Wednesday 25th May 22

Adebanji Alade set up his area for the demonstration. As soon as he seemed finished, members and guests gathered round to pick his brains before the event started. And despite two hours of pearls of wisdom falling from him as he worked, they gathered again at the end of the demonstration, reluctant to miss a thing.

And why not?

This was a wonderful evening entertained and informed by a brilliant, talented, unaffected artist. Adebanji shared tips and details of his preferred painting tools. He mentioned his mentors, and guided us to sources we might like to explore ourselves.

• favourite artists: John Singer Sargent and Joaquín Sorolla
• favourite brushes: filbert, artificial hairs; 10 for broader strokes, 8 for more detail, and a rigger for fine work
• concentrate on the drawing first
• use the fewest amount of strokes to get the effect you want
• dark things reflect lighter, and light ones reflect darker
• sketch every day, keep your hand and brain working together
• don’t paint a taxi, paint the shapes that are there and it will become one
• secret to doing figures in landscapes: small heads and no feet

And – when do you stop? When you start fiddling!

Report by Jacky Pett

Photos by Roy Brophy and J M Pett