[Newsletter] I'm dreaming of a white canvas

[Adrian Fowle]

I really welcome feedback from members, as does your committee. Your 
evaluation of Friday's Christmas entertainment ranged from

Horrid, just horrid. It was okay chatting to members and eating until 
the so called entertainment started. I’m not surprised the BBC let him 
go from Watercolour Challenge. I made good my escape at half time

to

Thanks to all for arranging Friday eve which was quite a success. It was 
a really enjoyable evening and Danny was very entertaining and willing 
to answer any questions of which I had many! Anyway here’s wishing you 
all a very Merry Christmas and I look forward to seeing you in the new year.

 From this exhaustive survey of members' views I am able to conclude 
that you can't please all of the people all of the time. The positive 
responses I have received outnumbered the negative ones.

Our Christmas events are generally not intended to be as strictly 
educational as the other ones throughout the year, but to be light 
hearted and preferably encourage members to get to know each other. Not 
everything worked as intended on the night, which did hold Danny back a 
bit, but I thought he demonstrated some quick tricks that might be 
useful on occasion, rather than doing an in depth study as our other 
demonstrators do. For good or evil they don't attempt to spout poetry or 
play 12-stringed guitars.

He described the "egg and snake technique" for composition - one large 
mass and one slightly smaller mass just off center in the picture, with 
a road or river coming forwards to the lower edge of the picture to 
pullthe viewer in. Also the need for a point of mystery in a painting. 
an area which is incomplete in some way and makes the viewer want to 
engage more.

Tree branches grow upwards, from thick to thin and should be painted in 
the same direction. The other famous Yorkshire painter apparently 
forgets this. The branches should be shown as crossing one another to 
give some depth. The branching points ae usually V like.

You can do some quite neat flicks with a credit card or similar in 
watercolour, to produce the effect of grass. Also a credit card can work 
as a similarly crude lifting off tool in watercolour leaving something 
that looks like a dry stone wall.

--------------------------

No controversy about the buffet. Everyone liked it. Well done Jan and 
team, and thank you!

I am often asked about the Festillant non-alcoholic champagne - see
https://www.gratienmeyer.com/en/ranges/our-alcohol-free-drinks/
and
https://www.festillant.com/

It's not widely available in the UK. I buy it from a wine club at £4.25 
a bottle. It is also advertised on several "dry" sites like this ones
https://drydrinker.com/product/festillant-alcohol-free-sparkling-wine/

--------------------------

The "Wednesday" group at Ripley have their last meeting this week and 
then break for Christmas. They resume on Wed 2nd January. It's a 
communal paint together. Not tutored, but there is a mutual help 
philosophy and it's great fun. If you have not given it a try, you might 
pencil it in (no pun intended) for an early New Year's resolution. There 
are morning and afternoon sessions. Julie Collins 
<juliea1954 at hotmail.co.uk> for details

--------------------------

There is no "First Friday" event in January, so we reconvene on Friday 
1st February. Paul Alcock will demonstrate a woodland painting in oils 
at 8pm. The AGM will start at 7.30pm. so please come early so that we 
can get the necessary business done.

We are always looking for help on the committee, so if anyone would like 
to join us, or has any ideas to propose, please drop me an email.



It only remains for me to wish you all, on behalf of your committee,

A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS

and a

PAINTERLY NEW YEAR


Choose a card for yourself from 
https://blog.my-picture.co.uk/famous-paintings-christmas-parodies/

-- 
Adrian Fowle
Chairman, Bromley Art Society


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