The Pastel Class and Drawing class  tackled probably the lesson people dread the most this week – self-portraits, but once you’d started with a few guidelines you did really well in adding all the varied details of the face that give us our individual faces. I think some of you produced your best work so far this week, well done!  The Watercolour class did some paintings of the human figure to prepare them for next week when our life model comes in to pose for us.  It’s life drawing for everyone next week and sadly it’s also the last lesson of the course.  The dates have now been confirmed for next terms courses so have a look on the “Courses For 2015” page for further information and get in touch if you’d like to book a place.

See you all next week.

Wendy

P.S.  I almost forgot to say thank you to John and Simon for bringing in the wonderful cakes again. Yum!

You did some really great work this week folks.  The Pastel class looked at scale by taking small everyday objects and enlarging them.  The Watercolour class  painted leaves on a contrasting background to really experiment with their colour mixing and put into practise all the techniques that they have learned so far.  The Drawing class did some timed drawings to work on their speed  but also to help them identify the key elements of a drawing first before adding detail.  Well done, you are all really grasping the key points we’ve covered in the courses so far.  Looking forward to seeing what you produce next week.

See you soon.

Wendy

Over halfway through the course already and look how well you are all doing.  The Pastel class tried a new technique this week, working on a textured surface with only 3 pastels.  The Watercolour class looked at how to work on different parts of a picture and work your way around so that you are never left watching paint dry.  The Drawing class used grids to enlarge a photograph and worked on their proportion and shading skills.  There were some great pictures produced this week.  Whenever I give you a challenge you don’t let me down.  If you get chance this week, take the opportunity to compare the work you did this week with the work from the very first lesson and I think you will see a definite improvement.  Well done everyone!

See you soon.

Wendy

P.S.  Special thanks to Simon’s wife for baking us the delicious carrot cake.  All baked goods will be gratefully received!

Once again the weather did it’s best to keep you away and still you made it to class.  Well done to everyone for making such an effort to get here through the snow this week and what fantastic pictures you produced.  The Pastel class had the difficult task of drawing mostly white objects on a white background and using colour to create shadows.  The Watercolour class tried out some different techniques for paintings skies and the Drawing class worked on some large scale charcoal and chalk drawings.  You all tried something new this week and I’m really pleased with what you produced.  Great work!

Wendy

Well done to everyone who braved the bad weather and made it to class this week.  In the Pastel class we used natural forms for a still life composition and continued to practise our colour mixing.  In the Watercolour class we introduced some manmade forms and looked at how to add shadows on and around objects and to consider light direction.   In the Drawing class we looked at entirely manmade forms which are generally a bit trickier than natural forms but great for practising your proportion skills.  Well done everyone, this is only week 2 and I can see you are really thinking about all the points we have covered in class.

Keep practising and I’ll look forward to seeing you all next week.

Wendy

A great start to the new year and the new term for Leeds Art Group.  It was lovely to see so many of you in class and ready for a creative challenge!  The Pastel class started by looking at impressionist paintings and mark making while the Watercolour class experimented with colour mixing and brush control.  The Drawing class looked at natural forms and how to use shading to create depth in a picture.  I was really impressed how well you all did in the very first lesson and I can’t wait to see what else you can achieve throughout the courses.  Here’s just a few examples of what you produced.

See you all next week.

Wendy

Can you believe it’s 2015 already?  Hope you all had a great time over the festive period.  The new term for Leeds Art Group starts on Monday 5th January but there are still a few places left for anyone wanting to get creative this year.  To book a place get in touch via the contact page or email the course tutor Wendy at artist@wendyatton.co.uk or call 07788 871286.

See you in class!

Sadly it was our last lesson of each course this week but look how far you’ve all come in just 8 weeks!  We finished on probably the most difficult lesson so far by looking at reflections.  It’s easy to get lost in all the lines and shapes you can see in a reflection but you all did brilliantly and although it seemed confusing at first I think you came out with some really nice work at the end of the lesson (see below).  So well done and be proud of what you have achieved.

It’s been a lot of fun teaching you all over the past few weeks and I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have.  Hope to see you all for the new term in January.

Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Wendy x

All the classes had a life model this week so we could all practise our figure drawing skills.  Drawing people is always a daunting prospect but with a little practise you can achieve some great results.  Each class did several drawings in different poses and I could see a definite improvement by the end of the lesson.  So well done to everyone!  Many thanks to our model Ellie for doing such a good job on her first time as a life model.  It’s sadly our last lesson of the course next week and we’ll be drawing/painting reflections so don’t forget your reflective objects!

See you soon

Wendy

I think you could say you all “upped your game” this week.  Self portraits are always difficult but you really rose to the challenge in both the drawing class and the pastel class.  The watercolour class had a different type of challenge as they practised some figure painting ready for next weeks life model.  It was great to see you all letting yourselves go and producing some quick sketches.  Figure drawing for everyone next week and I can’t wait to see what you can achieve.

See you all next week.

Wendy

P.S.  The details for next years courses are now available on the courses page.  Hope you can join us again in January, click here for more information:  Courses for 2015