My first newsletter.....

There's a slight chill in the air, the leaves are starting to fall and my daughter keeps coming home with pocketfuls of conkers.....It can only mean one thing... yep... the Autumn art classes are about to begin and I cant wait to get creative with you all again!

Here's a few pictures from my last sessions of the summer term where we get adventurous and go plein air..... it was so roasting we had to hunt for shade for fear of over heating : )

This was the from my Drawing and Painting class up near Havering-atte-Bower at the back of the Green and the horses stables. It was recommended from a learner (thank you Terry) as one of his favourite walks and I can see why, it is absolutely beautiful. If you want to get inspired by nature definitely head up there for breath taking views and you might be as lucky as us to have the horses wondering past.

Here's the watercolour class enjoying the views and shade of Hornchurch Country Park. It was so lovely down by the river where it was cooler than in the centre, glorious.....

There's something magical about drawing and painting outside, almost like a Cinderella moment as chicks swim past, dragonflies dance in front of you and the birds sing. Definitely good for the soul. If you havent tried it I would definitely recommend it.

Watercolour classes.....

I've just finished a 10 week class in watercolours and we're almost ready to start the next one.

Here's some of the paintings that we did in class on the last course. 

We looked at adding shadows to bring our paintings to life:

We experimented with BRUSHO and my first time painting a Kingfisher. 

We played around with a limited palette in our paintings;

We also had a look at pen and ink;

If you fancy joining us the next class starts on Thursday 19th April at Hornchurch Country Park Visitors Centre. 

My Students Summer Show.......

I am very excited to announce that I am holding an exhibition of my students work. They have produced amazing work and I am very proud of everything they have achieved. This is a joint exhibition from my Drawing class, Watercolour class and the Drawing and Painting class. So there will be a great mix of different art works. Ingrebourne Valley Visitors Centre are letting us have their education room on Sunday 7th August to show our work.

I'm also doing some drop in sessions on the day so come along, sit down and relax with the amazing view across the park and have a go at a little drawing or painting. What better way to spend a Sunday.

Taking place on Sunday 7th August from 10am until 4pm. If you walk into the Visitors Centre, follow it through to the cafe and we'll be on the left, you wont be able to miss us. 

Hopefully see you there,

Kirsten

Proud mother hen.....watercolour portraits

I've been feeling like a proud mother hen lately from the learners in my art classes. I love seeing their work develop and progress over the weeks especially from people who haven't picked up a pencil or paintbrush since leaving school. Plus every week never feels like work!

These are some of the portraits the learners made.....

 

I have to confess that some did use carbon paper. I always show the learners how to draw the subject matter so in this case I showed them how to break down the face. But as the lessons are so short some chose to spend their time concentrating on painting the face. 

For such a hard subject matter I think they're brilliant.

Another finale....

this week was my watercolour class. Again although it's always sad when a course ends I'm also really looking forward to the next one which starts next Tuesday. I'll be seeing most of the learners again plus a few new ones. Again to watch the students progress is amazing especially when it's a new found passion. 

Here is what we got up to for the second half of the course.......

This was the negative painting which was really hard to get your brain to think in reverse to how you would usually paint. This is a great one for those that love to paint flowers, landscapes and foliage.

Although Still Life can leave people with dread it was really fun, the colours and shapes the students achieved from a wide range of fruit and flowers was amazing. Plums and pears were great for their colours and textures. 

This was the River Beam near Chase Lakes, it's like a little hidden sanctuary down there that my girls love to explore. This was taken from a photo from one of our walks. I love the tree that looks like upside down legs!

Again if you fancy joining, it's a lovely, relaxed art class on a Tuesday morning at Havering Adult College at Bower Park. I break down all images showing you how to build them up slowly including any techniques and brush strokes. It's also really nice to see students being incredibly supportive of each other's work and I love seeing what everyone has been up to at home. 

So if you fancy it then click here for more details to join, Tuesday mornings 10am-12.30pm at Bower Park Centre at the Adult College. 

There's still some places....

 if you fancy coming along to get creative.....

Watercolour class what we've been up to.....

This year I was excited to start a new 10 week watercolour class at Havering Adult College. So far we're half way through and I thought I'd share what we've been up to.

We started off with a simple landscape image.....

 Then we looked at a tonal study, this was taken from a trip to New Zealand. I love derelict buildings and this was a great example. Painted in Payne's Grey, my new favourite colour to use.

We then took a limited palette to complete a tree. The great thing with watercolour painting is the different effects you can use. I love wet on wet backgrounds where the colours blend beautifully. Then using a dry brush for images and layering different colours.

We had some fun experimenting with wax resists the salt technique. 

And more fun with masking fluid and the alcohol technique.....

After half term we're going to look at an architectural detail using a photo I took of St.Paul's. Sometimes the hardest thing with art is knowing when to stop. I started this painting with loose wet on wet colours blending into one another and I loved the effect but then I kept going, adding more and more detail.

So I went back and started again with a loose sketchy style which I love.

If you like the look of what we're up to and want to come and have a go the next course is on 19th April. Click here for more details.
If it looks a bit complicated, not to worry as I break down every image step by step and demonstrate all the techniques so anyone can attempt it from complete beginners to those wanting to brush up their skills.