The blog contains society news and activities. You are welcome to comment on the pages. Find out more at: tottonartsociety.org and Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/134056857189218/

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

RUSSELL COTES VISIT

There were thirteen of us on the trip to the Russell Cotes House and Gallery on Saturday 17th March.   We were impressed with the  beautiful cliff-top house and its paintings. Sir Merton Russell Cotes had been an art dealer, politician and mayor of Bournemouth. He and his wife Lady Annie travelled the world collecting arts and crafts and shipping them back to England. The house was designed by them and the luxurious interior of the house is a unique setting for their collection.
 



We visited the A Question of Guilt exhibition of twentieth century portraits and at least one person identified the murderer using the clues next to the paintings. Many thanks to Helen Bartlett for organising the trip.
Di

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

                      DON'T FORGET!

                                       AGM    28TH MARCH    7-30pm

                                                        See earlier Blog and Web site for details.

Choice Plants Sketching


Choice Plants visit



The craft room at Choice Plants is a treasure trove of ready made models for artists . The wall are lined with shelves of  pots, bowls and other pottery and an assortment of model animals in all shapes and sizes. Some of us sketched these while others selected pottery items which were painted with glazes. They were then left for firing and later collection. We finished our session with tea and a chat and left after a very enjoyable morning.

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

RUSSELL COATES VISIT

TAS DAY TRIP TO THE RUSSSELL COTES MUSEUM 

Saturday 17th March 10.15 a.m. - 4.00 p.m.

East Cliff Promenade, Bournemouth, BH1 3AA  

There are car parks on the Bath Road after the Royal Bath Hotel.  Alternative parking is at the Bournemouth International Centre on Exeter Road BH2 5BH.
Entry £8 if you are coming under your own steam.
 Minibus passengers who have prepaid - please be at  the bus stop near the former Countrystore shop on the Salisbury Road in Totton  before 9.00 a.m. for a prompt start. The museum has  stunning views over the sea, a large collection of artwork and a cafe. We are looking forward to seeing their special exhibition ‘A Question of Guilt’.
Di
 

Adventurus Artists Friday 9th March

ADVENTUROUS ARTISTS SKETCHING GROUP AT POPPIES CRAFTS STUDIO, TIMSBURY
Friday 9th March 10.15 a.m.
Choice Plants, Stockbridge Road, Timsbury. SO51 0NB

From Romsey, take the A3057.It is on the left after the sign to the Household Waste Amenity Point. We will be well catered for - there is the crafts studio, cafe and plant centre
We can choose to sketch or to pay a small sum to try one of the crafts on offer.



 Di
T.A.S. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING  WITH ELECTION OF OFFICERS  

PLUS FRAMING FAIR

Wednesday 28th March 7.30 p.m. Three Score Club Totton

This will be an important meeting for the society.
We need to appoint the Committee members for this next year, including a Chairman since Kate Rodrigues is standing down. Mary Maskell is collecting nominations. Please contact her if you would like to nominate yourself or someone else (with their permission).
  • There will be changes to the constitution, including new procedures to conform with the General Data Protection Regulation  2018. It will be necessary for us to obtain your permission for us to store safely and use your contact details, photographs, videos, etc. of yourself and your artwork. You  have legal rights over how we use that data. The unsubscribe message at the foot of this email is just one example of the new procedures that have to be implemented.
  • Help us decide how to celebrate the golden anniversary of Totton Art Society.

After the business of the AGM and refreshments we will focus on framing.

FRAME SALE  David Ridler, owner of First Floor Gallery Picture Framing at Hunts Farm Michelmersh 
David will give us the professional low-down on framing and will be bringing a selection of frames for sale.

FRAMING FAIR       Members bring samples of their frames 
Framing can be daunting if you have never been shown how to do it.
if you are an experienced artist please bring a framed sample of your work, with the back fully finished with D-rings, cord and labels. Hopefully there will be a variety of media: watercolours, drawings,  mixed media, pastels, acrylics and oils. We will lay them out and the idea is to share information and tips about finishing work for sale.  

BRING & BUY

You are welcome to bring your unwanted art equipment, magazines, DVDs, etc. to this meeting to be sold in aid of T.A.S. funds. Please clearly label them with a suggested price.  This is a good chance to have a ‘clear-out’! 

Di

February Demonstration Animals in Watercolour



 

JULIA CASSELS -  WILDLIFE ARTIST

 

Julia Cassels has a wealth of experience sketching and painting in Africa. She lived in Zambia for more than ten years and on a farm in Kenya for one year.  Her exquisite watercolour paintings owe much to patient observation and sketching the details that might not be evident in a photograph.  

The main subject of her demonstration was a group of flamingos using two photographs of flocks of the birds as her reference. Her preferred supports are stretched 140lb Arches NOT paper purchased on a roll and Saunders Waterford pads for painting trips. Favourite brushes are Kolinsky sable pointed round Nos. 8 and 16 (sold by Luxartis of Blandford in Dorset www.luxartis.biz), a hake, sword and rigger. Using a cheap child’s paintbrush, some splattered masking fluid reserved white paper for splashes of water around the birds’ legs.
While it dried Julia drew and a mother and baby elephant.  The following techniques were used to depict animals on the move:
·        sketch important lines and angles – little hooks” -even if these are disjointed
·        draw the legs less well-defined than the body
·        draw more loosely and do not connect all the lines – leave “optical gaps”
·        use energetic lines and marks
·        “scribble drawing” – tonal sketches using a scribbling stroke with pencil
Returning to her main painting, Julia used five Winsor & Newton artists’ colours including prussian blue, which dries to a muted shade, cadmium red and naples yellow. She worked wet-in-wet creating subtle colours using layers of washes. Her flamingos were peachy pink with dark grey-blue wings and the water was white with shades of  muted blue-green. The total effect was not unlike a group of beautiful ballet dancers.
Members enjoyed the demonstration and were also interested to see her sketchbooks, greetings cards and copy of her book ‘How to Capture Movement in Your Paintings’.   
Julia’s painting holidays in Zambia, Spain and Greece are very popular.
13th – 21st May 2018   Zambia, Luangwa National Park  2  places available
6th – 13th June 2018    Wild Spain, Aragon & Valencia   . 2  places available
2019    Greece, Island of Zakynthos  (full for this year)
2019    Spain, Andalucia, (full for this year)
 
More details are to be found on Julia’s website http://www.juliacassels.com/
 
KATE RODRIGUES RETIRES AS CHAIRMAN
 
Kate Rodrigues thanked members for their support during her two years as Chairman and regretted that it was not viable for her to continue in the role. She was presented with flowers on behalf of the society by Anne Hamerton
 
Di Alexander
 
Kate retires as Chairman
 
 
 
Flamingoes
Masking fluid flamingoes
 
African Elephants
Julia