Thursday 30 March 2017

an "old" lifeboat, a new lifeboat & sketchbooks

What a lovely way to spend a soggy afternoon:  sketching in the lifeboat station.

Many thanks Lytham St Annes Lifeboat Station, St Annes for your hospitality.  I hope you enjoy our sketches which are below.

If anyone is interested in the new lifeboat or would like to support the RNLI Lytham St Annes Shannon Lifeboat Appeal please follow the link.

My last plug for RNLI... if you haven't visited this station do.  It has a viewing gallery, dressing up for children, interesting displays, lots of events coming up and a shop.  It also has a roof so perfect for a wet weather visit!

Stuart

Monica

Lydia

Mike

Dorothy

Roland

Monica

Mike

Angie 2

Angie 1

Lydia

Patricia

Here we are... except Lydia who's taking the photo.  From left Roland, Dorothy, Mike, Me, Stuart, Angie, Patricia & Monica.

limited pallet, images & interiors

Art Circle at St Annes Library:  Thursdays, 11 - 12.30

The task...
Using a limited pallet of four coloured pencils, depict an interior using an image as a starting point.

I love the simplicity and coherence a limited pallet brings to these drawings.  Notice Roland's drawing, I think most would agree it's easily recognisable as "Vincent's Bedroom at Arles"  Vincent van Gogh 1889.  Less well know is Stuart's starting point, "Card Players in a Sunlit Room" Pieter de Hooch 1658:  the idea of inside & outside is captured beautifully.

Well done everyone:  all the pieces work really well!

Mike

Dorothy

Stuart

Angie

Patricia

Monica

Lydia

Roland

Kay

Friday 24 March 2017

Silhouette, the Queen & St Annes

A silhouette is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour with its edges matching the outline of the subject.  The interior of a silhouette is featureless and the whole is usually presented on a light background.  

Silhouette images were first used to describe pieces of cut paper, which were then stuck to a backing in a contrasting colour, and often framed.

Cutting portraits in profile from black card became popular in the mid-18th century, though the term silhouette was seldom used until the early decades of the 19th century:  this tradition has continued under this name into the 21st century.  

Silhouettes represented a cheap but effective alternative to the portrait miniature.  Skilled specialist artists could cut a high-quality bust portrait, the most common style, in a matter of minutes, working purely by eye.  Other artists, especially from about 1790, drew an outline on paper, then painted it in, which could be equally quick.

The name comes from Étienne de Silhouette, a French finance minister who made austere economies in 1759 because of the Seven Year War.  His name became synonymous with anything done or made cheaply including silhouettes as we know them today.

[from Wikipedia]

Contemporary silhouettes made by manipulating origami paper...

Kumi y Amashta

Kumi y Amashta

Our task...
Draw the profile of the Queen onto coloured paper / card.
Make the image into a silhouette or something else.


Example:  
using a straight edge, a grid was drawn over an image of the Queen
another grid was made on paper
Marking where the Queen and grid intersected assisted in drawing a copy of the first image

Pencil, then white marker were used, then I added white coloured pencil.

The fab results are below...


Angie

Mabel

Patricia

Stuart

Monica

Mike

Mike

Dorothy who experimented with "torn" outs too

Roland
In the afternoon Art Circle reconvened at the Water's Edge Cafe near St Annes Lifeboat Station where fab drawings were made of the station, the pier, the beach & the promenade.  Next time I'll make sure I move my camera from my morning bag into my afternoon bag!

Next Thursday, 30 March  
St Annes Library 11 - 12.30 & RNLI Lifeboat Station, St Annes 1.30 - 3pm.

If you join us in the afternoon, and you're very welcome, bring a chair.

Thursday 16 March 2017

paper, pen and portraits

The task...
Bring the paper or pad you would use for making notes or lists. 
Bring the pen or pencil you would normally use to make the notes/lists.
Draw the portraits provided cut from a daily newspaper.
Draw each other.

Simple - but not easy!

Without exception, everyone improved their observational skills:  the beautiful drawings are below.  Notice in some, the economy of line to give a soft rendition and notice in others the striking resemblance to the people drawn.  Excellent!

Next week (23 March)
St Annes Library 11 - 12.30, lunch then we're off to Water's Edge Cafe on St Annes promenade for more.  1.30 - 3pm ish

The following week (30 March)
St Annes Library 11 - 12.30, lunch then we're off to RNLI lifeboat station on St Annes promenade for more.  1.30 - 3pm ish

Angie

Angie


Angie


Patricia

Patricia
Patricia

Roland

Stuart

Stuart

Stuart
 
Mike

Dorothy
Christine by Brian under the direction of Chris Knapman, counterpart:  Lytham Interventions 2016

Friday 10 March 2017

landscape, format, coloured paper & soft pastels

brill...!

Next week portraits - bring the pen / pencil and paper you write shopping lists / notes / messages on.
Thursday, 11 - 12.30 at St Annes Library. 

Mabel 1

Mabel 2 (unfinished)

Dorothy

Monica

Angie

Patricia

Mike

Stuart

Roland (unfinished)