Category: active art

How hard can it be?

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by Bev Dunstan

‘How hard can it be’ – Watercolor Workshop, Saturday 11th April.

Catherine Cartwright brought a fantastic and lighthearted approach to Watercolour painting with her beginners class.

She began by explaining her background and joy in using watercolour in her work and promised to share tips and tricks that she’d learned over time and wished she knew sooner.

Catherine demonstrated the techniques and provided helpful handouts for the class to practice the different methods used in Watercolour including ‘wet-in-wet’ and ‘variegated wash’ – where the watercolour paint is moved down the wet paper without the reapplication of paint.

wet in wet / variegated wash

The group members took the time to work through the techniques and practice the various tips including creating cloud formations and using splatter for increased mark making. 

Cloud formations
Splatter techniques

Another great tip was to use the edge of a credit card, length cut to suit the need and dip it into the paint to mark lines – useful for fence posts in a landscape.

Catherine encouraged the class to use a minimal colour palette and mix greens using lemon yellow, cadmium yellow, or raw sienna with ultramarine and cobalt blue combinations.

colour chart

After lunch, members put the new found knowledge into practice by creating a landscape painting.  

i

The group had a wonderful time and learnt many new things. There was plenty of time to practice the techniques and Catherine was ready to answer questions and help when asked.

Chaos and sloshing with Jenny Muncaster

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by Lisa Marshall

We had a great workshop on Saturday 14th March.  It was a bit chaotic at times, lots of water and sloshing about, lots of fun. But no mishaps and a full house, with a waiting list.

Jenny started by giving us an enthusiastic walk through of her art life. She has so many ideas she needs to investigate before she runs out of time.

She bought with her an array of her beautiful work.

She is a promoter for Daler Rowney Acrylics and often visits the factory and works closely with the development team. There are 4 different textures in the system 3 range 

  • Heavy Body
  • Soft Body. _ Original
  • Fluid 
  • Ink
  • DR Acrylics are highly pigmented

She talked about different brush types and their uses and other tools we would need like sponges, pipettes and pallet knives. Then she demonstrated the colour wheel using CMYK and  process yellow, magenta and cyan which gives a brighter mix.

We completed two projects and watched her demo a third

16 Square Grid

We started with 16 square grid  taped and chose 3 of our colours to make as many different marks as possible in each of the sections. Results: we produced many varieties of patten and texture.

Zine (1)

Next we started our Zine (Magazine like folded paper) 

We painted the first side with a base layer then a contrasting top colour which we sloshed with water while it was still wet and waited for the paint to dry, but not the water, then wiped off with a wet sponge – this leaves a splashy effect and can be repeated multiple times.  Embrace your mistakes!

We then worked on the second side of the Zine

Oil pastes and make marks right up to the edges then watery paint all over the give a contrasting effect. We made lots of texture marks with grout scrapers, bubble wrap printing, scourers, corks, cotton buds and finally ink flows with a straw.

 Jenny’s Demo

While that was drying we watched Jenny Demo a Flower Meadow 

The picture is inspired by one that she has created on a much larger scale for cruise ships. – Acrylics are so versatile. She used 5 colours and White.

If you are on Instagram, there is an instagram video she has made of the process.

Zine (2)

Finally, with all the paint dry, we folded and cut our Zines 

A fabulous time was had by all!

Jenny has written a book which will be published in March 2027, and has an Exhibition starting on 3rd June at the Arc Winchester for 6 weeks (The Colour Factory).

A Chinese New Year?

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by Bev Dunstan

Well, no, it will not be the Chinese New Year until next month. But we started off 2026 with a workshop of Chinese Brush Painting by Jean Turton. And it was wonderful!

Jean introduced the attendees to the wonderful world of Chinese Brush Painting with her amazing stories of her visits to China to witness the making of the paper, the creation of the chops (stamps), the history of the brushes and visiting the country to paint the phenomenal landscape.

Soft, absorbent surface

She began by ensuring that we all were working on a soft and absorbent surface, explaining that the Chinese paper would surprise us all in how quickly it would take up the water.  Any hard or plastic-finished surface would encourage the water to spread under the paper and that was avoidable with the correct base surface – newspaper was ideal and Jean used a piece of felt,

Jean explained that, although there were many brushes to choose from, we would really only need 3 types (1) a narrow brush for thinner marks (2) the sheep brush, made from sheep or goat hair which was very soft and absorbent (3) the stiffer wolf brush (actually made from weasel hair).  This brush was harder than the sheep brush and kept its point during application.  Jean kindly lent her brushes to the class for the workshop. 

Jean supplied the paper and she was NOT wrong regarding its water absorbent properties!  It was like painting onto cheap toilet paper!  Great care had to be taken to remove the excess water from the loaded brush before making the mark on the paper.

Jean supplied the Chinese ink and explained its origins.  The black was ground from Oil-soot or Pine-soot.  The vibrant red paste used for the chop marks (generally messages of good luck and the like) was cinnabar, an ore made from mercury sulphide, which is toxic and to be handled with great care.

Narcissus and Camellia

Introduction over, she demonstrated the techniques used to create a painting of narcissus and camilla using the narrow and sheep brushes to define outline and infill colour respectively.

Iconic mountain landscape

After lunch, Jean demonstrated the different techniques used to create the iconic Chinese mountain / pine tree landscape.  It used the stiffer wolf brush and included the ‘push’ technique of the brush, causing it to wobble and expand the mark as it crossed the paper surface.

How to paint bamboo

To complete the day, Jean shared her technique for painting bamboo and its leaf patterns.  One leaf (passing boat), two leaves (fishtail), three leaves (goldfish tail), four leaves (swallow) and five leaves (landing goose).  Jean’s enthusiasm for the poetry and symbolism of the marks was infectious and we all thoroughly enjoyed the day.

The results of our labours:

Heads in the clouds… in Watercolour

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October’s watercolour workshop with George Popesco

by Bev Dunstan

The day began with George setting up his camera and projector so that everyone could watch him demonstrating his tips and techniques on how to create cloud structure using watercolour.  

George shared his inspiration for cloud painting including some of his favourite books, namely “Constable’s Skies: Paintings & Sketches by John Constable” by Mark Evans, “Turner” by Bockemuhl Michael and “A Cloud a Day” by Gavin Pretor-Pinney and The Cloud Appreciation Society and reminded us to learn from the A-listers!

George began by explaining the different types of watercolour paper and how to prepare it for painting by taping down to a board.  He then continued to demonstrate the wet-in-wet technique of coating the watercolour paper in clean water before applying the paint and produced some examples of cloud formations. This was followed by a more controlled application of water to assist in forming the different cloud shapes.

The class took to practicing on small sheets of paper and the best two from each participant were then displayed for all to review.

After lunch, George provided plenty of inspirational photos from his own vast collection for people to use as a guide to create their own Cloudscapes.

Whoever suggested that Watercolour painting was easy was either a professional or a delusionist!  Controlling the paint over the water and mastering the saturation of the colour took patience and focus and there was not much banter in the room as we all worked to complete our final pieces. 

Time passed very quickly and all too soon 3.30pm arrived and everyone helped in packing away the room, which was gratefully received.

Painting the Kingfisher

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by Bev Dunstan

Jill Iliffe visited from East Hampshire on September 13th to present a fantastic workshop entitled ‘Painting the Kingfisher’.  Originally planned as an Oil painting workshop, the day expanded to include Acrylic paint to enable a wider audience to participate.  

Jill shared her insights into oil painting techniques including brush types – stiff bristle for the main application and finer brushes for the smaller detail; mixing mediums – Zest-it as a low odour alternate to the traditional turps, and Liquin, used to create a smooth, gel like paint film which was ideal for the eyeball of the bird.

Whilst some of the artists used the traditional Oil based paints, others used the water-based oil paints.  These paints still have the beautiful buttery texture that takes an age to dry, but wash out in water without the inconvenience of smellier solvents required for traditional oil paints.

Everyone came with their painting surface prepared with a background colour and the suggested palette colours recommended by Jill.  Jill brought two photo images to choose from and the artists began by sketching the outline of the bird onto the surface.  Once the outline was completed, then the remainder of the features were painted directly into the painting.

For those who chose the image of the front of the bird, the painting began with the breast, progressing to the head and the beak using different brushes to depict the feathers and the eye.  The tail was painted using the same brush technique before the branch was placed in the painting – this time applying the paint by palette knife – spreading and lifting the paint to give the bark texture. 

The final paintings were displayed and clearly demonstrated just how differently the same image can be interpreted and depicted by individual artists.

The six hours just flew by and everyone agreed it had been a fantastic day.  The biggest challenge left was getting the wet oil paintings home without smudging the paint!

Just three events in August

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There may be just three events in August, but they account for twenty-one activity days!

August 13th sees the Drop-in session at its usual venue at the Community Hall on Hursley Road. This is for members only, and continues to offer free refreshments! It’s a chance to work on your projects away from the turmoil of home.

Summer Exhibition

On Friday evening, 15th August, we have the hand-in of artworks for our Summer Exhibition. As the entries have already closed, and we’re only open for a short window, Roy is amenable to requests for inclusion from those who missed it. But only for the next few days, so act fast. Helpers for setting up the exhibition should also contact Roy if you haven’t already done so.

The Summer Exhibition opens at 10 am on Saturday morning, and runs until BH Monday, 25th August. Please tell your friends, get as much publicity as you can, and bring people along to take a look. The Dovetail Cafe will be open in the mornings Tuesday-Saturday.

Hampshire Open Studios

Once you’ve viewed the exhibition, go to the rear of the complex, where our Open Studio will be in full swing for the duration of the exhibition (16 to 25 August). This is part of the Hampshire Open Studio tour 2025, and leaflets are available to give to friends, visitors, and anyone interested. In addition, the local artists have produced a guide to the Chandlers Ford area studios.

The projects our artists will be working on are diverse, and many artists will be there for only one day, at most two. Practice varies from oils and acrylics, and watercolour landscapes, through printmaking, needlework art, and collage to book illustration.

Many artworks will be for sale in both rooms through the ten days.

Starlings in watercolour pencil

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by Bev Dunstan

Chris Church came down to Chandlers Ford from Buckinghamshire and provided a days tuition on the use of watercolour pencils.

He began the day with a quick introduction of himself and his work enabling us to see what could be achieved with minimal equipment; namely paper, coloured pencils, tiny brushes and water.

He chose to demonstrate the painting of a starling, with its deep iridescent colours of purple and green overlaid by golden edged black feathers, tipped with an arrow head of white, this proved to be an excellent choice.

The workshop progressed in stages beginning with a choice of two photos of the starling and sketching the image in graphic pencil onto acrylic paper.  The pencil could then be erased at the end of the process and once the watercolour was dry.

 Starting with the head, the next step was to apply the base layer of colour by overlaying the pencil marks before introducing the water to mix the pigments on the paper.  

For those new to this medium it was very much a journey of trusting the method, since the early stages of the painting looked very rough and ready!

Working from light to dark, the golden wing edges were defined and the layers of colour continued to be applied.  It was important that the brush strokes followed the alignment of the feathers.

Once the colour base was completed then it was time to sharpen the black pencil and start to introduce the feathers and the eye.  

The crowning glory was the use of a white posca pen to mark the white feather tips and the method suddenly made sense!

We were all pretty happy with our results, despite having qualms during the session. ‘Follow the process’ works!

Chris was a patient tutor, spending time with the artists and sharing his tips with the members and also managing to finish his artwork.

Chris is keen to provide a zoom demo in the future.  Our 2025-26 calendar is complete but he is ‘pencilled’ in for a session in the Autumn of 2026.

Loose Landscapes with Christine Forbes

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by Bev Dunstan

Christine came up from Chichester on June 14 to present a wonderful  ‘Loose Landscape in Acrylic’ workshop.

Thought process

She began by explaining the importance of drawing out your painting prior to applying the paint.  By doing so, you were breaking down the thought process of the painting into different stages – tone, mark placement and then colour.

Using a graphic stick, the members were encouraged to map out the image, pressing hard to show the darker areas and working the graphic stick across the page to demonstrate the different tones within the painting.

Using the tonal map as reference, a test piece was created to practice making the marks and the placement of paint. Beginning with deep purples – mimicking the darker tones of the graphic marks and once dry, the landscape was applied and the cloud formations were completed.

The final painting was then created using the techniques of the practice piece.

Sgraffito

Christine continued by demonstrating the technique of sgraffito.   A base layer of colour was randomly applied to the paper and once this was dried, a darker application of paint was brushed over the top. Whilst this was still wet the artist scratched away the paint to reveal the colour beneath.  

The afternoon provided time to the artists to use the techniques learned in the morning to create their own work – either freeform or from favoured photos.

The final display of work demonstrated the wide interpretation of the techniques learned during the day.

Linocut workshop – think white space and mirror image!

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by Bev Dunstan

With a lovely warm day upon us, the Chandlers Ford Art Group hosted a well attended Linocut Workshop run by the very bubbly Katherine Anteney.

Her knowledge of linocut and print making was wonderfully presented and her enthusiasm for the craft was infectious.  

The day began with an overview of the stages and a demonstration of the tools provided for the workshop.  The most important lesson was understanding that when the material was removed from the lino it would represent the white of the final image.  Compounded by the fact that the print would also be in reverse from the linocut – definitely necessary to consider if text was involved – it was so important to really concentrate on your work.  

Patience was the key and the best technique was to take it slow and ink up the linocut regularly to see the stages as the image developed.

The 6 hours flew by and resulted in a diverse range of printed images as the photographs show.

Soraya French Workshop (9 March)

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by Bev Dunstan

Soraya presented a well structured and dynamic workshop to the Chandlers Ford Art Group members who attended today [9 March].

Soraya began by explaining the differences between acrylic ink, soft and heavy acrylic paint.  She also discussed the advantages of using watercolour papers for acrylic use.  She demonstrated the different types of ground materials and structural gels to give the painting that extra textural affect.  Another tip was to use the paint as glue when introducing mixed media such as tissue paper and avoiding pva glue in your painting.

Soraya began her demonstration painting by applying the ground layers and textures that underpin the seascape scene.  Periodically Soraya would bring the members back to her painting to show the next steps and techniques to progress the artwork.

The artists were encouraged to use their own sketches and photos which led to an amazing array of fantastic paintings at the end of the day; including Antarctica, Westward Ho!, Isle of Harris and Westbay.

Everyone agreed it was an amazing day with great tips and advice to take away.

A montage of the day’s work