What a dreadful day it was weather-wise, with snow, sleet, heavy rain and icy conditions causing crashes and delays in the evening on local roads. Several members were poorly too, so we hope you all feel better very soon.

Eight hardy members made it to the session and enjoyed painting pictures inspired by Pablo Picasso, whilst one member painted at home and sent in a photo of her painting. Most ideas were taken from Picasso’s cubist paintings and one from his rose period, using pinks and oranges. Some photos include the original picture that inspiration was taken from. Do you recognise the person in the last photo? A self portrait inspired by Picasso’s ‘Woman in a red armchair’ painting from 1929.

Two members finished paintings from previous sessions, of a full length portrait and a hare. Note the Pantone Colour of the Year, Viva Magenta, in the flowers to the left of the hare.

The next session is a watercolour workshop on Saturday 25th March. Email Tracy to see if there’s any spaces left, or you can come and paint quietly at the kitchen end of the hall.

Angela M has continued to practice sketching birds, with the most recent being blackbirds. She sketched the upper two using a B3 pencil, then used Faber Castell Polychromos coloured pencils for the the bottom one.

Good work, Angela, you are learning from all this sketching!

Here are the session idea for the Wednesday in March, to hopefully give you inspiration, and details of a workshop to be held on the Saturday.

Don’t forget to try and add the colour Viva Magenta to your paintings this year.

Wednesday 8th – 7-9pm – Pablo Picasso

Fifty years have passed since Pablo Picasso’s death and his artwork is still hugely popular worldwide. During his long life of 91 years he painted in many styles, but is best remembered for his abstract paintings. His early works during his monochromatic Blue Period and the subsequent colourful Rose Period are less well known.

Draw or paint a picture inspired by Picasso, or study a particular artwork and paint it. Use any medium.

Here’s a website with lots of info… www.pablopicasso.org

Saturday 25th – 10am-3pm – Watercolour workshop with Sue Bradley

Sue Bradley returns to run a watercolour workshop, having painted flamenco dancers, Venetian masks, sunflowers and cornflowers with us before.

This time we’ll be painting seed heads and Sue will be providing the photos. You’ll need a decent weight watercolour paper as we’ll be using a lots of water, watercolour paints, probably some clingfilm, and Brusho pigments if you have them. Don’t worry if you don’t have any Brusho, Sue will be bringing some to show how to add the colours to a painting and you can borrow them.

Sue’s website is here… www.suebradleyart.co.uk

If you’d like a place on the workshop please first check you are free that day, then email Tracy asap at her usual email address. Please don’t use the comments box below as sometimes messages take days to get through!

Once Tracy has confirmed your place you can pay by bank transfer (preferred) or by cash on the day. There are 25 spaces so hopefully that’s enough for everyone who wants to come.

The cost of the workshop will be £10.

If you don’t want to attend the workshop you can still come along to the session as your subs have already paid for the hall rental. The workshop will take place at the big window end of the hall but we’ll also have tables at the kitchen end if you want to come and paint quietly while the workshop is on.

A quiet night with ten members coming along on a cold night, but the hall was warm and we had a good natter whilst being creative.

Some members painted anything to do with Saint Valentine, patron saint of courtly love and beekeepers. Ron was especially busy painting a card and a wooden heart plaque for his wife for Valentine’s Day next week.

Other members started the next session’s subject of a full length portrait, whilst others painted to their own subjects.

The next session is on Saturday 25th February from 10am to 3pm.

Susan started her rabbit painting last month when the subject was the Chinese New Year of the Rabbit. She has now finished the watercolour with more colours on the rabbit’s fur and the background completed in soft focus, which gives the painting good depth of field, especially against the grasses and flowers in the foreground.

Well done, Susan, your paintings always show such mastery of watercolour!

Angela M has sketched some garden birds with a black biro to show their different shapes and feather patterns. Once she is confident with their individual identities she will draw them again and colour them using coloured pencils.

Well done, Angela, you’ve made a very good start to your project!

Cold, dark January zoomed past didn’t it? This first day of February brings apricity and hopefully a lifting of our spirits as spring looks not too far away.

Thank you to everyone who has paid their subs in January, either for the whole year or the first of three instalments. Paying promptly gives us the financial backing to pay the hall hire fees and also helps planning for tutors to visit, raffle prizes and most importantly, a regular supply of biscuits! :o)

We met on unusual days in January but from February we are back to our usual second Wednesday evening from 7-9pm and the fourth Saturday from 10am-3pm. Just circle these days in your diary or calendar for the rest of 2023 to keep them free for art. Some months have five Saturdays, but we meet on the fourth one.

Here are the session ideas for February to hopefully give you inspiration. As always, if you don’t want to paint the session idea it’s absolutely fine to paint your own subject. Just come along and enjoy the sessions with friends over a cuppa.

Don’t forget to try and add the colour Viva Magenta to your paintings this year.

Wednesday 8th – 7-9pm – Valentine’s Day

Named for Saint Valentine, a 3rd century Roman bishop martyred on February 14th, he is the patron saint of courtly love, the town of Terni in Umbria, Italy, of epilepsy, and beekeepers.

Draw or paint a picture of anything to do with Saint Valentine. Or of a couple together, or one mourning a loss, a pair of lovebirds, the traditional modern gift of red roses or chocolates, or paint anything in a heart-shaped image. Tracy will bring along three wooden heart shapes if you need a firm shape to draw around.

Saturday 25th – 10am-3pm – Full length portraits

We have drawn or painted portraits and self portraits in the past which have been of a person’s head and shoulders. This time draw or paint in any medium a full length portrait to include the body, arms and legs.

It can be a self portrait or of anyone at all. Whilst a head and shoulders portrait can be more intimate, a full length portrait can bring more information about the sitter, if they are at rest or being dynamic with their limbs. Work from your own photos, online images or life. Steve has offered to sit for an hour at the session so you can draw or paint him. If anyone else wants to offer too then please do so on the day.

Our session this weekend coincided with celebrations for the Chinese New Year of the Rabbit. This suggested theme was expanded to include hares and also to incorporate Pantone’s Viva Magenta somewhere in our pictures. Twenty members came along and it was a busy session as most drew or painted more than one picture.

Whilst everyone was very creative with this subject, particular mention goes to Susan as she used Chinese brushes for her rabbit paintings, along with Chinese ink, rice paper and learnt the Chinese symbol for rabbit. Steve also used Chinese brushes for his picture inspired by rabbit tattoos which he painted in magenta and Brenda used magenta for one of her rabbit pictures. Peter used acrylic paint very thickly to create a rabbit whose fur looked 3D, Chris W painted her rabbit in a Chinese style with great detail and Wendy created a linocut image which she took home to print, then sent a photo of the print so it appears here too. Well done everyone!

Here are pictures completed from the Pantone Viva Magenta session on the last Wednesday and a sketch started for a monthly challenge of one sketch a day.

The next session will be on Wednesday 8th February 7-9pm.

Steve enjoys creating portraits using oil pastels on pastel paper. His latest subject is Tai-Shan Shierenberg, one of the judges on the Landscape and Portrait Artist of the Year programmes.

Steve prefers oil pastels over soft pastels as he likes the way the colours lay down and can be mixed on the paper. The first photo is the work in progress and the second photo the finished portrait. Well, done, it’s another super portrait and we can see exactly who it is!

Kay continues to be creative, this time using pyrography to burn a wooden heart with the image of her friend’s dog. It’s a very effective use of pyrography, Kay, and the lettering is very neat, well done!