ART DAYS

ART DAYS are mixed media art workshops for people who wish to come along and create their own art in a friendly, encouraging atmosphere.

On this blog site are examples of subjects we have used for inspiration, along with images of some of the work produced. Some of these are done by quite inexperienced artists.

Forthcoming programmes are also posted here and a few 'artists in action' shots.

The days are absorbing, we work hard and enjoy ourselves.
Think about coming along yourself.

22/03/2011

INSPIRED BY PICASSO



Collage and paint.

The picture to the right was created by a lady who has not worked with collage and mixed media before.

07/02/2011

SCULPTURES



Acrylic painting - working with a limited palette and strong tonal contrast.

WINTER BIRDS - PEN AND INK


20/04/2010

WITHIN THE GARDEN

Introduction of palette knives encouraged experimentation with mark making and thick colour.


How many palettes can you use at once????

A TASTE OF THE TROPICS


Working in oil pastel - a new experience for some.

13/10/2009

ALL THINGS MUSICAL




A still life arrangement of musical instruments was the starting point for these compositions. Colours were personal choice.These two examples are acrylic paint worked on canvas.



PAPER LANDSCAPES



Landscapes were created using a range of textured,painted and hand made papers.
The papers were overlapped, layered and built up into elongated collages.

22/06/2009

FLOWERHEADS



The backgrounds were created first, then loose torn paper collage, tissue papers and finally paint.

TROPICAL PLANTS AND LEAVES


First attempt at oil pastel working on a section
taken from a larger drawing.

08/01/2009

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE



Cutting freehand into black and white papers.

Away Day at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

We spent a day working with an artist/sculptor and a practical session building large sculptures in the open using found materials.

01/11/2008

SIMPLY DRAWING

Just a morning to work in pencil, twig and ink, and pens from plant material and wood. Very relaxing.

16/10/2008

UNEXPECTED OPPORTUNITY




We were invited to display some of our work at the Clifford Craft Fair, so a few people quickly got some work together and mounted or framed it for the event. There was lot of interest from the visitors and it turned the foyer into a welcoming and colourful space.

19/06/2008

PLANT FOLIAGE



We made large loose drawings from observing a variety of leaf shapes. We made use of a lot of overlapping and then used a view finder to select a really interesting area to develop in collage.
People worked in different ways to create their collages and for some there was an element of trial and error until they found a way of working which suited them.
Nobody in the group this time had much experience in this medium, and you can see from the pictures how much impact the finished pieces have.

29/05/2008

SCULPTURAL HEADS


We looked at images of heads created by Michelangelo and Igor Mitoraj, and made large drawings in black oil pastel. Then we pasted coloured tissue over the top to enhance the tones and when dry brought out the drawing with more pastel.The final stage was to add paint washes.

14/05/2008

DROP IN AND DRAW


From time to time we have a series of half days just to draw.
For this one we worked from a selection of shoes and boots using fine liner pens,marker pens,pencil,or biro.
We looked at single objects focussing on shape, tone and form in particular, and some people experimented with a variety of mark making.

29/04/2008

ARCHITECTURAL IMPRESSIONS



These pieces of work started with quick sketches from pictures and from life, which were then combined into a composition. Overlapping geometric shapes of coloured tissue paper were pasted down to create a background layer and permanent markers were used to bring out the drawing. Decorative elements and filling patterns and marks were added later.

26/04/2008

INDULGE IN PATTERN

Using Klimt as a source of ideas, we created richly patterned panels using paint,
print and collage.






CLOSE UP ON FOOD

We started by making A4 collages using close up pictures of food and then with a viewfinder selected an interesting section to enlarge.
The final compositions were painted in acrylic.



FOCUS ON SHELLS

On this day we painted in acrylic directly from large shells, placing them in landscape compositions and experimenting with scale.