Homelessness

Following on from the success of my drawing of "TonyHargreaves" which was voted " the most popular painting" at the Cambridge Drawing Society's Annual exhibition in the Spring, I am now working on an exciting and related project. The chalk drawing I did of Tony clearly touched many people who saw it.



My aim now is to produce a body of drawings and paintings of people who, like Tony, are either homeless or have experienced homelessness and to eventually stage an exhibition of this work . So far, I have visited and sketched in two centres in Cambridge-- Willow Walk and 451 ( Newmarket Road) . I have also written a short article for Flack magazine which is based in Cambridge and is aimed at the homeless, assisting and encouraging them to rebuild their lives. Kirsten Lavers, the Creative Director of the magazine, has been instrumental in introducing me to the centres.

Below are a few of the drawings I have done so far.








Sketching at 451. Michael, one of the residents was the model.


The finished drawing of "Michael" was done in charcoal,chalk and conte on a linen ground prepared with pastel primer.

Painting in the snow

On the positive side , this recent Arctic weather has provided amazing opportunities for painting en plein air. It is something I have done a lot of, even in near zero temperatures. On with the thermal underwear, the furry hat , the fingerless mittens and six layers of clothes and off one goes.

What could be more enchanting than to stand painting in splendid isolation, listening to the sound of silence. On a crystal clear day, the colours are amazing. The white of the snow is a myriad of colours- pinks blues, purples. How does one capture it?

It most certainly isn't for the faint hearted. I can well remember painting in Scotland once, during the worst winter in living memory. I was working in gouache and suddenly felt the paint was becoming difficult to manipulate, only to realise my medium was turning to ice on the surface of the board. It certainly gave some interesting effects when I took it back to the warmth of my cottage and the painting thawed out!

Here's one I did earlier!




The Abbey Gardens, Bury St. Edmunds. Oils 40" x 30"

Future Day Workshops.

Plans are well ahead for 2011.

I will be running the following workshops at the beginning of the year.

Saturday, 15th January, Portrait
Sunday, 20th February. Life.
Saturday 19th March Portrait.

All workshops run from 10 a.m. - 4p.m. and are held in Barrow, near Newmarket, Suffolk. The cost is £35 for an individual session or £30 per session if two or more are booked . This will include model fees, tea, coffee, biscuits. Students have to provide their own packed lunch.

I will also be holding workshops in Grantchester, near Cambridge. Details to follow shortly.

If you have any queries,please telephone me on 01284 810 460 or e mail john@gloverart.co.uk

Another successful portrait workshop

Last Sunday, I held another portrait day workshop. I am pleased to say it was a great success with students coming from all around Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.
After an initial warm up session, people set to work in the medium of their own choice, from charcoal or pencil to watercolour, pastel and oils.




Our model, Flo, the daughter of a friend, was superb. For the whole day, she sat like a rock, barely batting an eyelid. What a relief from those models who constantly twitch, let their eyes or their head wander. Or even fall asleep!





On the day, my function was merely to advise and offer comment, as well as do the odd practical demonstration.

Prior to this, however, I had the pleasure of doing a pastel portrait of Flo.


This portait was done with a combination of hard and soft pastels as well as conte chalk, particularly useful in capturing the delicacy of her hair.

Demonstrations to art societies

This last month has been incredibly busy with portrait commissions, teaching , and also giving portrait demonstrations to art clubs and societies.

The latter can be great fun, particularly if it is a society you have visited before. Rather like meeting up with old friends and continuing an ongoing dialogue. The banter can be energizing. I do encourage the audience to ask questions and make comments. There is nothing worse than standing out there to the sound of silence. At a recent demo, one person commented that it was actually a "performance" as well. To produce the artwork is one thing, but you also have to keep the audience engaged , entertained and amused. More and more do I find myself turning into Billy Connelly!

Above, is an oil portrait demo I did for Clare Art Club. This was done in about one and a half hours with lots of palette knife work and large brushes. No time to fiddle around. The subject was David Gilbert, President of the club. He is a larger than life character and a great subject to paint!

Mixed Media 2

This time I thought I would create a painting using a combination of gouache and pastels. The reasoning behind this is that both mediums give very distinctive effects which are immensely suitable for the subject matter. The gouache I use when I need some precision or when I wish to take advantage of its painterly qualities, the pastel when I wish a softer , more blurred effect.



The support I have chosen is a fairly textured pastel paper in bright orange. It is a very deliberate choice as the subject matter is bold, colourful and full of movement. I block in the main composition in gouache, sometimes in a free, loose , almost watercolour technique. At other times I use a thicker impasto dragging it over the texture of the paper which can give beautiful broken, dappled effects.




I now apply pastel in broad strokes, and dabs and at other times blending and smoothing. The aim is to create the bright, almost garish light of a fairground and a huge sense of movement and energy as the merry go round spins by.



The finished painting.

West Norfolk Arts Centre

This week I was invited to teach two courses next year at West Norfolk Arts Centre.

The Centre is situated in the delightful conservation village of Castle Rising , close to the Sandringham estate, nature reserves, woodlands and the north Norfolk Coast.

Established in 1993 by Ros and Richard Cartwright, it enjoys an excellent reputation as a quality Painting Course provider both in the U.K. and abroad. Each year, approximately forty painting courses are held in West Norfolk and four structured painting courses abroad. This year, Egypt, Venice, Tuscany and Skiathos were on the itinerary.

The range of courses on offer is huge, from pen and wash to acrylics, oils, pastels, wildlife , abstraction, botanical painting etc.

In 2011, I will be teaching the following. " The art of Gouache Painting" July 23/24 and "Portraiture" October 28, 29, 30th.

For information on the west Norfolk Arts Centre and all the courses it runs go to www.westnorfolkartscentre.co.uk

Mixed media

It is on occasions, great fun to play around with different mediums and combining them in unusual ways. The monochrome painting below was done using charcoal, conte, soft chalk and gouache. It is of an old jetty at Felixstowe Ferry on the Suffolk coast.




I began with a piece of MDF which I primed with a couple of coats of acrylic gesso . I then sketched in the composition using charcoal. I used conte crayon for finer detail and soft chalks to soften and blend large areas like the sky. At other times I used gouache in certain passages, e.g. a lot of the background , but overlaid it in places with chalk.

A charming new venue for painting classes

Back in May, when it became clear that the future of the Lothbury Centre remained uncertain, I decided to move my classes to the Old Reading Room, still in Weston Colville.

This week saw the start of these classes, " Painting for Pleasure " and Portrait Painting. I am delighted to say that lots of my students from the Lothbury decided to make the move as well, so it really was like meeting up with old friends.The new setting for the classes is really charming with lots of character, from great arching timber beams and fireplaces to excellent modern facilities.





Our model for the portrait class was Lin, resplendant in Edwardian costume. Shades of Whistler and Singer Sargent!



All in all, it was a very pleasant and relaxed day. An excellent start to a new term in our new home.

These particular classes are fully booked this term. Anyone wishing to enrol for the January term ,however, should either e mail me at john@gloverart.co.uk or tel. 01284 810 460

A playful approach to painting a portrait

On occasions it is just fun to cast caution to the wind and just go for it. Such a thing occurred when I came to paint "Robert". Born and raised in this country, his parents came from the West Indies. My normal palette of flesh tones went straight out the window. No more muted, insipid, Caucasian flesh tones. He seemed to be all purples and blues and greens depending on how the light struck him. No careful preparatory drawing. Straight in with bold colour. Very exciting. Below shows how the portrait evolved out of the apparent initial chaos.

Strethall Church Art Fair

This weekend I took part in an exhibition held in Strethall Church, near Saffron Walden in Cambridgeshire. The setting is idyllic with the church nestling in a small wood amidst rolling cornfields.


It is believed that it was originally built in 1010 by the local Lord of the Manor to appease the marauding Danes who had been forcibly converting the locals to Christianity.

The weekend, however, was a far cry from such bloodthirsty times. A marquee was placed midst the tombstones. All around there were people sitting sipping tea and munching on cake, chatting, gossiping, putting the world to rights . Children played , dogs frolicked, the Autumn leaves rustled in the trees. All was well in this part of rural England.
Inside the church the exhibition consisted of paintings, drawings, pottery, sculpture and examples of wood turning. All of this was the subject of much "learned" discussion both from the experts and those for whom a little knowledge is clearly a dangerous thing!



Outside in the graveyard, on the reverse of one stone, I came across the following amusing quotation



Ended up feeling sorry for the poor old jellyfish. Funny what people want to be remembered by.

Forthcoming Portrait and Life workshops

Over the next few months I will be running the following workshops in Barrow near Bury St. Edmunds.

Saturday, 9th October Portrait Workshop
Sunday, 7th November Life Drawing and Painting Workshop
Sunday, 5th December Portrait Workshop

All workshops will run from 10am-4pm


The charge for each of these workshops will be £35 or £30 per session if two or more are booked. This includes model fees , tea , coffee, biscuits. Bring your own packed lunch.

It is an ideal opportunity to meet and work alongside different artists and to experience the benefits of having a more extended period of time in which to develop your drawing or painting.

Anyone wishing more information on any of these day schools should either e-mail me or call on 01284 810 460

The Death of Tony Hargreaves

It was with great regret that I learned yesterday of the death of Tony Hargreaves. His body was recovered from the River Cam, in Cambridge on Monday evening.
He was one of Cambridge's less fortunate citizens and had lived for several years in homeless hostels in the city. Lyn Watson, manager of the Willow Walk Hostel described him as a very nice and "extremely private man."
To many in the city, however, both residents and tourists alike, he was merely another "down and out" or even worse, simply invisible. I was certainly shocked by the abusive behaviour and comments I witnessed directed at him on occasions . To such insult - hurling perpetrators he was an easy target, beneath their contempt and merely another piece of garbage littering the street.

But as the Cambridge Evening News pointed out this week, he once had a life just as valuable and worthy as the rest of us, serving in the Parachute Regiment for six years. A far cry from the bedraggled tramp most shunned or gave a wide berth to. Who knows what went wrong, when, and why, but his death is a salutary reminder both of our mortality and of the precariousness of our own lives. There but for the grace of God or Fortune go we.

Earlier this year, I did a series of black and white chalk drawings of Tony. One of these is to be used as the poster for the Cambridge Drawing Society's poster for their Autumn exhibition at the Leys School.

One to one art tuition.

I am often asked if I do one to one tuition or teach small groups in my studio. This is something I am always happy to do for a variety of reasons. Assuming the student is keen to learn and has no objection to doing "homework", he/she can make huge progress in a very short space of time.
For me that is very rewarding.
During the time in my studio, I demonstrate materials and various techniques, I set a subject for the day and oversee how the student progresses with this. At the end I offer advice and a crit. as to how the work can be taken forward. I then suggest various pieces of work to be completed before the next session. These will be commented on at the beginning of that session. As I repeatedly tell my students, it really is about practice, practice and more practice!

Another successful portrait workshop.

Last Saturday I ran another portrait workshop in Barrow. Ten students attended and we had Lynn as our model. After an an initial talk and demonstration which I gave on the basics, we had a series of relatively quick poses. This was just to loosen people up, to get them to observe more carefully, and for me to assess where their skills lay. Thereafter, Lynn remained in the one pose for the rest of the day, allowing students to either focus on one painting or move around and do a series of them. Lynn was dressed in a lovely Edwardian costume complete with delicate lace top, pale lilac skirt and straw boater. Set against a white background there were echoes of John Singer Sargent and Whistler. I would have loved to have painted her myself!
Some drew, some did watercolours, pastel, or oils. I even had one psychic artist within the group! Lots of interesting and exciting work was produced.

I shall shortly be setting up another series of workshops both in Barrow and Grantchester. Keep watching my website for details or contact me via john@gloverart.co.uk or on 01284 810 460

A child's portrait in pastel

Pastel is a particularly lovely medium for creating children's portraits. It has a delicacy and softness missing in many others.
For this particular portrait I worked on Murano paper with a combination of pastel pencils and soft pastels. My initial drawing was done with willow charcoal and then dusted down.


I work on top of this with pastel pencils, which allows a certain precision. I blend with a combination of cotton buds and torchons.


More detail is added in the hair and mouth , still using the pencils. I begin to work soft pastels into the face and use them for blocking in the dress.



I now consider the background. The aim is to keep it soft and somewhat vague, simply in order not to detract from child.



Portrait and background are worked up in more detail and tied together. Below is the finished drawing.

Suffolk Showcase 2010

I have just had a work accepted for an exhibition entitled Suffolk Showcase. This features a wide range of traditional and new media. , from painting to ceramics, video and digital photography. My own particular work is a chalk drawing in black and white.



This is a study I did of "Tony" one of Cambridge's less fortunate residents.

Below is a much larger drawing I did of him. This was voted "Most popular " work by the public in the Annual Exhibition of the Cambridge Drawing Society in April. It is also to be used as the poster to advertise the Society's Autumn Exhibition at the Leys School in Cambridge.


The exhibition is being held in the Bury St. Edmunds Art Gallery, Suffolk , and will run until the 28th August

Bury St Edmunds Art Society

On Thursday evening I gave a portrait demonstration to the Bury St. Edmunds Art Society. Over 60 people turned up for the event and it turned out to be a most enjoyable occasion.
I have done quite a few demonstrations for them over the last few years, usually in oils. This time, however, a watercolour portrait was requested. As I have said in previous blogs this is the most demanding medium and it is rather like walking a tightrope without a safety net.
As is usually the case there were few volunteers to sit as the model so in the end I managed to "persuade" George who has attended a few of my classes and whom I know fairly well.
I began by showing a few samples of my work, some quick watercolour studies and a couple of finished pieces. I then demonstrated how to construct the head , looking at proportions, tone and the various individual features. Thereafter, I set to work on the painting, without any preliminary drawing whatsoever and using a combination of wet into wet and dry brush technique. Below is the portrait of George I produced.




I am pleased to say the audience was lively and enthusiastic. They asked numerous questions and a good banter took place. At times, however, I did begin to feel I was turning into my fellow compatriot, Billy Connolly!
The Bury Art Society is holding its Annual Exhibition at the Edmund gallery, Angel Hill, Bury St. Edmunds from 24th June -7th July.

"Mrs. McLeod wins a Prize in National Art Competition

This week I was delighted to be informed that my portrait of Mrs. McLeod has won a Daler Rowney Award at the Patchings National Art Competition in Nottinghamshire.





The competition is sponsored by both the Artist and Leisure painter Magazines and has attracted entries from throughout the country and abroad.

The exhibition of selected works ( 70 in the professional category and 70 in the leisure painter category ) can be viewed on line. The exhibition which is being held at the Patchings Arts Centre at Calverton in Nottinghamshire runs until the 18th July.

The Rowan Foundation, Cambridge

On Thursday afternoon I visited the Rowan Foundation in Humberstone Road, Cambridge. This was as part of a link that is being forged between it and the Cambridge Drawing Society, of which I am a member.
The Rowan is a charitable organization that "offers work experience and training for people with learning difficulties". The hope is that we at the Society will be able to offer and share some of our artistic skills with students there.
On my arrival, I had little notion of what to expect , or how the afternoon was to be structured. After a brief introduction , I was shown a large supply of art materials. From these, I selected some pastels and paper and decided to do a quick portrait of Amie, one of the tutors. I am delighted to say that this caught the attention of the students who appeared fascinated by the process and quickly lined up to have their own portraits done. In the course of the afternoon, I produced 10 sketch portraits. It was an absolute delight to witness how excited and engaged my sitters were. Having caught their imagination, I will hopefully be able to build on this in the months to come.

To see the work that the Rowan Foundation does , please visit their website, or call in to 38-40 Humberstone Road, Cambridge.

Patchings National Art Competition 2010

Today, I delivered a portrait to Patchings Art Centre at Calverton in Nottinghamshire.



It is to host a National Art Competition sponsored by both the Artist magazine and Leisure Painter. 140 works have been accepted for exhibition, 70 in the professional category and 70 in the amateur.



I am pleased to say that my portrait of " Mrs. McLeod" will be on display in the professional section.Another painting I entered, "Makena", has been "Highly Commended" and will appear shortly on the Patchings website.



The exhibition runs from June 10th -July 11th.

The opening runs concurrently with the 17th Patchings Art, Craft and Design Festival (June 10th-13th). Attracting over 15000 visitors, it "comprises over 150 nationally renowned artists and craft designers demonstrating, exhibiting and selling their work. It has become one of the UK's most celebrated art and craft festivals."



For full details of the Exhibition and Festival, check out the Patchings website at www.patchingsartcentre.co.uk

How to create a charcoal portrait of a child

The materials I will be using are thin sticks of willow charcoal, charcoal pencils, black conte crayon, a putty rubber, cotton buds, torchons and a smooth cloth . I am working on pre-soaked and stretched Sanders watercolour paper (140 gms.) As watercolour papers go this is fairly smooth, but it has enough tooth to hold the charcoal powder.


Using the willow charcoal, I quickly rough in the basic shape of the head and position of the various features. Nothing is as yet fixed in stone. Willow charcoal can easily be dusted off and amendments made.


As I am fairly happy with the beginnings of a likeness, I start to strengthen the details and tones of eyes and mouth. This is done with a charcoal pencil ( medium). I also work on building up the shadows. I scrub the willow charcoal over the area and then soften with fingers, torchons or cloth.


I now pay attention to the background , blocking it in with compressed charcoal and charcoal
pencils (dark) The hair is begun.



From here it is a matter of simply refining the detail. To get the precision I want, in the eyes for instance, I use a sharpened conte crayon. But you have to be certain it is in the right place, for conte is a very difficult material to erase! I build layer upon layer to get the depth of shadow I want. On top of the initial willow charcoal, I use the charcoal pencils , stroking them in very gently and then smoothly blending with torchons or cotton buds. A mahl stick is another useful implement as I have often absentmindedly lent my hand upon a drawing and erased or smudged large areas. I also on occasions mask off the areas of the drawing I am not working on.




The finished drawing.




Charcoal is a particularly lovely medium for drawing children. It allows for both delicacy and detail.

Portrait demonstration

Throughout the year, I give portrait demonstrations to many art groups and societies. These can be great fun but also challenging in that you never know who the model is going to be. You hope that the person selected or volunteered will look interesting, striking, distinctive etc. But there is no guarantee. You hope also that they will be engaged in the process, be lively and willing to enter into a dialogue with you so that you become a sort of double act , a form of entertainment for the audience. Occasionally, I am allowed to choose from amidst the "shrinking violets" before me and I am glad to say that usually my instinct is right. But mostly, the victim has been pre-selected.
Over the years, numerous memorable things have happened. There was the time when the model, an elderly gentleman, instantly fell asleep and snoring loudly . No matter how much I cajoled or prodded, could I keep him in a state of consciousness. I cracked all my best jokes and anecdotes but the audience sat in stony silence and all that could be heard was the sound of sweety wrappers being unfurled. It was a "beam me up Scotty" night. I did struggle on manfully and produced a fairly decent portrait by the end of the evening. The group applauded loudly and said it had been extremely enjoyable and informative. Would I come back again? I smiled sweetly, grabbed my cheque and fled , vowing never to return within a 60 mile radius of the place! On another occasion, I was demonstrating to a group of over 80 people. Being such a large audience they decided to wire me up for sound. A very odd experience. Even odder when I forgot my "electronic" state and went off to the toilet and shared it with everybody.
This last Monday, I gave a demonstration to Hartest art group in Suffolk. I am delighted to say that none of the above horrors occurred. It was my third visit and so it was rather like meeting up with old friends. The banter was good with artist and audience winding each other up.


The artist at work.

I spent just under two hours on this oil portrait of Sue. I began by explaining about materials I would be using as well as techniques, proportions, tone, and colour mixing. With a large hog's hair brush and turpentine I roughly drew in the outline of the head and fixed the position of the various features. Then it was time to block in the main flesh tones, mid -tones, and shadows before concentrating on the finer details of the eyes etc. Working in this alla prima way there is only a certain amount one can do on the day, all of which was explained to and discussed with the audience. Below, is the painting at the end of the session.

To learn more of the techniques used see my various other blogs. To see me " in action " watch the video of me painting a portrait in 80 minutes in the "Tuition and Demonstration " section.

New Painting classes starting in September

In September, I will be starting my own private weekly classes. These will be held in the Old Reading Room in Weston Colville, near Newmarket.

Both will be held on a Wednesday and will run for 10 weeks ( September 1st-November 3rd)

PAINTING FOR PLEASURE 10-12 am. Numbers will be limited to 12. Cost £105

PORTRAIT PAINTING 1-3pm. Numbers will be limited to 10. Cost £125


For full details call me on 01284 810 460 or email john@gloverart.co.uk

Stolen fish recovered!

The mystery of the stolen painting has been solved! According to the Cambridge Evening News, the painting of a" Duba Fish" was taken by a love sick teenager to give to his girlfriend. What strange things love drives us to do! On reading the newspaper's headlines over the theft,however, the aforementioned young romantic was filled with remorse and handed himself and the fish in. The artist chose not to press charges and , as the newspaper reported, the thief was "let off the hook!"
The artist in question rose to the height of stardom. A geophysicist working in Cambridge, she was however billed as a "Hollywood animator" and someone who had worked on "Gladiators" in London, much more eye catching than a trip to the Arctic! Where would we be without the sensational British press?

All in all a bizarre tale, worthy of any "soap".

Painting stolen from exhibition

At the Guildhall Exhibition in Cambridge ( see earlier blog) there was a painting stolen. It was a small work measuring only 12" x 9" and could easily have been concealed under a coat or in a bag. The usual security measures were in place with invigilators at the desk and even cctv cameras around. But with 280 paintings on show displayed both on walls and on array of screens, it was impossible to see every part of the gallery. The thief has never been tracked down or the painting recovered.
I would welcome any comments from other societies or artists who may have encountered this problem and any suggestions as to how best counteract it.

Painting workshops

I will be running the following workshops in Barrow Village hall, near Bury St. Edmunds,
Suffolk.

Saturday, 29th May. PORTRAIT WORKSHOP

Saturday, 26th June LIFE CLASS WORKSHOP

Saturday, 17th July PORTRAIT WORKSHOP


The classes will run from 10-4. The charge will be £35 per workshop or £30 if 2 or more are booked. This will include model fees, tea, coffee etc. It will be necessary to provide one's own packed lunch.

If you require any more information , please contact me on 01284 810 460 or e-mail me at john@gloverportraits.co.uk

Should you wish to book a place, please make cheques payable to "John Glover" and send them to me at 3 Ley Road, Barrow, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk IP29 5DJ

Watercolour Portrait Workshop

Last Sunday, I conducted a watercolour portrait workshop for the Society of East Anglian Watercolourists, of which I am also a member.
The day ran from 10-4 and consisted of me giving a general talk on portraits-- how to construct the head, tone and proportion. Thereafter, I did a painting demonstration. As always it was an exciting challenge. I worked wet into wet without any preliminary drawing. A high risk strategy in watercolour. But as the demonstration was only to last an hour, I did not have the luxury of being able to plan and draw carefully.
It certainly leads to an adrenalin rush and certain practical problems. So that the audience can see what you are doing, the board has to be near vertical. Not ideal , as you watch an eye or a nose run down and off the bottom of the page! Below is the result after an hour.


Leila.

The rest of the day was spent with the group working from the model, and me going around offering, hopefully, useful advice. At the end, students were asked to display their work for me and others to make comments and suggestions. All in all it was a most enjoyable day.



This workshop was held in Barrow village hall, near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. I have 3 more planned there over the next few months. Details of these will be posted shortly both on the blog and website.

Cambridge Drawing Society Exhibition

Last week , the Spring Exhibition of the Cambridge Drawing Society took place at the Guildhall in Cambridge. On show were over 280 works. These covered a huge range of styles and techniques, from oils, watercolours and pastels to drawings prints and sculpture.
To stage such an exhibition requires a huge amount of organization and planning, but it does all eventually come together and hopefully appears effortless. The exhibition has , despite the economic recession , been a great success. Sales have been excellent and the public has been very enthusiastic as judged by the large number of visitors and general feedback.
This year 30 candidates applied for membership. Of these, 11 were accepted.



The Selection Committee at work.

As in previous years, the public was asked to vote for their favourite painting. I am delighted to say that my drawing of a "Down and out in Cambridge " won the prize.


This was a very large chalk drawing, measuring 36" x 24", done in monochrome. I chose to do this in order to convey the starkness of the subject. I have to say that the response and feedback has been amazing. Clearly many people were touched by this drawing. In a city like Cambridge which is fairly wealthy, there are still many who are less fortunate. This is a subject I wish to explore further.



Viewing selected works prior to hanging

Anyone wishing further information on the Cambridge Drawing Society or its members should visit the Society website at www.cambridgedrawingsociety.org