Katrina Stephens - Chinese Brush Painting

Chinese Brush Painting is completely different from anything we've seen demonstrated before. Katrina began by telling us a little about its rich history, which dates back many thousands of years, and the two main traditional styles - the meticulous and free brush. The meticulous style uses outline and blended washes  to achieve a realism that tries to express the harmony of nature. The free brush style is simple and spontaneous. The diagramme gives a brief summary of the history and the principles that lie behind this rich tradition.

If the diagramme is too small to read then you can find more information about Chinese Brush Painting on the Chinese Brush Painters Society website and on Wikipedia.

You can see more of Katrina's work on show at Ross Market House. Take a look at the Made in Ross website and at her own website www.maistra.co.uk

One major difference from most western art is that the paintings lack perspective and shadows.

The ink used in the form of a solid stick which has to be ground in an ink stone. A little water is added to the well of the mixing stone before grinding. The intensity of the ink will depend on the amount of water. The intensity of the ink in the brush is tested on a white ceramic tile before making marks on the paper.

The nature of the marks will depend not only on the type of stroke made but also type of paper used. Note how the paper is held down by brass paper weights. The paper is also laid onto felt.

Mike Purkiss

Incoming Tide River Orwell, Suffolk by Mike Purkiss

LAS is sad to announce the recent death of Mike Purkiss, our former Chairman, who did so much to build LAS into the much enjoyed and successful society it is today. We shall miss him.

SAA World Record Art Challenge

The SAA is attempting to set a world record for the largest number of original works of art exhibited under one roof. Ledbury Art Society has sent in 24 pieces painted by members.

The list of contributors (in no particular order) follows

Robert Guy - Buildings in Watercolour

Unlike most of our demonstrators, Robert had not prepared his drawing in advance but made it part of the demonstration. Initial drawing with a 2H pencil was, unfortunately, difficult to see and impossible to project onto the screen. His drawing and painting was very detailed and he could not complete the image during the demonstration.

Robert has been a professional artist for over 20 years during which time he has worked as a fine artist, illustrator, designer, storyboard artist and art teacher. His work has been exhibited in prestigious galleries in London and Singapore and he has worked to commission at St Andrews and Gleneagles golf clubs. You can find more about him on www.artprofile.co.uk

Christine Russell - Short Courses

Please note that you can find out more about Christine Russell, who led our recent workshop, from her website www.art-christinerussell.co.uk She had copies of her interesting 2016 programme of short courses at the our workshop. These are to be held at the Laurels Studio, Stone, Nr. Berkeley, Glos. At the moment the programme is not on her website but I'm sure it will appear soon. If you cannot wait, telephone her on 01454 269268.

Christine Russell: Workshop - Still Life in Pastels

Workshop in progress

For our November workshop, held in the Memorial Hall at Wellington Heath, Christine Russell set up four different still lifes. That meant we had just three people painting each one with soft pastels. Christine began the session with a rapid but helpful demonstration to show how she would tackle one of them. We were advised to use a fairly abrasive paper or board and begin by using a pastel pencil for an initial drawing to establish the composition.

The pictures that follow show a few stages in her demonstration and are then followed by images showing what the workshop participants achieved. Many had little or no experience of pastel painting and yet the results for everyone were good.

Drawing using pastel pencil

Val Ridler: Light & Atmosphere in Mixed Media

Inspiration

We were pleased to welcome Val Ridler as our demonstrator in November. The inspiration for the painting was a photograph taken in Greece.

Her support was mount-board to which she had applied three coats of a gray primer. She brought it pre-prepared with the scene simply drawn and hand-made paper added to give some texture to the rocks.

Note how she has painted the sky with brush strokes running at a diagonal angle. She used watercolour paint in the main but often added a touch of white gouache.

These two images show something of the development of the painting.




Later white pastel was added to hint at a little cloud and to give some highlights in the water and wet sand. Various blues and purples were added to sky, rocks and sand.