Term 2 in the Studio

The weather is changing and the temperatures start to drop after the heat of summer. It’s my favourite time of the year - I always feel much more energetic.

The Easter break seemed to go so quickly and all of a sudden the first class of the second term starts this evening.

I have just updated the Art Class page on this blog. We are all enjoying the creative time spent face to face while still observing a COVIDSAFE protocol. 

We are all enjoying the face to face creativity. A couple of artists have opted to continue to join via Zoom and this is working smoothly. Should you wish to remain isolated, there is still the option to continue using Zoom concurrently with a physical class, where the student can login to the class and take part online.

We usually start each class with some discussion about a particular theme or artist using a PDF which scan be shared blithe in the Studio as well as on Zoom. Learning to assess and critique other artist’s work aids in developing an editing eye for one’s own art.

The core of my teaching approach is to foster each artist’s individual creativity, so the emphasis is on personal creative projects. In the Studio in Hamilton Road each artist explores their own themes. This may take the form of a series of drawings, a painting in watercolour, oils, or acrylics.

During each class there will be some demonstration of technique as well as individually mentored tuition.

The weekly class timetable remains the same.

The weekly class timetable remains the same.

Term 1 2021

Wednesday 21st April to Saturday 23rd June

Weekly classes

Wednesday 6.00 pm - 8.30 pm
Thursday    9.00 am - 12.00pm
Friday        9.00 am - 12.00 pm
Saturday    8.00 am - 11.00 am 

There are some vacancies in each class so if you have been thinking of enrolling in classes at the Studio now is a good time to do so. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me should you have any questions. 

Catching up with drawing every day.

I realised that almost two months have passed since I wrote about my 2021 project of drawing every day. Since then I have had mixed success. There are days with regular drawing and documenting the drawings, then at other times days go by with no work photographed. 

There’s been a mix of digital and analogue; a mix of media - ink, water soluble graphite, watercolour and charcoal. Some days I have a long extended drawing session, other days it’s a quick scribble, and I’m actually fine with that, it’s how life is. 

Subject matter has ranged from flowers and objects used for some of the classes in the Studio to a series of figure studies using photographic references. The figure drawings have been done with water soluble graphite pencils and a water brush or ink and water brush. This allows for a quick tonal drawing using easily portable materials. I like using the Derwent Sketching pencils which come in Light, Medium and Dark wash. 

There are also a number of Sktchy portraits done using Procreate. When drawing digitally, I aim for a result that has the look of an analogue drawing or painting rather than being obviously digital. I also make a concerted effort to limit the number of brushes used in a single work. This way I get to know the individual characteristics of that brush. 

I also realised that when a few days went by without a dedicated drawing being done it was when I was busy with all the animal mother and baby watercolours, so I wasn’t being a slouch!

So here are some of the drawings for February and March. 

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A new commission

I received a different type of commission recently. My daughter asked for my help in decorating a special album for a friend’s Baby Shower. It was especially important to be able to customise the book. There are a variety of memory books on sale, however the drawback with most of these is that the layout is quite prescriptive, set out according to someone else’s idea of what to remember. And what happens in real life with a new baby, the enthusiasm to record all this information tends to wane and the book is often abandoned incomplete. When you have a blank canvas you can add whatever you wish and aren’t faced with incomplete pages. 

The family of the mother-to be lives in South Africa and with the current state of the world, they were unable to travel for the big event. A way to include messages from people far away was the answer.

The plan included blank cards for guests, both here and abroad, that could have messages added, either handwritten or printed. These, together with photos, would be added to the album. Illustrations of animal mothers with their babies would be the finishing touch.

The planned nursery theme is African animals. On assessing the paper in the book - a crisp white, and quite different to most watercolour papers, the solution was to print the illustrations on the same card as the messages. This had the additional advantage of keeping the originals available to be framed and displayed in the nursery. 

I got busy finding suitable images for the watercolour illustrations. Now that the Baby Shower has been held I can reveal the paintings. This is the best photo for an artist to see - someone’s face when they see your work for the first time.

And you’ve guessed correctly - it’s a boy! 

Coming soon - Red Bubble products

A few of these images have been added to products on my Red Bubble page. You’ll be able to purchase a variety of products including cups, phone cases, kids clothing, tote bags and many others. 

Coming soon - Bespoke Baby Books

A new listing for your own bespoke Baby Book is coming soon to my Etsy Shop.