This month Tracey Emin proved to be the more popular person to create a portrait of, sorry Captain Tom!

Dot used pencils for her portrait of Tracey Emin, capturing her face so well by just using pencil.

Steve was very busy as he painted a portrait of both subjects. Tracey is painted in acrylic and the red background really makes the portrait very vibrant and lively.

For Captain Tom’s portrait Steve used coloured pencil on watercolour paper, making the image look like an old sepia photograph of Captain Tom’s army days in WWII.

Angela D used pencil and a little charcoal for her portrait of Tracey, using long strokes on the hair. This technique gives a textural, 3D quality to a 2D image.

Tracy used pencils in HB, 2B and 4B for her portrait of Tracey, taking about an hour. She decided to use one of Tracey’s neon creations in the image to give a pop of colour.

The background of black acrylic, the neon image in white acrylic and then overpainting in blue and pink actually took longer than drawing the image of Tracey! On Hobbycraft’s A4, 300gsm watercolour paper.

We welcomed twelve members to the session and as you will see from the photos there were three ‘bubbles’ of four members each, with George-in-the-corner allocated to a bubble so he could have chat if he wanted.

It felt a very safe environment with all the tables and chairs anti-bac cleaned beforehand, plenty of ventilation (sorry it was a little chilly!), easy access to water, no mixing between the bubbles and all of us wearing masks all day. We did miss the usual gossip over a coffee in the kitchen but we could chat to the other members in our bubble, catching up with news from the last few months.

The suggested session was The Circus, with many colourful pictures being painted on the day and two painted at home at the same time and then WhatsApp-ed and emailed to me, easy ways for paintings to be sent.

(Apologies for the not-so-good photo quality this time. Instead of using my high megapixel camera I used an iPhone at the end of a selfie stick at arms length, thus being at a distance from the painting and artist. It was hard to see if the photo was in focus and unfortunately a couple weren’t.)

Some members painted different subjects altogether, either starting anew or finishing paintings, including a PAOTM of Tracey Emin, which will feature in a post in a few days.

Dot’s previous paintings were still lifes of what was in front of her and of her garden.

As lockdown eased a little she thought of other countries and has painted three more interesting paintings.

Indian elephants and their mahouts having a break from hard work have made a colourful acrylic painting.

An African mask is the subject here, with so much detail in the colours and small dots.

This vibrant sunset on distant shores evokes feelings of hot days and a wonderful holiday. Lovely work, Dot.

It was so good to be back in the hall for the first time in 6 months. Thank you to all eleven members who came along, especially to Ron and Angela D who helped with setting up and cleaning all the tables and chairs before and after the session.

We actually had room for the tables in the usual big circle, with one person to a table, and we all liked spreading out our art equipment. We can fit several more tables in at a safe 2m distance from each other, so if more members want to come next time then that would be fantastic. Government guidelines do change on Monday 14th September, but we are keeping up to date with what the hall committee advise so we’ll update you as soon as we can.

The upper windows were opened, along with the outer door and the door into the hall. The air vents were turned on to get fresh air inside and even though it was a little noisier than the usual aircon we all got used to it quickly. The 2 bucket system worked well in the kitchen hatch, so getting fresh water and disposing of it when dirty was easy, without everyone having to go into the kitchen.

We kept our masks on all session and the time went really quickly. We all had a good time and it was encouraging that everyone was amenable and patient with each other, thank you.

The subject suggested was ‘skies’, making the sky the main part of the painting. Some made the sky about half the painting, others made the sky 100% of the painting and others were in-between.

Some members did different subjects altogether, with one PAOTM being drawn of Tracey Emin. We honestly don’t mind what you paint or draw, as long as you come along and enjoy the session!

You should have received emails from both Steve and myself (Tracy) about meeting at the hall again. Please read those emails thoroughly and we hope to see you in person soon.

Here are ideas to paint this month, which you can paint on the Wednesday and Saturday at the hall. If you don’t intend coming to the hall then paint any of the subjects and send your painting to me by email, text, WhatsApp or Messenger, on the mobile number already sent to you, by the end of September.

Portrait Artist of the Month (PAOTM) – Captain Tom or Tracey Emin

There were a few requests to paint Captain Tom’s portrait, so if you asked, here’s your opportunity. There are lots of photos of Captain Tom online and even one of him and his wife after they were married at Gravesend Register Office in the 1960s, standing in front of the mosaic wall outside. Some of us had our wedding pictures taken in front of the same wall!

Tracey Emin is an artist that people love or loathe, but for a portrait she has an interesting face as her features are not symmetrical. When she appeared on the tv programme ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’, seeing her vulnerable personality was very moving. Maybe you could paint Tracey’s portrait in front of one her installations, artworks or neon signs?

Skies

A subject for Wednesday 9th September if you’re coming to the hall, or anytime at home. Make at least 2/3 or even 3/4 of your painting sky. September often has amazing skies which are bright blue with fluffy clouds, violently stormy or colourful sunsets. Your choice of sky, but make it the majority of your painting.

The Circus

For Saturday 26th September or any time at home. Years ago circuses had animals, so paint elephants, lions, bears, dogs etc from your childhood memories. These days circuses are performer based, so paint acrobats, jugglers, clowns, fire eaters, the ringmaster/mistress, the big top tent etc. Modern circuses such as Cirque du Soleil have become major theatre events worldwide, combining stories with music and human performances. Look on YouTube for Cirque du Soleil shows in all their colourful glory.