Rob Dudley Demonstration 3rd Oct 2013

A few observations on the watercolour demonstration by Rob Dudley.
He works mainly in the studio using photos and sketches.
Sketches with a pen.
Stretched Bockingford paper is his preferred medium.
Starts as loose as possible laying washes on a wet surface.
Prefers bright colours like the quinacridone group.
Gave the example of the unclosed circle i.e. let the brain complete the picture.
Good tip about using a normal hog brush splayed out and set with masking fluid.

I took the last tip a bit further and came up with the following. The advantage of this method is you can wash the brush aftter use and it still retains it's shape.

brush, tile, superglue

squash brush as shown

weigh down in position (or hust hold) then squirt some glue round the ferrule

when dry it should pull off the tile and look like this

use it to deposit masking fluid in random pattern to simulate light on water

Exhibition 2013

A new venue this year after the Elizabeth hall was reduced to this:-

The venue is now the new bowling alley:-

Opened on the 4th Sept:-

Here is my wall hanging sculpture made with
1. Wood I salvaged from a pallet.
2. Clay I dug from near mudbank and fired.
3. Copper I salvaged from an old water cylinder.
4. Part printed on my 3D printer.

I made the clay part first as that shrinks when drying and firing. The plastic component was designed and printed to match the same dimensions as the clay. I then cut the dovetail in the wood to fit the clay and plastic. Next I cut a wooden blank to fit the clay and plastic which I covered and soldered with copper sheet.

In the image you can see some joker has placed a penny in the outstretched hand.

The title of the piece is emergence which is supposed to show the technological progression of mankind.

Roy Lang Workshop

 Roy Lang (above) presented a workshop on creating seascapes on the 15th of June, see below for an idea of the content and results.

Example1

 

Example2

Example3

materials

 

Colour mixing chart

Stage1

 

stage2

 

stage3

stage4

stage5

Here are some of the results from the participants.

Alan Cotton Talk

 Alan Cotton



An inspiring and interesting talk from one of the UK's leading artists. Alan told us of his trip as tour artist with the Prince of Wales and of his many other journeys in search of inspiring landscapes.
 There was a lot of useful information packed into the talk and  I managed to jot down some items which I found useful, so in no particular order:-
His use of many drawings on location which as they progress helps him plan the future painting.
Use of a coloured/stained surface to paint on, he never start with a white canvas.
Important to use imagination to interpret the experience once back in the studio.
Also important to have an area/studio set aside to paint.
Using different size canvases can help keep your work fresh.
Part of the drawing process is to explore simple shape combinations to enhance composition.
Make use of foreground objects in painting, also useful in a studio to have some plants to see how they work with the painting in progress.
Artists should have a lot of sketchbooks which contain a resevoir of ideas for future paintings.
Laying the same colours in same position on pallette is rubbish as you are using colours as they inspire you and different ranges depending on the mood and subject.
You need to be 'turned on' by the subject.
Good to find one view/area that inspires you as you can do a thematic series of paintings.
Drawing a subject is understanding it.
Good framing is essential to make your work stand out.
He uses lightfast art pens for sketching.
A lot more information and  gallery of work at his website, see link below.
http://www.alancotton.co.uk/

Elizabeth Cook - Court Artist

A fascinating talk by Elizabeth Cook, one of only three court artists working in the UK. Her work is seen in newspapers and on TV for all the famous trials and infamous defendants. Her work is all the more amazing when you consider it all has to be completed from memory and written notes as no drawing or photography is allowed in court. She usually has to complete the drawings in about 20 minutes so a photo can be taken then beamed to the news desk for the latest bulletin. Her main tip is to concentrate on the 'muzzle' i.e. the mouth and area under the nose as this area is critical to getting a good likeness. She works with pastel pencils and grabs any available surface to work on, such as a baby changing area in the toilet or even outside on the pavement.

Recalling some infamous trials

Demonstrating how changes to the eyes only can change the entire facial expression

Recent drawing of Vincent Tabak  (Joanna Yeates muder suspect)

Competition Devon Landscapes 17th March

1.

2.

3.

4. David Matthews

5.

6.

7. 1st prize

8. Glyn Cowles

9.

10. Cherrill Bailey

11. Add caption

12. Paul James

Critique by Diane Broady

absence

I have been thinking a lot about the critique that Ernest gave at the AGM. One of the paintings he showed was of his sons bedroom just after he had left home and married. Apart from its technical brilliance it showed clearly those feelings that every parent knows so well. He and Cath talked about the importance of putting oneself into the painting and I have been musing over our 'competitions'. How would it be if we had an emotion to put to our themes? Perhaps a 'wild' or a 'soft' or a 'polluted' or 'overdeveloped' Devon landscape, maybe a 'futuristic' or 'modern' or 'olde world' architectural landscape. Figure or portrait showing 'age', 'loneliness' or 'joy' or togetherness? etc etc

Perhaps then we could move away from technical skills, ( and usually won by the same people) and open up to those having something to say but still exploring their media.

Just a thought.