Next class is 13 June

Just a quick reminder there are no classes for two weeks. Next class is on the above date.

Unison Pastels and the International Association of Pastels Societies

Thanks to Christine for a very interesting and useful story on Northumberland-based UNISON PASTELS (links below). Probably one of the best places to buy these exquisite professional grade pastels at a reasonable price is DETAILS on Westgate Road, Newcastle (click on the map below to visit their site):

See the associated links especially interesting to our class: a talk by Kate Hersey, MD of UNISON (click on the image below to find the presentation video):

and a link to the International Association of Pastels Societies' past exhibitions and competitions (click on the image below to find paintings from past shows)

for further evidence of phenomenally varied and exciting this medium can be.

If you see any other useful links elsewhere please pass them on in class next time.

Other cultures project

Today we continued with our OTHER CULTURES project. With no classes for the next two weeks, we will complete these at home then prepare for our next project - PAINTING ON A TEXTURED GROUND.  The paintings below show a dynamic range of subjects, cultures and approaches. Excellent work so far!

Anne (Japan)

Janice (Egypt)

Peter (Italy/Romanesque)

Jan (Japan)

Moira (Polynesia)

Christine (West Coast USA)

Len (Australian Aborigine)

Week Three - Other Cultures

This week we started our next project - OTHER CULTURES. We have researched an image/subject to paint and we have researched and chosen another culture's artistic style/language. We will be using the other culture as a reference to influence how we paint the chosen subject/image. Below are the first stages of that process. This is a challenging concept so lets see how we get on!

Anne (butterfly - Anne is starting her other culture project next week)

Peter (to be influenced by Japanese art)

Janice (to be influenced by ancient Egyptian art)

Len (to be influenced byAustralian Aboriginal art)

Christine (to be influenced by west coast US art)

Christine (Completed butterfly project)

Jan (to be influenced byJapanese art)

Moira (to be influenced by Polynesian art)

Week Two - mini beasts take flight!

This week we completed or nearly completed(!) our mini beasts project. The paintings are all stunning. Take a peek below:

Peter

Jan

Moira

Janice

Len

Christine

George

Anne

Week One - Mini Beasts!

Back to work after a 5 week break! There are nine of us in the group - a warm welcome to Jan our new member. Our new venue has great natural light and we should settle into it smoothly over the weeks. We started the term on a project around mini beasts (and in particular butterflies). This subject allows us to really explore the amazing designs, colours and surface textures of these deceptively diminutive beauties. The visual qualities we see in these creatures are perfect for soft pastels. They also give us a great opportunity to get back into gear, re-tuning our technical skills, as we zoom in on the finer details of the butterflies.  See previous posting for course dates and a list of projects. Here are the very early studies of our mini beasts:

Moira

George

Len

Anne

Bob

Peter

Janice

Jan