Keith Turley demo, the finished portrait!

On Thursday 15th October some 50 members gathered at The Trinity Centre, Meole Brace, for a demonstration by the very experienced portrait painter, Keith Turley (MA ARBSA) – click here to visit his website.

A popular feature of these events is a free draw when the winner receives a painting by the visiting artist. However the winner on this occasion was invited to be our model for the afternoon, with their own finished portrait as their prize. Our winner, Brenda Turner, proved an excellent model. As Keith worked he provided a very interesting commentary on matters of technique and materials used, while entertaining us with the story of his development as an artist. He also brought some fine examples of his current work, some in quite a large format.

Another very instructive and enjoyable afternoon, kindly organised by Rob Leckey, complete with tea and delicious homemade cake provided by members.

Here is the finished portrait of Barbara!

Image of Keith Turley finished demo portrait for SAS 2015
Keith Turley’s finished demo portrait

A ‘first’ for the Sketch Club as they visit power station

A Sketch Club visit to a power station was a ‘first’ for the group.

We had a most interesting day and members of staff that we met were all very kind and attentive. We were grateful for the amount of time they gave to show us round and point out the various places we could sketch or paint. We had to don hi-viz jackets and hard hats before we were allowed to venture forth, and we were glad not to be handed shovels as well!

In the photo (with thanks to Alison Williamson) you can see us ‘all dressed up’ to sketch in safety.

Image of SAS Sketch Club group visiting power station 2015

A reminder to members that the next Sketch Club meeting is our LAST for the season. We know it’s hard to believe because we are still waiting for a warm and sunny day. Make a note that we are meeting at Coalport China Museum on Thursday 10th September at the usual time of 10.30am. Don’t let the weather put you off because there is a cafe on site selling snacks, coffee and soup – just right to warm you up in the summer!

Hope to see you there, Jo and Catherine.

Permanent Exhibition in St. Mary’s Church: all the details for Members

We are delighted to announce that this exciting new venture for the Society has commenced, our Permanent Exhibition in St. Mary’s Church, Shrewsbury, is underway! On the final day of the Annual Summer Exhibition, three of the Society’s exhibition boards were positioned in the left hand corner as you enter the church to create a site for our Permanent Exhibition.

Two or three members will form the exhibition on a monthly basis. Judith Moy, Pru Mac and Nicky Lokier got the project off the ground. The photograph below shows the excellent display by these members.

Image of SAS Permanent Exhibition in St. Mary's Church 2015

The Rota (updated as of January 2016) for exhibitors was drawn up by Committee Members. All members who expressed an interest in taking part, please see the Rota below. We had a very good response with over forty members expressing an interest. Please note your allotted month and set up and take down dates.

Take down and set up will be on Saturday mornings from 10am to 12 noon.
All paintings can be for sale. Jo from The Battlefield 1403 Café in St. Mary’s has kindly offered to take payments for the Society using our Bank Card Machine.

Picture title label cards are supplied with pens to complete on the set up day.
Materials and sale carriage bags are stored in the trunk directly below the boards.
One or two members of the Committee will be on hand to help out on the set up day.

Any further queries (from members), please contact Rob Leckey on 01743 872297 or 07881 380024.

Image of first SAS Permanent Exhibition rota 2015-2016

Dazzled in Liverpool

A full coach load of 50 members and friends on Saturday 4th July enjoyed a great day out in Liverpool. The Waterfront with its iconic buildings was glinting and gleaming in the sunshine to greet our arrival. It was buzzing with life as the city prepared for the culmination of its celebration of some 175 years of transatlantic crossings, with the spectacular departure of Queen Mary 2 later that evening.

Collage of SAS Gallery Day Trip to Liverpool 2015
Our fabulous Liverpool trip was organised by Alan Townsend

On arrival most of us headed straight for our pre booked visit to Tate Liverpool for ‘Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots’. This featured the artist’s stunning semi figurative Black Paintings from the early 50s helpfully shown in the context of work from other periods of his career. A splendidly exciting visual experience! Others spent the morning savouring the Tate’s other galleries, the nearby Waterfront museums and the rest of the exciting Liverpool tourist offer, including the Liverpool Wheel.

After lunch we headed for the Mersey Ferries Terminal to cruise the river, some of us on the Peter Blake decorated Dazzle ferry boat. With an excellent commentary to help us, we travelled back and forth across the river so that we could hear the history of this great port and appreciate the iconic Waterfront buildings, while marvelling at the huge size and elegant design of the largest Cunard Liner.

After a final visit for refreshment and purchases in the stylish Tate building we made our way back to our Longmynd coach for a prompt departure and a 6.15pm arrival back in Shrewsbury. An exciting and rather special day!

Thank you to Alan Townsend for organising such a super trip. We all look forward to the next one!

Sketch Club visit beautiful Broseley garden

We had a very warm welcome from artist Maggie Humphry when the group met at her home in Broseley.

Maggie’s garden is a little gem with beautiful, naturalistic planting presided over by a friendly and clever little Robin, who even chose his favourite painting! (see photo posted by Maureen Gray).

Image of SAS Sketch Club summer 2015
Summer Sketch Club visit Maggie’s beautiful garden

Some members walked round Broseley and along the network of historic footpaths that locals have used over the years to get to work, called ‘jitties’. Others chose to paint flowers.

One of our photos is of a halo round the sun, seen from the garden, How many other people saw this weather phenomenon? Did Maggie order it to excite our imagination?

It all added up to a special day. Thank you Maggie.

A reminder to members that our next Sketching Day is on Saturday 11th July at St.Mary’s Church in Shrewsbury, meeting in the cafe inside the Church. We hope members of Ludlow Art Society will be there to see our current Exhibition.