A Drawing Wellness Day at Whatley Manor
In October, I ran an Art Wellness Day at Whatley Manor, a stunning 5* hotel and spa set in an idyllic south Cotswold location between Bristol and Swindon. The idea was to give people a chance to relax, de-screen and de-stress.
The day was split into three sessions:
An Introduction to Sketching: Designed to familiarise the participants with the flow of a pencil. Tone and shading instruction to make a drawing come to life.
Perspective: Architecture and Interiors: A more measured drawing session. Technical instruction to improve accuracy.
Expressive Mark-making: A fun and free flowing session using different materials for mark-marking. Discover dynamic and dramatic effects and produce a piece with the wow factor!
A delicious buffet, coffee and homemade biscuits punctuated our sessions. It was great fun to teach and hopefully all those who came left feeling uplifted and inspired.
ART | WORK
ART | WORK brings art sessions, classes and workshop days to businesses both in offices and at other venues. Set up in the wake of the Pandemic, it started as a way for me to teach my existing classes remotely but now provides breakout time to relax and unwind.
Having started my career in the corporate world advising on artwork for offices and public spaces, I understand the pressures of that environment. Drawing and painting classes engage the brain in full concentration and are a powerful meditative process. The wide range of activities on offer can be tailored to suit staff; from studied drawings, visual problem solving, mathematical measurements to free-flowing expressive fun. No previous artists skills are necessary, these sessions build confidence and are both enjoyable and satisfying!
Please visit www.artworkuk.com for any more information.
Artist in Residence – Workshops
In February 2021 I returned to the Art Department at Godolphin to teach a workshop day with the G.C.S.E. students. It was rather an excitement to be out and about after a heavy Lockdown. The students had already produced some fantastic work and they then applied the five different techniques I showed them to their existing coursework studies. These included: Gestural Drawing - Capturing Movement, Painting Tonal Grounds. Mixing Muted Colours and Atonal Greys, Painting an Animal in 12 Brushstrokes, Using Line to Define Tone. In July 2022 they exhibited all their work having finished their exams. It was a joy to see the projects in full. Huge congratulations to all of them!
Artist in Residence – Godolphin School
More accurately described as a visiting artist’s role, I am very proud to be asked back to my old school. It involves the presentation of my work, my influences and processes to exam students. The students then use this work as a platform from which to springboard ideas for their coursework. I will be returning in February to run workshops.
Gala Fine Arts ‘This Place Far Away’
Online Group Show involving 10 artists with a ‘Lockdown’ theme. Some work and other sale work is available from Gala Fine Art