As a starter this week, here are some suggestions for online events and catch-up that might be of interest to you.
Firstly, The Royal Academy has Live Short  Life Drawing poses for you to try, available HERE and also Romeo the horse, who posed last year and is being re-posted for drawing, available HERE.
Secondly, Sky's Landscape Artist of the Year is back, and Sky Arts is now free-to-air on Freeview (it should be Channel 11, though you might need to rescan the channels on your TV to find it). It airs on Wednesday evening, but is repeated at various times during the week.
Thirdly, Rick Stein's Cornwall, Episode 1 (on BBC iPlayer), features Kurt Jackson and Rick Stein exploring the Land's End peninsular together HERE.

Carolyn has provided this week's inspiration, offering shadows, reflections, still life and an animal portrait.  This is Monty, who I think knows the word supercilious. The still life is full of summer colour, much needed with the gloom most of this week.

Sally L. took the 'view from the window' from last week and made her own.  A very useful tip here was to use masking tape to create the window bars, so you can draw or paint the strokes of the image right across the paper, before removing the masking tape.  The second picture was taken from a newspaper photo, which Sally liked for the fun it looked like the women were having.  This started with watercolour, then pastel, then gelli prints for the swimming costumes, and it does indeed look like fun.

'Two photos of the ice indented with grass held up against the sun, an oil painting in the making and my abstract based on Jackie’s tin opener!!! I think I like the first photo best out of everything.'  All from Frances.

'Here are my pictures for the week, the first is a continuation of last weeks work, over- printing on my lino print and then adding a little white acrylic. The second is from Jackie' photo, one is drawn and printed over and the second is a monoprint using the original drawing.' Harriet has managed to get these to me for the blog despite all sorts of technical issues, and trouble with interent connection.

Lesley has used Jackie's photos to make two paintings in acrylic on multi media paper.
The can opener includes gold metallic paint. The ferry picture is unfinished.

So that's about it for this week.  Yet again a little exhortation to encourage those who haven't been joining in with the blog, to show us what I know you have been doing during these long months, and to join us on Zoom.  It may be that you have found you have technical difficulties in getting into the meeting.  The first page that comes up when you click on the link in Harriet's email may be one that asks if you want to join with audio and video, choose that you do, and you should then find yourself in the meeting.  By the way, the invitation email should work for any week, not just the upcoming one.  If you are having trouble, please email.  If I don't know the answer (quite likely), I can probably find it.

Dear All,

I hope that you managed to have a good Christmas and New year with everything that is still going on in the world! It has been very different for us all!
I was hoping to be able send good news about the group meeting up sometime soon, but alas, this looks as though it is still far off in the distance! In fact it will probably not be before the outdoor sessions are due to start.
There are thoughts that perhaps by then we might be able to put together a ‘ mornings only’ and keep it local. Much depends on how the COVID vaccine rollout is going! (Rather slowly at the moment, unfortunately!) We will obviously let you know of any plans and developments.
In the mean time we will be continuing with our weekly Zoom meeting at 12.00 noon on Thursdays, kindly organised by Avril. Here we can look at and talk about the work we have done, say hello to friends or just enjoy observing. You do not have to have produced work to show!
We are also lucky to have our web page where you can look at the weeks artwork that has been put on and you can even leave a comment if you wish. Thanks to Noreen and Hannah for this excellent presentation. At the moment work should still be sent to Hannah.
Each week someone from a rota puts photos on for you to do a piece of artwork from or to inspire you. This has been working well since we started a couple of months ago.
I have not set a Chairman’s project this year as we still have to show last years work. We have thought about putting it on the webpage but feel that it would be better to wait until we can meet as often the work produced needs an explanation with it. If the majority of you would rather it be shown via the web page we could possibly manage this with written explanations. Please let me know.
Thank you to all who took part in the patchwork picture. I had a great time putting it together and the end result is stunning.  The title of the piece is called The Confetti of a City. It is by an artist called Leonid Afremov. A Russian born artist who lived for a long time in Mexico before moving to America. He was born on 12 July 1955 and died on 19th August 2019. His style is modern impressionistic. Hannah is going to give you a link so that you can read up about him if you wish to. It is such a colourful painting full of hope and cheer.

Finally, some of the committee who have spoken together, have thought of a project that we could do together to be completed by Easter weekend. ( April 2nd)
We would like you to complete a self portrait in any medium on a piece of paper 8”x8”. No canvas boards or frames. We will then put them together to make a composite picture that one day, hopefully, we will be able to show at an exhibition.
We hope that this will be taken up by lots of you. More information will be sent out in the next letter.
With warm wishes to you all,

keep safe,
Sally

First up, here is your inspiration for next week, courtesy of Jackie.  Sunnier days at Felixstowe, a close-up mystery(?) object  to consider for something more abstract, and a view from Jackie's window.  All of these can lead you either to use them as they are, or to find your own equivalent.  We could have a whole streetful of views from different windows, for instance.

Harriet says, 'My two images are from a lino cut that I'm working on. One is a print done on a book binding press. Sounds good but it is in my husband's workshop, on the floor, in the cold, with very little space, so I only do a few at the time. The other is using the gel plate and so the print is softer and I have used coloured pencils and a bit of acrylic on it.
It has been quite nice to do, quite therapeutic, working away at it and listening to the radio.'

On Zoom this morning, Avril mentioned the book that has kept her sane over lockdown, full of large images with guidance for drawing them. 'You can get these diagrams on Youtube or the internet, but members might like to do these two I chose from the book at random.' 

From Sally P. 'Three quick pieces of work from me to try to get back into the swing.
An hour on the bottle, drawing it not drinking! A left hand half hour and a right hand 20 mins in pencil

And I have been drawing, as it's far too cold to stay in my studio for any length of time.  These are both from photos, the first a road we cross on one of our walks, and the second the cat who sleeps most undecorously.

Finally, Diana had me fooled when I first saw this - I thought she had laid out her tools ready for work, as she said, 'Looking forward to everyone's  ideas'.   and I love the words. Very clever!

This year, with no Thursday meetings and no Christmas party, it was decided that the patchwork picture would go ahead, although mostly only those who had been participating in the blog have taken part.  And because we still cannot meet, although Sally P. will be putting the sections together in the usual fashion, we don't know when we will get to see it in the flesh.  In the meantime, I have stitched it together by scanning all the pieces, and we thought you might all like to see it, in lieu of a proper blog this week. 
Does anybody know the name of the original piece, and the identity of the artist?  If you think you do, post a comment with your guess, and all will be revealed next week!
So, Happy New Year to all, with what I am sure you will agree (despite all the grumbles about the difficulty of doing it) is a very joyful and appropriate painting for this time of year.

Entries for the blog for 7th January 2021 will be gratefully received, even if (or especially if) you haven't been contributing in 2020

Welcome to Christmas at EAG!  Here are greetings from members, as well as the artwork they have been busy with this week.

So here first is our chairman, Sally P., who is trying out using a picture of her own from Ayers Rock as the basis for a Gelli print, in response to the tree provided by Frances last week.  She has also made wrapping paper using newspaper and leftover acrylic paint very effectively. Her Christmas card is the beginning of a projected day of collage in the new year.

Another Gelli print (with watercolour) - Great minds thinking alike!

Carolyn has produced an ink drawing of the tree from last week, full of movement, and a superbly relevant Christmas card!

Here is an interesting progression of images from Noreen towards the finished card.

Jane is visiting family in Dorset this week, and has sent this greeting.

Ian says, 'We have a pair of buzzards living near to us.  One of them decided to have his lunch (pigeon) right outside our lounge window so I took it as inspiration for a quick life sketch.  He was there for quite some time. I didn’t include the lunch.  I have also added a couple of the trees as a study.'  He added this message:
‘Best wishes for Christmas,however you may be spending it, and for a marvellous 2021 to all my fellow club members’

From Sally T. 'This is a photo of the woods as you go towards Thornham Woods. We aim to cycle every day weather and doctor 's appointments permitting and have done so since the beginning of lock down and take photos of the same location each time. We have loads now and it is interesting looking at the changes. This was taken earlier in the year. It does not look like that now!'

'Hope you all have a very happy Christmas and thank you for keeping me sane with attending the zoom meetings as it has been so nice to see and hear from you.'
Is the message from Avril to go with the card.

The greeting from Jackie that accompanies this festive arrangement is:
'Wishing everyone a merry time this Christmas.'

One oil pastel and ink, one bird print on tracing paper mounted on a stencil print and one Christmas card to say,

From Diana,
'Another collage, with  Press and pencils.  The Fuchsias are in full bloom in the garden, so they can  be my Xmas card to everyone:
'Wishing you all a peaceful and hopefully  uneventful  New Year. Thank you to Noreen and Hannah  for the blog and everyone’s ideas  and challenges, which I’ve really enjoyed.  Diana x'

Two cards from Lesley, who has had trouble sending email to me this week.
First, In the Bleak Midwinter :

The second is a collage (a lot of us this week were on the same wavelength), and is:
‘A light to illuminate the darkness’; a collage of acrylic painted newspaper using paint left over at the end of a session and leaves printed from Indian woodblocks.

June has decorated the tree from last week to create a unique Christmas tree.

Sally L.  says, 'My father-in-law Bill, a keen bird watcher, used to send us hand painted watercolour cards of birds for birthdays and Christmas. So I decided to follow in his footsteps.'

Freda has also been in touch this week to send her good wishes to everyone in EAG.

Finally, here is my card, a digital collage created using scanned wrapping paper and old cards, assembled on the computer together with a clever font.

This will be the last blog before Christmas, but there will be another Zoom meeting next week, on Thursday 17th.  We would love to see as many members as can make it, with mince pie in hand, and coffee, tea or even sherry!
Have a wonderful Christmas - as much as is possible in the circumstances - and let's all look forward to a New Year that brings good news of vaccines and herd immunity, not to mention, peace and goodwill to all...

Hopeful news at last, with a vaccine in the offing!  I know it's still quite a long path back to 'normal', but at least the gate has now been opened a crack.  And with Christmas just around the corner, albeit maybe rather a strange-shaped Christmas, we can all start to look forward to a new year at EAG IRL (in real life)! 
In the meantime, The Bank has written to me to pass on to you all that they are offering on line art lessons, starting this month.  You can have a look at this HERE
I am not going to post this until Friday, to allow for a late straggler or two, if there are any...

Next Avril, who has been working further on lino cuts.  She says, 'I was very lucky to see Frances through my window and she gave me several Lino printing items, e.g. rollers cutters, board so I have been having fun using them this morning.  The registration is not very good and I learnt a lot about which bits to cut out, there are three layers here yellow, red and blue. I did use tracing paper to try to register the boards which I think helped a bit.

And here is Frances' own linocut, plus two other pictures of hers, from Jane's images last week.

Collage with Found Objects from Diana. 'The collage was nearly finished when I decided to cheat, hence the pens, the quill I made about 30 years ago. I decided to work on pastel paper and found 7 sketch books which I had forgotten about, reminded me how much I loved Becky’s classes.'

From Sally T.;  pictures for today of pots, watercolour (a bit wonky) and charcoal pencil. Sally told us on Zoom about two videos she had watched this week.
Maggie Hambling talks about her time at Benton End CLICK HERE
Tate How to Draw Like Paula Rego CLICK HERE

Harriet has painted Jane's anemone from last week and a collection of the last flowers from her garden.

I have made another painting from my abstract of a few weeks ago - great fun to do, with a palette knife - but too quick, so I will have to do another!  Then I used pen and ink for this drawing of an oak tree in its autumn finery.  This isn't finished (and may not be!)

As you can see, Frances has given us a variety of images to think about, and use for next week. 
Don't forget about your Christmas greeting, which can be sent to me for inclusion next week.  Even if you haven't been contributing to the blog, we would all like to hear from you!

Three late runners this week.
First Sally Ladbrooke:
Here are the original herring, which I started last week, which although a bit of a hackneyed subject were so pretty.
Mine have put on a bit of weight! Probably because I just couldn’t resist the temptation to add another layer. I stuck some newspaper onto a sheet of cartridge first, then used oil pastel and acrylic ink, and then more pastel, and more ink, especially that red ink!
Thanks for the tips on using newspaper as a base, wallpaper paste made it crinkled (This follows discussion on Zoom), PVA doesn’t stick evenly, -next time I’ll try the spray adhesive, or Pritt Stick.

These are Harriet's, 'Rose in Hebe', and two swimming pools.  'Both pictures are, of course, studies of water. I enjoyed the patterns made by the water, made still by the photo, and copied it as best as I could, but became fed up and so some areas are more impressionistic. I might still do a bit more to it, I think it has a bit more mileage in it.'  She told us on Zoom that they were mixed media - a bit of everything.

Finally, here's a contribution from Ian.
'Having not contributed for a while I thought I should pull my finger out. Whilst I haven’t been inspired very much I have finished off a painting from a photo from the distant past. This is somewhere in the country side in Norfolk.
The other one is a lockdown walk and is of Westhorpe church from the fields at the rear.
Now that I have picked up the brushes again I hope to keep at it.'

Here's a challenge.  For the blog of 10th December (that's giving you a good two weeks), instead of the usual mix of pictures, it has been proposed that everyone who wants to participate, should make a digital Christmas card, addressed to their fellow members.  So get your thinking caps on and paintbrushes etc. at the ready!

Suggestions/inspiration from Jane this week.  Left to right: Simple Still Life; Remember Summer? and Visit to Cambridge Last Year.

As usual files available to download for printing below.

Sally P. says, 'A play around with pastel this morning and inks this afternoon. Inks are so unforgiving and permanent. '  She told us on Zoom this morning that she was a bit regretful about using up different pastel paper for the first still life, having so much enjoyed the Pastelmat paper recently.

We were unable to see Sally T. this morning, but she gamely described what she had been doing, and has sent these images with plenty of description.'The still life of looking through the window I showed last week but was not able to send a decent image until today. Oil on canvas. I struggled with this towards the end. Having spent ages on it I think I should try some quicker oil sketches on a smaller scale next time.
'I am now going to work on a silk screen print using a hand cut stencils. I am working out the image using water colour. I want something simple on the lines of Morandi but also very fixed on a surface which is a wooden box. I did an acrylic painting of jugs using a sponge to dye the calico a while ago which does not work. The objects appear as if they are floating in space but I like the colours.'
I hadn't noticed the floating until I read the description.  I think it looks sufficiently abstract that it doesn't matter anyway.

Diana, Jackie and Avril also took the still life that Harriet assembled as a jumping-off point, with differing results.

And from Jackie:
'The still life was more challenging than I first thought with all the different blues and tones. Took much concentration but thanks, Harriet, for setting up those photos for us to use. I liked the fabric pattern too.
I just fell in love with these Turkeys.  They live on a local farm which is on one of my local walks.  They are always so excited to see people and rush towards the boundary fence with guttural globs of bubbling sound, fluffing out their chests and sooty black feathers and staring with their weird faces. This is my second attempt at painting them and capturing their character.'

I have carried on with the shoe theme, with another pair of my old shoes (colour and sketching pencils), and then thought I had better explain why they end up looking as they do, hence the feet, in the same medium, which I have to say, when you look at them for that amount of time, look very odd!

Have a good week, and enjoy the end of lockdown!

Frances celebrated an end of quarantine (even more restrictive than lockdown!) by visiting Redgrave and Lopham Fen in late afternoon, and observing the murmurations.  The outcomes, so far, are drypoint etchings and an acrylic, but she says she is going to paint a larger version over another painting she is dissatisfied with.

From Diana a trio of cats.  First her own painting of Oscar from a photo she took last summer at my house.  Second, her cat Lemmy painted about 20 years ago by her friend Sarah Pyefinch who died in 2007, she was for a short time a member of EAG and lived in Eye.  Thirdly, she says, 'I always loved this painting of Angela's  I took the photo at the Rickinghall exhibition earlier this year.'

I followed last week's shoes with another pair, and I'm currently on a third, with another in mind.  These boots are drawn in a mixture of sketching and colouring pencils.  I also finished an oil painting based on the apples in a bowl from a few weeks ago, with a plan for using this image to make another.

Harriet's contributions start this week with her picture of Oscar, and the painting she has worked on for some time in oils, with rather lovely afternoon light in it from earlier in the year.  It is also her turn to provide the pictures for next week's efforts.

Harriet has provided a broad spread of images for inspiration, from tackling the painting of light through the leaves in a forest, to the sparkle of a swimming pool, there should be something here that sends you on this week's journey!  Larger files below as usual to download.

A quick message for the Zoomers - hopefully the images above are clear enough.  To go from the view where you only see the current speaker, click on the circled button on the left in the left hand picture.  To see just the one speaker, when you see more people, click on the button circled  in the right picture.  Clear as mud.  I hope it makes more sense than it does when I read it!

One final thing, sorry to be so long-winded this week!  If you want to send pictures of your work, and are finding it difficult, try these ways.  If you have an iPhone or iPad, in the image on the left, you can select the symbol circled below the photo, once you have done that you will see the screen on the right. Selecting the envelope will allow you to email the picture, once you have written in the email address.
On the right is an example (in this case a Samsung Galaxy tablet), showing the symbol to select to get to the second scree, which again shows the email symbol, allowing you to send the picture, having put in the email address.

Firstly, an update from the committee about our winter exhibition, to take place at the Bank in December.  Of course this was planned before the world turned upside down.  We have reluctantly decided that we cannot go through with it this year, partly because of all the difficulties of getting pictures to the Bank for hanging with lockdown in the way, and because the time that will be left for the exhibition to be seen before the Bank closes for Christmas was too limited to warrant the amount of work involved.  Rest assured, there will be exhibitions next year!  Once we are all vaccinated...

Noreen has got a new iPad to play with, that came with an Apple Pencil, and so in addition to producing the beautiful pencil drawing on the left from Sally's photo last week, she has also used these new tools to draw the picture on the right directly on the iPad.  This is such an interesting start and I look forward to seeing the finished image.

Frances took inspiration from the landscape photo last week and made these three. First two acrylic and Art Graf. The last based on Sally’s photo. Acrylic, charcoal, pen and Art Graf.

A trio of lanes from Diana.  Sally's, on the left and two from Thornham Parva.

Sally T. also took the inspiration of the photo of SallyP's boots, and applied it to a pair of her own shoes, drawn with pencil and pen and ink.

Avril says. 'Felt a bit restless today, so I did small artworks. The top one in the first image is brush pen, and intense pencils. The one underneath pastel.
I also used a long stick and attached brush pens, then water, it was definitely loose, not so sure it worked but it is good to try.' 

Jackie's sketch of a lane in Scole, painted in the car, with the glorious colours of autumn leaves.  And then, something completely different and wonderful. 'My other project that I have worked on now and then. He just needs some whiskers now and I have asked a neighbour to groom her horses and send some to me.  It makes a refreshing change to work on 3 dimensional figures.'  Fantastic!

From Harriet,  'Here are two images that I have been working on this week, one is a sketch from Sally's lane photo and the other is an oil painting that I am working on, which I started in the summer, in situ, and now am developing further.'

Finally Sally P's own take on the subject she gave us last week.
'Three pics, half hour sketch of boots with watercolour wash, hour drawing of Mick in pencil and a pastel picture of Mick that I still need to work on. Not sure who the model is!'

Now something to think about for next week...  Files below to download.  Not quite such wonderful quality as last week, I'm afraid!

Stay well everyone.

It is interesting to be reminded of life before electricity.  No quick kettle, no oven, no instantly lighting hob, no internet or TV.  We have been so lucky during this year that we have all this entertainment and ease in our lives.  Yesterday, the electricity pole in our back garden was replaced because it was rotten, so we had no power for most of the day, and a bevy of workmen milling around the scaffolding they had built round the new pole, while in the road the traffic was controlled by lights - such fun for everyone.  Thank goodness it didn't go on until after dark! So of course I had no excuse yesterday for not drawing...

First from Jane: 'I loved the photo of the Three Sheep and decided to try different ways of interpreting it. 1 Crayon and ink 2 Acrylic Ink 3 Mixed Media ( ink/ oil pastel/crayon / acrylic paint)'

Now for something completely different from Diana - what she describes as three scribbles.
1st. Following on from last week,using double ended felt tips for the scribble, then spraying with water took 7 mins.
2nd. The same subject, (both from photos) these two are from under Stiperstones, but with added collage.
3rd. White acrylic, graphite plus felt tips sprayed with water,  this one Bodmin moor.

These two are both from Avril, who says, 'Just done a quick sketch with my new brush pens, only trouble no brown in set so I used my inktense pencils over the top.
'I tried very hard to make some mushroom linoprints, what a mess, still not mastered the technique.'  Looks like she had fun trying, though...

From Sally P. 'After a slow start this morning......in fact after12.00 Zoom time! I finally got into the studio with some fungi to have some fun!........ Pens, twigs, inks, watercolor and pencils and a variety of paper..... watercolor, flat white (recycled) and yupo. Not forgetting the King Oyster Mushrooms.Thanks Sal for the ideas.'
And thanks to this Sal for the variety!

'This morning I sat in the garden and sketched a little statue we have, inherited from my mother, with one of Rebecca’s (The Bank) fish by her feet. Over zoom Harriet mentioned that by mistake she had bought a sketchbook with black paper, so this afternoon I turned to mine for the first time and used acrylic and finally some ArtGraf and based it on a photo I took on a walk in Brittany last week.' From Frances.

From Harriet a delicate study of '4 Mushrooms' and also 'Still life with Money Tree'.  Lovely colours in both of these.

This week's photos to inspire you, or give you a subject, have been provided by Sally P.  They could not be more different from one another, and definitely are something for everyone.  I always think that shoes somehow have character of their own, which these certainly do! The colours in the landscape and the light and shad of the portrait should give you plenty to work with.  As usual the larger files for working from are below for downloading.  Have a good week, and it would be wonderful to hear from some of those who have been invisible for a while (?) in time for next week...

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?

 It certainly seems to have become autumn now, and the leaves and conkers are falling. We are told that the coronavirus spread is likely to get worse rather than better over the next few months as it thrives in the cold, and we are likely to be more confined again.  Who knows what this means for Christmas festivities - but it does mean that you have no excuse for not contributing to the blog!

It has been suggested that, since the winter programme has been put on indefinite hold, we should try to add some of its structure to this page.  So there will be some photos at the end of this blog, designed to give you subject matter, should you want it, ideas for your own still life, if that is what you prefer, and a landscape or cityscape of some sort for inspiration. You don't have to use any of them, of course, and we will continue to welcome any contributions on any subject. 

From Frances, four bold-coloured offerings that definitely say 'Harvest'.  Two drawings in sketchbook of autumnal quinces and sunflower then translated with acrylic on small block canvases.

And a wonderful harvest of squashes from Sally P. She is planning to use a different medium for the same subject next week. This is the first suggestion we have for a subject for anyone who wants to use this for next week's still life.

A cool image from Avril this week, that she describes as: 'cream dream in pastels'. She was concerned she has made the shadow too dark, but I think the drama of the contrast works well.

Here are two stages in Harriet's picture of recently harvested apples.  A great study with real solidity.

'Here are my pictures for today an attempt at harvest. Two water colour of tomatoes not my favourite medium and quick pen and ink of a beetroot. Now I shall eat them.' From Sally T.
A great trio, such a glossy plum tomato, and hairy beetroot!

This week I haven't managed to do anything myself.  So here are some pictures to hopefully inspire you, either to use them directly, or, Sally L's idea, the corresponding items in your house to be set up in a similar way; and a landscape photo, from 2012, of the very romantic-looking Scotney Castle.  Feel free to use as you please.  Don't forget there is also Sally P's still life.

If you want to download a larger version of any of these to print or view larger on your computer, click on any of the links below. Once the bigger image appears, you can choose to save it on your own system.

Just a brief extra note today to direct you to Jackie's sad news of John Blake at the bottom of yesterday's blog.  If anyone wants to add their own memories to Lesley's, which are already on the Messages from Members page (click HERE), just drop them to me as an email.