Anticipating Easter and Primavera

 Apologies should be 30 March, not April as in last post.

Got too excited

Janet

Anticipating Easter and Primavera

 Our next "innings" is scheduled for Tuesday 30 April 2021.

The subject is Anticipating Easter and Primavera. As well as being a Christian festival, Easter is believed to have roots in pagan times and possibly named after Eostre, a Celtic goddess. Easter Sunday is actually on April 4th so we can get our "anticipation" pictures in for publication on the blog before Easter.

This year of course we are coming up to the easing of lockdown restrictions so we have a lot to look forward to, once Spring comes.

Don't forget Easter bunnies, Easter eggs, chocolate and hot cross buns on Good Friday.

Primavera is of course Italian for Spring. Don't forget Botticello's Primavera and of course Hockney's "The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate." This was at the Royal Academy in 2011. Hockney has another current exhibition on the coming of Spring in Normandy.

Send images to me janetat48ock@hotmail.com

For April we are planning a socially distanced outing but with a stay at home option.

Chinese New Year - February 2021

Chinese New Year 2021, the Year of the Ox, was a revelation for some of our artists, who made a journey through the colour red, dragon possibilities, and tried to catch movement with the traditional fan dance. One of the dragons is made of fabric scraps and (dragon stones?) pebbles collected from ancient landscapes, and the other, breathing golden fire, is an interpretation from a historic candlestick. "Lucky" fish were pressed into service from a pond and wish everyone Kung_hey_fat_Choy or Happy New Year! One of our artists reflected the disappointments of Chinese New Year in the time of coronavirus. We all learnt about the fascinating traditions of Chinese New Year, and for those who watched on the internet, it was particularly moving to see the socially distanced community dances performed and filmed by the Chinese community in Southampton. We very much hope that next year the celebrations can be carried out together in the normal way, and we look forward to going to watch and hopefully sketch.

Images above by Diane Umemoto (left)and Janet Payne (right)

Image above by Avis Dennis

Image above by Gill Steiner

Images below by Priscilla Worley (left) and Sue Lees (right, also last two images)

February Theme: Chinese New Year February 12 2021

Red, red, red .....as we pass through depressing dull grey days, what could be better than the dazzling colours of the Chinese New Year to cheer ourselves up?  The key date this year is February 12th, when the Year of the Ox begins.  Although London's CNY celebrations are going to be online this year, we are sure that our artists are going to be able to make great pieces with this theme.   CNY is amongst other things, all about colour: principally red, strident scarlets, vermillions, cadmium reds, with gold - or yellow -  with purples and greens as a supporting cast.   Collage, tissue paper, possibly supported by actual CNY papers (obtainable online) at one end of the continuum, to drawing (marker pens?) and painting at the other end.

This year the street celebrations involving actual Chinese dragons, etc., won't be taking place, but various organisations will be doing things online here: https://www.timeout.com/london/news/how-to-celebrate-chinese-new-year-virtually-012921   and here: www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/event/4733685-chinese-new-year-in-london

There will be a mass of images on the internet at during CNY.

It is also possible that local Chinese shops and restaurants may be decorated traditionally, and artists may know of these and be able to walk to them to sketch or take photographs.

Certain plants, flowers, and fruit are also part of the tradition and some details can be found https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/festivals/chinese-new-year-flowers-and-fruits.htme

Some of these are easily obtainable - oranges, tangerines, narcissi, anything red.

Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival, which includes returning to see relatives.

 We hope that these themes  will prove inspiring!   Please send your interpretations by 23 February  to Sue at: susan@lees.org.uk

January 2020: Winter Atmospherics

January's weather has been varied, and so we have had days of sun, greyness, lots of rain,  and even some snow!  Our artists have been inspired by all the fluctuations, and we have had many images sent in interpreting all aspects of a British winter.  As always, people have used a variety of media, including stitching and textiles, figure creation, digital work, as well as more traditional media on paper.  The extended struggle which your editor had with the inner workings of the blog explains the limited nature of the commentary on the images - the current incarnation of the blog is more difficult to use than its predecessor.  Details of our next project will be appearing shortly.  

Images above by Vanessa Whinney - The River Waveney normally and in flood.

Images above by Gafung Wong - Snow in her garden and at Kew

Images above by Priscilla Worley (left) and Diane Umemoto right).

Images above by Sara Meidan (left) and Janet Payne (right).

Images above by Maggie Pettigrew (left) and Tricia Sharpe (right)

Image above by Avis Dennis

Image above by Heather James

Images by Sue Lees

Final image above by Gill Steiner

January 2021 Innings

Wishing you all the best 2021 possible at the moment. Meanwhile let's do our best to welcome the New Year with some Art.

The date for the next innings is for Tuesday 26 January 2021.

The subject is "Winter Atmospherics". Do take advantage of the weather, mist, snow, heavy rain, and even remember the impromptu New Year's Eve fireworks which livened up an otherwise quiet night.

There are long winter shadows at the moment with bright sun backlighting the stark leafless trees, which are reflected in ponds.

Do enjoy yourselves and send your pics to janetat48ock@hotmail.com.

Here's to the reopening of Art materials supply shops, so I don't keep buying the wrong kit on line.

London at Night - 30 December 2020

Thankfully 2020 has now concluded, and we have come to the end of the lousiest year we have had collectively since the Second World War.   We are hoping very much that the wonderful various vaccines will see off the coronavirus in 2021 and that we can once again have the monthly sketching adventures as a group which we enjoyed before the virus struck.   (We did have several days out in the summer, but maintaining social distancing rather knocked the gilt off the gingerbread of these.)

Our latest distanced painting theme was "London at Night", and as usual many approaches have been taken to this idea.   Mostly the images reflect the staying at home aspects of looking at London at Night.   There are some photographic experiments - "clobbering", which involves drawing or collaging onto photographs and postcards.   One person has gone digital, and used ipadpro and the procreate app.

As always, we have several images which are non-theme, but all very lovely nevertheless.

Enjoy!

Images above by Priscilla Worley (developing a theme)

Image above by Anna Fraser "Staying at Home"

Image above by Avis Dennis

 Image above by Diane Umemoto

Image above by Janet Payne

Image above by Alison Sandifer

 

Image above by Tricia Sharpe "Horizons Limited"

 

 

Image above by Sue Lees

 

 Image by Gill Steiner

 

 

 Image above by Gafung Wong

 

Image above by Diane Umemoto "Ararat"

 

 Image above by Avis Dennis

 

 

Our theme for January will be announced shortly.   

 

Happy New Year to all our Artists!