Ann England , of Sidmouth Society of Artists, writes for the Herald.
April began well for Sidmouth Society of Artists (SSA) with two excellent and diverse demonstrations.
Firstly, an excellent afternoon with renowned artist Randy Hale from Colorado, USA. This was our shared Zoom with Exmouth Art Group (EAG) and several artists from other countries.
His theme was ‘Ancient Relics’. The idea came after photographing some old boats one afternoon while out walking.
His painting explodes with colour as he paints in watercolour. He emphasises that paintings come together if you do a value study of darks and lights. He accentuated the warm and cool colours and the importance of blending.
Randy encouraged members to paint along with him giving them time to catch up if necessary. He evaluated the painting as he painted to ensure the values worked as he wished.
He likes to encourage the viewer to put their own interpretation as to what is going on in the picture. There was too much in this excellent presentation to include in the write up!!!
Our second live demonstration at Kennaway House was totally different and is reported on by Roger Marks:
“They say that life is full of surprises and the latest demo was a case of “how true’.
“Guest demonstrator Jo Turner from Mid-Devon is a calligrapher and her presentation involved circulating examples of her work for the audience to examine at close quarters.
“She reminded us that it is only in recent years that electronic devices have replaced the traditional skills of producing posters, business cards and house-address plaques by hand. She even has a side line of reinstating the print on gravestones.
“Punctuating her engaging lecture with true-life anecdotes and humour, she kept everyone amused and entertained as they hung on her every word.
“She then put her “students” to work with the task of writing like a scribe, with the use of a trimmed twig and ink, to see if we had been paying attention – what fun.”
Things are happening within the SSA. Our Jubilee evening should be great fun and members will be invited to bring a picture. Our exhibition opens on Friday July 2nd at Kennaway House. Hope to see you there.
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