Bruce Mulcahy came to Glasshouses from Teeside to demonstrate gouache painting for Pateley Bridge Art Club members and interested local people.
Although he paints in oils, acrylics and gouache, he prefers gouache for outdoor paintings as he can reduce the weight of materials he carries, he can work quicker and the painting dries for safe transport. If weather or light changes cause interuption to an outdoor session, the painting can easily be rewetted and recommenced.
He used 200 gsm slightly rough watercolour paper and thin stiff flat brushes.
Colin Swinton demonstrated painting flowers in watercolour at the June 2023 monthly meeting of Pateley Bridge Art Club in Glasshouses.
Colin last demonstrated to members in 2016. See link at the end for details on his use of colours and granulation effects.
Colin painted flat with camera projection onto the wall for members and guests to see.
Sunflower painting sequence. Building up colours with bold wet brushstrokes, intermingling colours on the paper, allowing drying between major colour changes. The highlights in the centre of the flower created with masking fluid, removed after the dark colour had thoroughly dried. He applied darker background colours to emphasise the central flower.
Sunflower at end of the demonstration
Pink flower painting sequence. Colin followed a similar process in applying darker colours into earlier light washes, drying the painting before applying new colours.
Pink flower at end of demonstration
He is a local artist and tutor.
Links: https://artison.co.uk/tutor/colin-swinton/
Previous demonstration by Colin Swinton : Demonstration 2016
Heather Burton travelled from East Yorkshire to demonstrate painting in acrylic paint applied with a palette knife. The demonstration attracted a full room of members and guests. The painting work was projected onto the back wall to enable everyone to see the detail.
Heather explained how palette knives are designed to enable artists to hold the handle in a firm grip whilst the blade can be flat over the painting surface. This enables an even application of paint from along the blade if desired, loading with paint and tilted in order to spread sideways evenly.
There are many shapes and styles of palette knife. Various lengths, widths and edges.
Building up colours and layers
Heather showed how the palete knife could be used on paper and also on textured surfaces. She illustrated sweeping curves, circular sweeps, flicked grasses, stylized tree, house and windows.
Examples of paintings by palette knife by Heather Burton
The Pateley Bridge Art Club exhibition of members’ paintings, prints, photographs and cards will be on display from Friday 19th to Monday 22nd August. 10am to 5pm at the Broadbelt Hall, Glasshouses HG3 5QY. Near Pateley Bridge.
Tea/coffee and cakes, parking next to the village green, disabled access.
Valerie Wartelle came to the club to tell us about her work in wet felting, illustrated with slides, sketch books, sample felted pieces and finished pictures.
Valerie has sketch books to record landscapes and subjects from which to create felted pictures. She also works from photographic images.
Valerie explained that she buys wool tops in a wide range of colours and does not dye fabrics. The fibres in the wool tops are already aligned (carded). which is necessary for bonding fibres together or into woven fabric.
As Valerie states on her website – “The process uses wool tops, hot water, soapsuds and friction to interlock loose fibres together to create a stable fabric.”
She slowly lays fine layers of wool fibres onto a plain flat woven fabric, together with linen fibres and silk threads.
The process needs warm water and physical agitation of the mass of fibres to encourage individual wool fibres to bond with each other and intertwine with the silk woven fabrics.
The pieces can be squeezed, pressed, rolled on the table or through a mangle.
The resulting matted wool is bonded, stable and colourful.
Valerie explained how she sews linen and silk threads and fibres into her paintings to make organic forms.
Landscape scenes may be created with subtle or bright colours blending into each other.
Valerie has a website with more details of her vision and methods as well as courses she runs.
https://valeriewartelle.co.uk
There is a short film showing her processes. Go to the following page and click on the image.
https://valeriewartelle.co.uk/my-practice
Mick Burton explained and demonstrated continuous line drawing and colouring at the May 2022 meeting in Glasshouses to a full house.
Many artists have used continuous lines in their artworks, Mick showed images of drawings by Picasso and Salvador Dali that used continuous lines.
He demonstrated how lines could be drawn in sections or at key crossing points before joining up loose ends to complete the drawing as a single flowing line.
He provided outlines of familiar images to enable members to construct continuous line drawings.
These are some of the results by members.
Colouring
Mick explained how enclosed areas can be coloured in a systematic way to emphasis the shape and flow of the subject. There is plenty of scope to vary the patterns.
These are some results by members.
Abstract Drawings
Mick showed members some of his abstract paintings. There is immense scope to create patterns and shapes with colours flowing around the lines.
Artworks by Mick Burton
Examples of his work can be viewed at > mickburton.co.uk/
Some of the artworks shown to members
At the exhibition – Janet Holt, Dayna Cowper & Mike Holt
Images of the Pateley Bridge Art Club exhibition of members’ artworks are on display.
Click link to view > Spring Exhibition Images
