Pastel Demo Night

Last night we were enthralled by the delightful Ann Benson, who came along to demonstrate how she works with pastels. In only a couple of hours (which included a short tea break), Ann had transformed a blank page into a beautiful snowy landscape. There was no sign of a photograph or image to copy. She seemed to work straight from her her imagination. Along the way, she talked us through how she works, how she selects colours and materials and like the rest of us, the gaffs which happen. All of us were in awe of the beautiful finished picture but Ann, the perfectionist that she is, felt it was merely something she'd throw away for being of inferior quality. Fear not Ann, most of us would give a right arm to achieve the beautiful landscape you produced last night. Thank you to everyone who turned up. We had a fantastic turnout of over forty people.

Okay for all you Mellor and Marple artists out there reading our blog, now's the time to practice leaving a comment because I've got a something special to post next week.

Wet on Wet

There was a treat in store for watercolour enthusiasts last night. One of our regular attendees, Maggie, held a fantastic class demonstrating wet on wet techniques. As you can see, we began the evening by huddling around while Maggie walked us through the steps before returning to our seats and having a go ourselves. So absorbed in it, the group when told brew was up, grabbed a cup quickly and returned to their painting instantly.

Then there were those of us at the back of the class (ahem, like me) who managed to get very little done :) but hey, painting is only part of the reason we gather. Meeting up with friends and having a good old natter is just as much a part of the evening. And next week, we can look forward to a demonstration of pastels.

Winter Theme with Glossop Art group

Last night we had another lively get together with the delightful members of Glossop Art Group. We do this on a twice a year basis. We go to them and then they come to us and last night it was our turn to host. The idea is that a theme is agreed upon and then we all meet up with our art depicting this theme. Kind of like a Show & Tell. This time around our theme was Winter which brought out some fantastic and varied ideas. As usual, there was a variety of mediums and styles on show. There were watercolours, pastels, pencil sketches, acrylics, mixed media, glass and for the first time a mouse mat and cup. And it won't surprise anyone who regularly attends these events to find that some pieces were being finished just as they were leaving the house to get there. After Norma held all the works up for all to see, one by one and those responsible gave us a quick insight into their inspiration, we broke to enjoy a wonderful buffet.

Many thanks go out to all who turned up to make it such a buzz of an event. Also to all the members who generously donated food and helped out in the kitchen. I'd also like to thank those who brought in more Christmas tree decorations. I think at last count, we have around 100 in all.

If you're reading this, we'd love to know you've visited online, so please do leave a comment and say hi :)

Xmas Tree Decoration Night

A departure from more traditional painting tonight. We all met up to get our hands messy and cover ourselves head to toe in glitter, glue and paint. Yes, tonight, we made Christmas tree decorations. Why? We've agreed to display a tree at this year's Winter Wonderland where local groups decorate a tree with a theme. Our's is green, as in recycled decorations. The evening was lead by Paul Browning, who's handiwork with mixed media collage and crafts gave him the knowhow to come up with the ideas. So, laden with jigsaw pieces, plastic bags, yoghurt bottles and old road maps, we set about converting throwaway materials into dazzling decs. It was a hectic busy evening and around 70 decorations were completed. Although not pictured here, Dave was in charge of the most important decoration, our Art Angel. If you want to see the finished furnished tree, keep an eye out on this blog for further details. It'll be on view around the 4th-5th December.

Next week we meet up with our friends from Glossop Art Group and I'll be back to post how the evening went, so remember to check in again :). Please feel free to leave a comment and let us know you're out there lurking.