Thursday 24 March 2016

drawing in The Pavilion Cafe, Ashton Gardens, St Annes

We had a lovely time in the Pavilion Cafe, Ashton Gardens 
and Adrian played the piano for us too.  Thank you.

Well done everyone - next session 4 May, 1.30 - 3pm Lytham Library.
All abilities welcome.  Come & have a go!


Angie

Betty

Brenda

Monica

Penny

Tommy


Cézanne revisited via the Old Man of Coniston

Well done everyone - 
I know some found this tricky but I still think it was worth having a go.

Studying artists whose work is pivotal to the development of art not only deepens our understanding of art history but also widens & strengthens our personal practise.

Our starting point this week was the Old Man of Coniston; our Mont Sainte-Victoire.  

We found that staying with a process with no preconception of outcome sometimes works better than picturing the outcome and trying to fit the processes to achieve it.


Angie

Angie 2

Betty

Betty 2

Brenda 2

Brenda

Christine

David 2

David

Dorothy 2

Dorothy 

Monica

Monica 2

The Old Man of Coniston, Cumbria

Ray


Ray 2

Tommy 2

Tommy

Thursday 17 March 2016

Cézanne & tissue paper...?

"Cézanne ultimately came to regard color, line, and "form" as constituting one and the same thing, or inseparable aspects for describing how the human eye actually experiences nature.
Unsatisfied with the Impressionist dictum that painting is primarily a reflection of visual perception, Cézanne sought to make of his artistic practice a new kind of analytical discipline. In his hands, the canvas itself takes on the role of a screen where an artist's visual sensations are registered as he gazes intensely, and often repeatedly, at a given subject.

Cézanne applied his pigments to the canvas in a series of discrete, methodical brushstrokes as though he were "constructing" a picture rather than "painting" it. Thus, his work remains true to an underlying architectural ideal: every portion of the canvas should contribute to its overall structural integrity.
In Cézanne's mature pictures, even a simple apple might display a distinctly sculptural dimension. It is as if each item of still life, landscape, or portrait had been examined not from one but several or more angles, its material properties then recombined by the artist as no mere copy, but as what Cézanne called "a harmony parallel to nature." It was this aspect of Cézanne's analytical, time-based practice that led the future Cubists to regard him as their true mentor."  The Art Story

The Bay from L'Estaque 1886 (oil on canvas approx. 31 x 38 in)

Sous-Bois 1900 - 02 (oil on canvas approx 80 x 65 cm)

Mont Sainte-Victoire 1906 (oil on canvas approx. 65 x 80 cm)

We explored the processes of Cezanne using tissue paper in place of paint.  By working over the whole page rather than concentrating on each area at a time "paintings" can be finished sooner than anticipated.   This can give a fresher look.  

Art Circle work follows; some pieces worked better than others, some remained unfinished & some (big apologies here...) were lost somewhere between my camera & my laptop!  Sorry Wednesday's group.

Well done everyone:  this wasn't an easy concept.  
We may come back to it in a different way in the future.  

Dorothy

Angie
  

Elizabeth Anne


Monica


Monica

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Drawing in Urban Arts Studio Cafe

Relaxing atmosphere, good coffee & observational drawing - what more do you need?
Maybe some original artwork... but that was there too.

Thank you Jay for making us so welcome.  We'll be back...

Well done everyone!

Next Wednesday, 1.30 - 3pm at Ashton Pavilion Cafe.
£3.50 + the price of a tea or coffee.
All abilities welcome.

Angie's sea of chairs

artwork by Boz & Mr Dee - all reasonably priced


Brenda's subject
  
Brenda
  
Brian

Christine

Monica

Tommy

Friday 11 March 2016

Colour as an artist's tool...

So many books have been written about colour from a seemingly huge range of viewpoints it can be difficult to know where to start, let alone trying to bring such a wide range of ideas together. 

Art Circle is approaching this vast subject through observation.  Like any other process available to make visual art, colour has to be seen to be understood.  This week's experiential session set the ball rolling.  We looked at work by Warhol, van Gogh, Hockney & Turner; we discussed how colour can transform the meaning of the work and how limited pallets can make an impact and we experimented with coloured objects and coloured card.  We also began working from a still life.

The work made was incomplete and although I wasn't going to include them, the group has moved on so they are below too with some of resources we used plus Itten's colour wheel. 

[complimentary colours are opposite:  red - green, blue - orange; yellow - purple]

Wednesday, 11 - 12.30, Lytham Library
Thursday, 11 - 12.30 St Annes Library

all abilities welcome
Farbkreis [colour sphere] by Johannes Itten (1961)
Andy Warhol:  Marilyn Diptych
David Hockney:  "A Bigger Splash" 

JMW Turner:  "Norham Castle, Sunrise"

Vincent van Gogh:  "Wheatfield under Thunder Clounds"
Angie

Betty

David

Elizabeth Anne

Jane

Monica

Ray

Tommy