Download larger files here to work from.

Two great images for you to use this week, contrasts in colour, content and how they could be tackled.  Sally L. says, 'Yorkshire sheep, I chose this photo for the layers of lumpy grass and rocks, and of course the lovely sheep, great opportunity for textured effects that we don’t see round here.
I found it really difficult to take photographs for a still life without foreshortening, so I decided to keep it really simple, so that you could see the mushrooms clearly.'
I love those sheep on top of rocks that might be as woolly as they are, and the graphic quality of the row of mushrooms.  Thank you Sally L. for these, which should provide plenty of inspiration...

And these are Sally L's. contributions this week. First, a plein air painting of a hut just clinging on to the Cliff at Dunwich.  The second is from Avril's still life, and has a great abstract quality.

This week Noreen has felt well enough to work from Avril's photos last week, and has done her usual splendid job.  She also spoke to Cynthia on the phone in Hartismere Care Home, where she is having a couple of week's respite.  Cynthia asked her to pass on her thanks to all EAG members for the lovely flowers Sally P took round to her.  It was great to see you on Zoom this morning, Noreen, glad you are feeling somewhat better.

Avril thought she had better work from her own photos from last week.  For the first she says, 'This is a rough and ready picture that started with watercolour as I thought the shapes of the shadows would work well, I did not like this so I put pastel over the top. 
For the second, 'I started with metallic paints and ended up with wax crayon, this gave a gritty feeling, very textured, the scrubbed up foil got a bit muddy so I thought I better leave the rest before it all looked over worked.' I think the choice of paper has worked really well with the crayon to give this picture texture.

From France we have two drawings from Frances - the second is called 'A Tricky Crossword'!

 From Lesley, two contrasting projects: -
'The first one is acrylic on paper, of a view along Park Lane, looking towards Cranley Hall. Not finished, but I’m  not sure whether it’s worth continuing........

'The second piece: I went to a day’s textile workshop to make a silk bowl, from silk fibres sandwiched between dissolvable film and machine stitched. The film has been washed out this morning and the bowl moulded over a ceramic bowl. Currently drying out, with the bowl balanced on a beer glass, in another bowl to catch the drips! I’m hoping the stitching will hold it together.'  Intriguing!

Next Sally P. and Jackie, who set up a still life at Jackie's this week, and both worked on it in watercolour.  Jackie's on the left, Sally P. on the right. 

From Jane - Pen & ink Poole Harbour. Pumpkin, Gourds and Apples with Chalk pastels, and finally still fiddling with Sunflowers, acrylic paints

Additions from Sally T. and Harriet, who both had 'technical difficulties' of one sort or another yesterday...
First Sally - with a good likeness, and a 'harvest' sketch...

And then Harriet, with another sketch of the dog in the sea, and some dahlias.

This week I thought I would post the subjects to use during this coming week (should you choose to) first.   These have come from Avril, as part of a rota set up during our Zoom meeting last week, rather along the lines of the usual winter programme rota.  If anyone would like to volunteer some similar subjects, get in touch and I will assign a week to you.  Avril has given us landscapes with interesting light and shadows, and a still life that is quite challenging.  If you want to use these ideas with your own objects, feel free, and again, if you want to send in something else altogether, please do.

And here are the files, if you want to download a larger version.

Carolyn went out for lunch last week, which prompted her to send me a still life photo entitled 'What's for Lunch?', which is available for you to use like the pictures above, if you wish.  Having had your lunch, you might find yourself in search of  'A Quiet Corner', the drawing below.
She also said, 'Last night I had a dream where I was trying to find a subject for the blog among others (were they our group!?) and eventually did a long distant view from the sky!'

From Frances, 'First oak leaves using Art Graf. Second using oil pastels. Third sketch a complete mess trying out aquarelle pencils with oil pastel and Art Graf. It was relatively dramatic until I decided to add the blue and white!!!'

Sally T.  'I came across an artist Adebanji Alade on the Jacksons web site who are doing a series entitled 'In the Studio' Top Ten drawing articles . I have only read this one so far and it made an impression on me. He has written a book called Addictive An Artist Sketch book. My drawings are an attempt to follow his approach - early days!'
I looked his name up on Google and a YouTube video of this artist is about the loudest thing I've come across n the web!

Sally P. has sent in her drawings of this Egyptian granite head.  Very hard to capture the light and shade of an object like this.
She also sent this amusing newspaper article.  Coincidentally, I saw the same story in another paper, with a different illustration, so I thought I would add it.  I don't think either journalist understood the charm of these drawings, even if they are a bit batty!

I haven't had much time this week, but further work on the apple drawing from last time.  I scanned the colour drawing and then cropped it, to use for a further drawing, using inktense and watercolour pencils. I have then photoed it and cropped it down and rotated it to make the image on the right, which might become an oil abstract, who knows?

Thank you to Jackie for sending these wonderful drawings from Tom.  She says (sending the first of these), 'A marvellous drawing by Tom. He often uses newspaper images that are not that sharp or detailed but he manages to get all this detail.'  The second is also amazing.

And finally, here are Jackie's sketches.  She showed us these drawings on Zoom this morning, and spoke about the notes on colour on the drawings of turkeys (it was too wet to stay long - I think I got that right?), and the glass and the candle were there at hand in Sally P's kitchen (although the glass no longer had water in it).

So, here's hoping that we do not find ourselves in a new lockdown - the news on Coronavirus is not good.  Keep yourselves and your families well, and we will meet here on this page again next week.

There were fewer of us on Zoom this morning - I hope that doesn't reflect how you felt after last week's meeting, but rather that you were either busy or hadn't realised, as most of us seemed not to have done, that Avril's invitation was a recurring one, that you can simply re-use each week.  It will be sent out again next week anyway as a reminder.
We seem to have gone from endless sunshine to everlasting rain almost overnight.  I am sure the countryside needs it, but it is rather depressing nonetheless, especially with all the gloomy Covid news.

Let's start this week with someone whose paintings we haven't seen for a while.  These are from Cynthia.  These were sent by Noreen who tells me that Cynthia hasn't been very well lately, so 'Get Well Soon' Cynthia, and thank you for brightening a gloomy day with these colourful paintings.

Frances is back in Brittany, and has sent these photos of shutters she has painted there.

Sally L. has worked from photos this week in two completely different subject areas.  The second has had areas of watercolour washes on Canson mixed media paper covered with masking tape so that she can work over the top with oil pastels.  This is a lady picking dandelions by the road.  It will be very interesting to see the finished image.  The jazz performance picture is very atmospheric.

Avril has been tackling walnuts this week, the first drawing with pencil, the second using ink.  It does occur to me that if you don't like the still life at the bottom of the blog, this might make a good subject for next week.  Avril's drawings are very successful, I think.

Lesley went to a workshop in Aldeburgh on Saturday, and has sent the results of what was obviously a very productive time.
Top 'We spent the morning sketching out on the sea wall near Slaughden, then the afternoon using them to create mixed media. Mine weren’t very mixed...'
Bottom 'This a mixed media piece I did at the workshop in Aldeburgh, on Saturday: this is from a plein air charcoal sketch, reinterpreted in gouache and oil pastel.
Another sketch looking across the Alde
Reinterpreted in Gouache
A test piece: gouache, collage and oil pastel.

Sally P's offerings.  She says her heart isn't in the oil painting anymore, but I think it is interesting to see the progress it has made.  And she also sent a pastel drawing of squash and hydrangea that is lovely and fresh.

Jackie has been very productive this week. 
1. Gourds from the garden.
2. Having been locked in yesterday by the weather I did stroll and sketch today. Such a lovely walk to Denham in the sunshine I paused by the turkey farm but the birds got so excited to see me and noisy that I walked on to the church and did this sketch just as the showers swept in. No matter, it was wonderful being outdoors, saw a kestrel dip and dive for his prey and lots of mushrooms on the way home.
3. This is just me confined indoors by weather and experimenting by overlaying washes.
4. More produce from the veg patch. Chris brought in these beautiful purple peppers pleading to be painted and making such a lovely colour complement.

Someone else with lots to show is Harriet. A sketch of her dog in the sea, and a photo from which she is planning a painting, and the studies for it, together with an unfinished landscape that still has masking fluid on it.

9TH OCTOBER 2020
I don't know what it happening between Lesley's house and mine, but I think her emails are going by snail, they take longer to get to me than if she had walked round with them herself.  So here are her pictures from yesterday.

As you will have seen from the email recently sent out to members, it was decided to try the experiment of holding a Zoom meeting this morning, to get together and to give one another an idea of what we had been up to today, as though we had gathered around after a normal morning's session at the Bowls Club. I think it was reasonably successful.  There were a few hiccups, and a couple of late joiners, but about 12 of us managed to see and hear one another, and share a few pictures, that you will find on this page, together with other work.  The intention is to keep the Zoom meetings going, with Avril as moderator.  It has been suggested that any members who think that participation might be hard for them because of hearing difficulties, should try using ear or headphones plugged into their computer or tablet.  Once you are on Zoom, set the screen to 'Gallery View', so you can see everyone, not just the person speaking at the time (There are white circles on the left of the screen that show these settings; the icon for 'Gallery View' has little squares in it).

First Avril's pastel of apples.  Great use of pattern in this arrangement.  Lots of thanks from those who attended the Zoom meeting to Avril for organising it (and to Richard for all his tech help)

Frances says, 'Lovely to join in Zoom this morning and thank you to Avril’s husband for being so patient and helpful. First drawing completed the other day with coloured pencils and a little bit of my Art Graf mixed for the blue and then my acrylic version on small box canvas and then my Art Graf doodle done while we were zooming!'  Frances introduced us all to Art Graf this morning.  It is based on Tailor's Chalk, and can be drawn with and then wetted with a brush to blend and change the colour.

Another painting from Les Bragg that we have to thank Sally P. for sending in.

I haven't finished this drawing yet - why did I choose a tea towel with intricate and irrelevant pictures on it?  And I am also giving you a past still life from when we still met in the real world (IRL as the millenials have it) as a subject prompt for next week, as well as a landscape photo.
I hope some more of you will be encouraged to join us next week on Zoom?