January has been full of germs for me but that hasnt stopped any creativity, maybe slowed it down a little : ) My classes are in full swing and we have one more session until half term, where does the time go?
Last week we looked at a winter snow scene in my Oils and Pastels class and I did a little simple scene working wet on wet. It can be quite frustrating work wet on wet as the paint moves around a lot! But if you go with it and have a little fun experimenting it can be a fun way to work.
I'm always blown away by the work of the students and there's been no stopping them so far this term. Here's what they created.....
I love the fact that everyone is different and they all bring their own
unique quality to their work which is always a joy to watch.
Happy New Year to you all. Lots of people say how bad 2016 was but I had a great year finished off with a great Christmas.
One highlight was going to a very posh Christmas do. Paul, the OH, works for a company who likes to treat it's staff and luckily for us we got to go to the Grange hotel next to St.Paul's Cathedral. Here's us being posh for the night.....
Being child free we took full advantage and had a lie in until check out time, such a luxury! I'd been meaning to check out the Tate's new building, The Switch House by Herzog & de Meuron, since it opened so we headed straight over.
The tanks are an amazing space and almost seem an artwork in their own right especially as they've left original details and ghostly features of its past use, lonely doors and stairs lead eerily into concrete walls.
I really wanted to see Louise Bourgeois's work. Years ago I dragged my sister to see the spider sculpture that was sat outside the Tate Modern which I loved. The contrast between the dark, hard spider structure compared to the delicate eggs it held close to its body was beguiling and I couldnt wait to see more. I wasn't let down, although I think there's a disturbing element to her work there's also something really soft and beautiful about it.
For more info on the room check out her page here. It's definitely worth a visit.
Here's the view going across the turbine hall and into the original side of the Tate modern, not for the faint hearted : )
If you havent already definitely go and check it out, the space is amazing there's such a wide range of work so something for everyone plus it's free what more could you ask for.
Here's to an amazing 2017.
The College decided to use one of my learners festive images as their Season's Greetings this year.
There was a lot of great entries including all of the great works below but they settled on Deborah How's lovely snow scene above. I'm really proud of all the learners who submitted amazing work, well done everyone.
Mark, painted the beautiful deer above, and made it to second place in an online festive greetings image competition. Big congratulations especially as he's only been painting for just under a year now. It's amazing what you can achieve when you try.
Have a very Merry Christmas everyone : )
It's the first day of the Christmas holidays in our house and in true end of school term style we've had a lovely relaxing pyjama day making a few Christmas crafts and my first ever attempt at an arctic roll (fingers crossed it doesnt collapse into a gooey mess).
Just thought i'd share some of the festive images we worked on during the last few sessions of the watercolour class....
Firstly was a snow scene using salt for the snow effect in the sky. I love the dramatic contrast between the night sky and the bright snow landscape...
Then we painted some winter animals. I really wanted to paint a reindeer this year so here's my traditional take on a reindeer....
and a more contemporary one which was great fun to do...especially splashing some paint across....
Next course starts on 11th January, which I'm very excited about as I've been given some really good requests. If you're interested check out all the details here.
Merry Christmas everyone, hope you're all enjoying the holidays too x
Phew what a whirlwind of a first term.
Starting off with missy starting
school for the very first time and looking like a giant, definitely has
her father's long legs! The reception area of her school got revamped over the summer with the help of volunteers from the Parish and school and they've done an absolutely amazing job. They've introduced a mud kitchen, bug hotel, gardening area, sand pit, theatre, wood working table and outdoor craft area. Needless to say she loves it and who wouldn't? Here she is on her first day climbing one of the tellytubby hills.....
The next big news I recevied was getting into the London Marathon which left me gobsmacked. I never thought I would actually get in so soon. I'm not going to lie the running is hard, very hard but on the plus side I get to see some amazing sights along the way from the changing seasons to a mother swan teaching her signets life skills. I wasn't too keen on the little beige furry thing that ran across my path but he was probably thinking the same about me!
I wouldn't consider where I live to be in the countryside but the wildlife I've seen is amazing including rabbits, parakeets, jays, woodpeckers, white egrets to name a few. Most importantly it makes the running just that little bit easier : )
On Sunday we had our exhibition at Hornchurch Country Park Visitors Centre, Ingrebourne Valley. This was a chance for all the learners from my Drawing class, Watercolour class and Painting and Drawing class to display their work in their first exhibition.
I have to say I was so proud of them all as it looked absolutely fantastic. They've all worked incredibly hard and the results were amazing. Most of the learners are all complete beginners and haven't picked up a paintbrush or pencil since leaving school, which make their achievements even more applaudible.
Some close ups of all their pieces..... It was really nice seeing the learners develop their own style during the courses and I love the wide range which you can see here
.
It was always great to see their work in class but then to see the pieces framed or mounted for the exhibition was even more special.
My little section including the robin we did in one watercolour class....
It really was a lovely day especially as all the learners brought their friends and family to share the day too. The work is now going to be used for the Student Achievement night at Havering Adult College too, another great opportunity to celebrate their hard work.
I cant wait for September to see their work develop further and meet some new students too.
