Following a successful Zoom demonstration of flower painting in April, Tracey was invited to demonstrate landscape painting. Tracey choose to paint a snowy woodland scene in acrylic paint on board.

A splendid turnout on a cold winter night

Tracey had painted similar scenes before. She used a variety of acrylic brands with mainly flat brushes, swordliner brushes and a Rosemary’s “deerfoot” stippling brush in soft badger hair.

Background washes

Background trees using flat brushes

Undergrowth painted with Deerfoot stiple brush

Painting in progress at the break

Aplication of white acrylic with a pallet knife

Rabbit

Human Figures Added

Painting at end of demonstration

Cath Inglis is a pastel artist and tutor from York who is also a professional associate with the SAA, a member of the Society of Women Artists, winning awards at their London exhibitions, and an Associate Member for Unison Colour Pastels and an online tutor for the Pastel Academy. She paints a wide variety of subjects including landscapes animals and portraits.

After having six Zoom demonstrations we had our first live demonstration. We had 18 members and guests and observed COVID precautions.

The image projection system helped to enable members to see Cath’s detailed painting and the sound system amplified Cath’s commentary. Thanks go to Gordon for organising it and passing on to three members on how to set it up.

The subject for the demonstration was a golden retreiver. Cath has used the image for many demonstrations to art clubs but each one is unique, uses many colours and shades.

Images of golden retreiver outlined on grey Hermes sandpaper.

Cath uses soft pastels made by Unison and Sennielier and thin, harder pastels by Conte for painting the detail. Pastel paints can be removed with a stiff brush and new colours applied.

Cath applied base colours with the side of the pastel (the paper covering needs to be removed). The light hair colour was Unison portrait brown (2464 – a light yellow). A purple on nose and black under the nose and lower jaw.

Cath demonstrated painting an eye in pastel on Canson Mi Teintes paper, colour Moonstone. This specialist paper has a good tooth suitable for pastel painting.
She used shades of blue, browns, oranges, purples and whites to catch reflected light.

A close up of the eye on the grey Hermes sandpaper.

Detailed colouring around the mouth using many colours and shades of red, blue, purple. Highlights on nose, cool blues under lips

After background coloured in purple, stray hairs applied.
Dark specks applied to muzzle and light hairs under nose.

The portrait at the end of demonstration.

Paul is an experienced artist from Brighouse who previously ran a demonstration and a workshop for the club in 2016.
In September 2021 he ran a demonstration on Zoom for 14 members. The subject was a canal scene based on the following photograph. Images during painting were taken from a computer screen.

Paul choose Sanders Waterford 300lb (640 gsm) paper half imperial size (22 by 15 inches).
He used fresh tube paints. alizariun crimson, Winsor violet, sap green, cobalt blue, ceruleun blue, french ultramarine, burnt sienna and Winsor yellow.

Paul explained how he split the picture into shapes which he had sketched in beforehand.
He seeks to maximise contrast and started with a light blue wash for the bright area of sky and canal, light crimson for the canal path and light yellow for the grassy bank and the part of the trees on the left.

Paul then established the dark areas, starting with a dark green/blue mix for the distant trees above the canal and the trees to the right in shadow. A lighter green in the trees to the left catching the sun from the right.

Further bold dark colours in the trees on the left.

Relections in lighter tones

Shadows painted across canal path and banking. Details of canal lock added in white.

Finished painting image sent by Paul

Mark Warner is a professional painter in oils, acrylics and pastels, on canvas, board and pastel paper. He also runs demonstrations and workshops for art groups and tutors on painting holidays.
He sketches seascapes and landscapes outdoors, capturing the weather, the sky and the light. He completes the paintings indoors from his sketches, notes and photographs.
He has recently run many Zoom demonstrations.
Mark showed us his sketchbooks in pencil, intense water soluble pencils and acrylic paint, of detailed urban townscapes and coastal scenes. He also showed us some recent part complete works: woodland pastel, portrait and seascape.

Mark chose a view in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park of rocks, heather, grass, hills and sky. He chose a blue 160gsm Fabriano Tiziano pastel paper 50cm by 65cm and Winsor & Newton acrylic paints, soft synthetic flat brushes and watercolour rigger brushes. He also had a thin Conte graphite stick to make dark edge marks on the pastel paper during painting.

He painted the sky in stages during the demonstration, starting with cerulean blue as a relatively dark base colour. He applied the thick paint with his soft flat brush to create texture and movement, avoiding flatness. After he had painted the hills, Mark used titanium white and light blue to make the horizon more shapely, cutting into the hills. After the base sky layer had dried, he added light mixes of white/burnt umber, and white/magenta to create shadows within the clouds, reflecting the heather colours in the landscape. Using a small rigger, Mark rolled very light tones of titanium white/prussian blue in rising twirls and wisps of cloud.

For the many shades in the fields, Mark chose leaf green, sap green, cerulean blue, hookers green and prussian blue to mix some dark and light greens. He applied them roughly with with his flatbrush in frequently changing mixtures.

For the heather Mark used various mixtures of magenta/cerulean blue and magenta/sap green. He said that he often uses colours used in previous areas to create unity. He also did not wash his brush when mixing similar colours on his pallet, causing colours to go together.

After the break, Mark turned to his thin watercolour rigger brushes to apply detail into the land using dragged horizontal strokes. He used a bit more water with various mixes of leaf green, hookers green, prussian blue, cerulean blue and magenta, adding white and lemon yellow. He reverted to using a flat brush to apply these colours in the closer areas.

Mark provided an image of the painting after his two hour demonstration.
A private recording of the Zoom demonstration is available for a short time to members on request.