John Shave started our day with an excellent demonstration, during which he explained every move as he went along.  He explained why he started with the darks first, leaving the lights till the last stages, and set out his composition in darks at the start.  As he went on, he incorporated various colours into the darks, which would show through and give life to the ultimate picture - and not too much overpainting which would cause the initial colours to be lost.  And so he continued with lots of advice and hints to help us.  
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​The modelling was divided between Diana herself and three volunteers:  Ian, Jackie and Avril.  They posed for about half an hour each, which resulted in over twenty pieces of work.  This was hard work - well done, all!  We also had four or more pieces of work from the freelancers. 

​How did Avril manage to assemble such a varied collection of shoes and sandals (with the odd hat, scarf and flower thrown in)?  It made a colourful display with many different textures to tax our muses.  It was, I thought, nicely set out for maximum accessibility.

Click on images to enlarge them.

​Richard has sat for us before, or rather often stood, in the guise of a beekeeper, a Scottish piper, a cyclist …..  But this time he really did sit, just as himself, accompanied by Avril for the first half and alone be-hatted after the coffee break. ​

"Two-models Richard" took us back to post-war 1919 and introduced us to Thomas Selby and Polly Gray (of Peaky Blinders fame), alias Milly and Beth.  I think I can see a certain 'darkness' in the representation of these characters in some members’ artwork below.  He chose a musical theme for his still life, with various musical instruments - and flowers.  As usual, Richard went the extra mile to provide us with an entertaining and challenging morning. 
Other members worked on their own projects, allowing them to experiment with various techniques and styles of their choice.
Next week it's Avril's turn to do the honours.
Click on images to enlarge them.

​Ian began by showing us a small oil sketch from which he painted a bigger picture in oil.  He felt the foreground looked a bit empty so added a couple of sheep.

​Hannah's abstract began life as a photo of sycamore seeds, from which she created a black & white drawing, then a coloured version and finally selected a small portion which appealed to her as a basis for an abstract painting.  As she said, this method enables you to experiment without losing the original drawing.

​Carolyn's watercolour sketch was completed in Avril's garden, whilst Cynthia's painting was a happy memory of a family, in an imaginary  garden. 

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​Some bold paintings from Richard (left) and June (right), all abstract.  Richard expressed some ideas he had about Orford Ness, while June's starting point was photographs in a magazine, from which she selected some tiny patches to enlarge.

​Diana showed us her sketchbook from her holiday, in Shropshire(?), of which here is an example of her interesting mixed media work.  

​Jane showed us some interesting dry etching work and explained how it was done - basically by scratching with a sharp tool into a clear plastic plate, followed by a printing process.

​Sally P had done a super portrait of a doggy friend.
Harriet, by the Waveney at Brockdish did a landscape in watercolour and oil (yes, you heard right!), while Annette talked about  some problems with perspective and vanishing points at the MSLR.  

​Les Bragg hasn't been able to be out painting so much this summer but showed us his sketchbook with work in progress.  
​Noreen experimented with blobs of acrylic, starting on a wet gesso surface, which were brushed up and down so gradually emerging as a sort of cityscape waterfront.

​A special mention for Avril, who was unaware of Show and Tell, so sat at the back and did a little sketch of events.  Well done!  

I watched the weather forecast for days, hoping it would be all right for our last outing of the summer programme.  On the day mixed blessings.  Threatening skies may have put some people off, and it was blustery, but we started and finished with blue sky and sunshine … and ne’er a drop of rain.  
Seven of us met and had an excellent day, with excellent hosts Jane and Simon. Their garden not only has the advantage of being large and varied, with lots of subjects other than green ones, but also has panoramic views of the distant horizon.  Choosing what to sketch can sometimes take longer than the sketch itself.  See our choices below.
We missed our Sally P - get well soon!  

Next week is our AGM at the Bowls Club, followed by our Show and Tell.  Bring along one picture (it doesn’t have to be framed) that you have worked on during the summer and tell us about it or ask fellow members if you have any questions.  See you there.

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​Quite breezy today but sunshine too, as you can see from the photo of Frances above with comma butterfly basking on her sunhat.

Next week we are at the old railway at Brockford - see notes from Sally T (click here), then just one more meeting, at Jane’s, to end the Summer Programme.