have to be printed and sent out before the Auction was arranged a few months later. One particular auction in Baden Baden consisted of 25,000 pieces which Lucilla illustrated to us with actual photographs of the items up for auction and then preceded to amaze us with the sale price that some of the more expensive lots went for! Considering this was in the 90s a quarter of million then would be so much more by todays prices! Amongst other places she talked about were the Duke and Duchess of Windsors home in Paris , Clarence House with the Queen Mother and Althorp House where Princess Diana was buried. There was also some items that had changed history such as a telegram to the Russians about the death of the Romanovs which was handed in to the Auction House. Lucilla had brought many catalogues for us to browse over and after coffee we had a Question and Answer session which proved very enlightening and she even gave us tips on how to photograph our own paintings namely: Keep the painting upright so its square on and light either side at a 45º angle! I think I can say that everyone was fascinated into this insight into a whole different world that we knew nothing about and what goes in to producing an auction catalogue. We could only look in awe at the beautiful lots for sale that she had photographed knowing they were way out of our league! Lucilla kindly donated her fee to The Jubilee Sailing Trust which helps people of mixed abilities both mental and physical to take part in sailing a tall ship
