demonstration – Halifax Art Society

Acrylic Landscape demonstration

26 February, 2023 Halifax Art Society

On 17th February we had a demonstration by our society president Paul Talbot-Greaves.

Paul created two different landscapes, one on canvas board and one on acrylic paper. It was interesting to learn about the differences in the techniques he applied to each painting, the affect of using matt medium with acrylic paint, working dark to light, using a test strip to match a colour before applying and much more.

Paul also brought in some of his artwork which was inspiring to see. We are all looking forward to applying what we have learned at next weeks meeting.

Review

Watercolours with Jane Austin

13 February, 2023 Halifax Art Society

We welcomed back Jane Austin for a watercolour demonstration on 27th January. It was 2019 when she last visited us!

Jane took us through all the stages of how to layer your paints to build up the image, giving us so many tips and techniques to remember. The painting still needs more work until it’s completed, but you can’t rush a watercolour…

The following week members had the opportunity to have a go at watercolours themselves. Jane provided photos for members to work from to practise the techniques she demonstrated. Members felt inspired by what they learnt last week and produced some lovely work.

Review

Pastel Landscape demonstration

4 December, 2022 Halifax Art Society

We had a great demonstration from Matthew Evans on the 18th November, who painted a landscape in pastels. He brought a photo of a landscape view and had drawn an outline of it in preparation. He also brought some of his completed work which was impressive.

He gave us so many ideas and tips of how to use pastels and protect the image e.g. when you add water to pastel it becomes a watercolour to which you can then reapply pastel; if using a fixative you should lay the painting on a flat surface and spray it in a sweeping action from about 2ft away and greaseproof paper protects the image when travelling. The demonstration was very enjoyable and we all learnt so much.

Review

Demonstration in Acrylic

12 September, 202216 September, 2022 Halifax Art Society

On Friday 2nd September, Tracey Krupianka gave us a memorable demonstration in acrylic. It was fascinating to watch her using a sponge to create the background of her picture before she created vertical lines in the middle with a brush to prepare the reflection of the sunset in a lake. With a dry brush she then mixed the colours with horizontal strokes before she painted flowers and leaves. We learned that you can gather two colours on a specific brush to create stunning effects.

Review

Watercolour demonstration by Paul Talbot-Greaves

18 May, 2022 Halifax Art Society

Last Friday we finally experienced a long-anticipated morning. About 30 people arrived to witness our president Paul Talbot-Greaves giving a demonstration of a local landscape in watercolour. As he used the society’s modern equipment, everyone in the room had a good view.

Paul brought along a pencilled sketch and a photo of the scene he had in his mind – he had added trees on his computer, changing the view slightly. He also showed us an edit of it to highlight the balance of his painting like the foundation of a house.

The next step was colour-matching. Paul didn’t use a very heavy paper, just 140lbs. With a big brush he started painting the light areas of sky, building, trees and covered the whole paper. He let the paper dry off naturally, as the use of a hairdryer would freeze it.

Paul dried out his palette for the second stage and used his initial colour match strip. When the paper got too dry he sprayed it with water, but also used the dry-brush technique in parts. He splashed some water into the painting, flicking his brush to give the impression of grass. For the large shapes of brambles in the foreground Paul used big brushes and assured us that the colours underneath would come through. The edges were softened with a wet brush and Paul added shadows on the building and trees.

At break we were able to buy materials and greeting cards from Paul or ask for his advice. The finished painting was stunning even though the paint was still wet.