Catherine Stavely’s skilful watercolour demo for Shropshire Art Society

The latest in the current Season of Painting Demonstrations was held on Friday 23rd May at our usual venue, The Trinity Centre, Meole Brace, where over 40 members enjoyed listening to and watching the watercolourist, Catherine Stavely, at work. We were able to watch her handling this difficult medium with great skill, while she explained her approach to her work. Choice of subject and her personal preference for including a figure in her paintings, selection of a colour palette and the history and challenges of this medium, were all touched on. The usual break for refreshments provided the opportunity for members to socialise, appreciate the display of work by the artist and speak directly with Catherine about her work. The event concluded with the usual raffle for a painting, kindly donated by the visiting artist.

Image of Catherine Stavely presenting demo painting SAS 2014
Angela Jones receiving the demo painting from Catherine Stavely

On this occasion, Angela Jones was the lucky member invited to select as her prize a framed painting by Catherine from those on display. An instructive and enjoyable afternoon.

Our thanks to Rob for organising the event and to all those who provided excellent homemade cakes!

Annual ‘Paintaway’ enjoys glorious weather in the Lake District

On Monday afternoon 12th May 2014, 22 members and partners arrived for a return visit to the excellent and attractively situated Skelwith Bridge Hotel, just outside Ambleside in the Lake District. This location at the entrance to the stunning Langdale Valley and within sight of the River Brathay, is rich with sketching and painting opportunities which were soon being exploited by our eager painters. While many explored The Lake District further afield, some found subjects close at hand.

A highlight of the week for many was the very helpful and generous demonstration by Wilf Langford, our Chairman, introducing us to his approach to using the Sketchbook and to the exciting properties of water soluble pencils and drawing sticks. The visit culminated on our final evening with our traditional sharing of work; an impressive display of the sketchbooks and paintings from the week. A big thank you to the very helpful hotel staff.

Next year’s Paintaway will be in Beaumaris on Anglesey, another location rich in painting opportunities. Hope to see you there! Meanwhile an especial thanks to Alan for organising this most excellent Paintaway trip!

Manchester and Salford Gallery Trip, Spring 2014

Manchester and Salford were the venues for our recent spring gallery trip.

Collage of SAS Manchester Gallery Trip 2014
Photos by Alan Townsend, a flavour from the Manchester Art Gallery

Truly, the highlight for many was the exciting exhibition of portraits, of international figures from the worlds of celebrity and politics, by the self taught artist Jonathon Yeo, at the Lowry. The powerful portrait of Damien Hirst which greets you on entry, together with the preparatory sketches and photographs, gives a particularly clear insight into the creative process. The Manchester Art Gallery’s ‘Channel Crossings’ special exhibition and its large collection and other unexpected delights provided a stimulating morning for all. The Imperial War Museum North, with its multimedia exhibition on remembrance and fascinating personalisation of the experience of war, was an afternoon destination for some. Another varied day out enjoyed by all travellers! Our next day trip will be to Cardiff on the last Saturday in June, details coming soon…

Shropshire Art Society enjoys London’s bright lights

Noon on Friday 14th March 2014 found 50 Shropshire Art Society members and friends disembarking in bright Spring sunshine from their coach in Central London’s Russell Square, close to the Mercure Bloomsbury Hotel. For three nights, this would provide a very comfortable and well located base from which to explore the many delights of London.

Soon we were off, heading for old haunts and new experiences.

The South Bank area was popular with many where some made for Tate Modern, the always interesting Bankside Gallery and slightly further from the river The Fashion and Textile Museum. Here there was a stunning display of the collaboration between leading textile manufacturers and artists from Picasso to Warhol. An unexpected delight for some of us was the very bright and welcoming interior of Southwark Cathedral alongside the always buzzing Borough Market. Tate Britain with its ‘Ruin Lust‘ exhibition, the Royal Academy of Arts, ‘Sensing Spaces’ exhibition, the river Shuttle boat, open top buses and of course The National and Portrait Gallery beckoned others, as did the Mall Gallery and other specialist venues.

For those with stamina and not affected by claustrophobia, the block buster ‘The Vikings’ exhibition awaited at the British Museum, just a stone’s throw from our hotel. Theatres, where in one case two members were upgraded to a Box (an SAS first?), concerts and the excitement of walking the famous streets and flashing our Travel Passes on Boris’s buses kept us all entertained for the four days of our visit. Travelling back on Monday evening in a very comfortable Longmynd coach, saw us arrive tired but happy after a very full four days.

Thank you to Alan Townsend for organising such a fabulous weekend away for us all.

Exciting print-making demonstration by Paul Hipkiss

The latest in the Society’s programme of artist demonstrations was held at Trinity Hall, Meole Brace on Friday 28th February, when some 50 members and friends gathered to enjoy a brief review of the development of the centuries old art of printing followed by demonstrations of the magic of various printing techniques. Paul Hipkiss (RBSA) spoke with authority, derived from many years as teacher and printmaker. We were particularly impressed by his skilful work with lino cuts and excited by his introduction of colour into the process. It was encouraging to see how much could be achieved by quite simple methods and without the need for an expensive printing press.

Collage of Paul Hipkiss demo SAS 2014
Paul Hipkiss demo for the Shropshire Art Society

We’d like to thank all who made the delicious cakes for the teas. Always a most welcome addition to the afternoon!