Hi folks

Our last lesson of the course and you did not disappoint.  We had 3 life models to pose for us which gave us the chance to show how much we’ve learned in this course.  We looked a lot at getting the proportions just right before adding detail.  It was great to see the progress you’ve all made since the start of the course, I hope you are all proud of how much you’ve achieved.  Thanks to our 3 fabulous models – Grace, Nicoletta and Allyson for doing a great job.  Thanks also to Malcolm for constantly supplying biscuits and cakes for us and thanks also to Margaret for the delicious homemade scones!

The courses for next term are now starting to fill up so remember to book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.  Go to the Courses for 2016 page for full details of all the courses available and please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to book a place.

Enjoy the rest of the summer everyone and I’ll see you next term!

Wendy

Hi everyone

This week we had a go at drawing children and looked at how facial proportions change as a person grows older.  This was the first week that we have been able to piece all the features together and you did it brilliantly.  I was good to see you remembering all the things you have learned so far about how to draw mouths, noses, eyes, ears etc. and putting it all together in a complete drawing.  Next week we will be able to work from the real thing as we have some life models coming in to pose for us.

Next week is also, sadly, the last lesson of the course but don’t worry! – You won’t have long to wait until the next term starts at the end of September.  Go to the Courses for 2016 page for full details of all the courses available and please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to book a place.

See you next week.

Wendy

Hi folks

Just the last couple of pieces to add to our jigsaw this week.  We started off with some pencil studies of ears.  Ears tend to be something that gets overlooked a bit in portraits but, after this weeks lesson, we now know that there’s a lot going on in there that deserves to be observed.  You all got to grips with all the weird and wonderful curves and shapes within the ear and it was great practise for your shading skills.  Then we moved on to sketches of different hairstyles and looked at the importance of identifying all those light and dark areas.  You did great work this week even when you realised that ears and hair aren’t quite as easy as they look.  Next week we’ll start to piece everything together.

See you soon.

Wendy

Welcome back everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed our little break.  Just the rest we needed before attempting to tackle “eyes”.  This was probably our biggest challenge so far in the course.  The eyes involve so much detail and are probably the most important part of any portrait.  Well done for rising to the challenge.  You are all really looking carefully at the subjects you are drawing and producing some superbly accurate pictures.  Just a couple more things to cover next week before we can start putting all these bits and pieces together.  Keep up the good work everyone!

See you next week

Wendy

Hi folks

This week we all got a bit nosey!  We made some pencil and pastel drawings of noses from various different angles and you all surpassed my expectations once again.  This time we used a selection of different pencils to help us create a wider range of tones.  Then we used just white and black pastels to create a tonal sketch and used the paper itself as our mid-tone.  You all worked really hard to observe all the subtle changes in tone and I’m so pleased with how well you are all doing so far.  Time for a little break now as there will be no lesson next week (11th July) but we will be back in class on Monday 18th July when we will be looking at eyes.

See you all soon.

Wendy

Hi Everyone

This week we started looking at the individual features of the face.  Mouths seemed like a good place to start and I was blown away by the standard of drawings you all produced.  You did some incredible work!  We started with just using an HB pencil and a few “mouth guidelines” to get started.  Then varying the amount of pressure used to create a range of tones.  Then we used pen and cross hatching technique to create different tones whilst drawing mouths in different positions and from a variety of angles.  Finally we experimented with ink wash by brushing water over certain areas of pen to create a more intense tone.  Next week we’ll be looking at noses and trying out another new technique.

Looking forward to it!  See you soon.

Wendy

Welcome back everyone

It’s nice to see you all again after our short break and a warm welcome to all our new members too.  To start our portrait course we first looked at face shapes and proportions.  We learned how very slight changes in the angles of necks and shoulders or the tilt of the head can make a huge difference to the accuracy of your portrait.  Well done everyone, practising these fundamental steps will give you a good basis for starting any portrait.

Wendy

Hi everyone

We have now come to the end of term and just look at far you have all come.  This week, the Drawing course had to use all the skills they have learned so far to create sections of a picture which fitted together like a jigsaw.  A real test for their accuracy and observation skills but you can see how well you all did.  The Animal course got to use some different colours this week to create this parrot in vibrant oil pastels.  It’s a tricky medium to master but you all did great, especially as some of you had never used them before.  The Pattern course created yet more fantastic designs based on Tunisian ceramics and the Watercolour course produced several paintings of our model Emma (thanks for helping us out Emma).

Well done to everyone this week, a great finish to the courses.  It’s a shame we have to take a break for a few weeks but we will be back in class on June 20th.  Unfortunately both the morning and evening Beginners Portraiture courses are now full but there are still places on the afternoon course – Mondays 1.30pm-3.30pm.  Go to the “Courses for 2016” page for further details or email me at leedsartgroup@yahoo.co.uk or tel:  07788 871286.

Have a good break and hope to see you all soon.

Wendy

Hi everyone

Week 6 brought even more fabulous creations.  The Drawing course tackled how to draw water and glass with all the crazy optical illusions that involves and they made a really good job of it.  “Cats” was the theme for this weeks Animal course along with pen and cross hatching techniques.  The Pattern course looked at Japanese prints and used a layering technique with watercolour pencils to create patterns.  The Watercolour course did some practise sketches of the human figure to limber up for next weeks lesson when we will have a life model to work from.

Hope you all enjoyed the lessons this week.  Sadly, next week is our last week of lessons for this term but bookings are now being taken for next term starting Monday June 20th 2016.  Go to the “Courses for 2016” page for further details.  Unfortunately the morning course filled up extremely quickly and is now full but if there is enough interest, I will consider running the course on Monday afternoons aswell.  This extra course would only run if I have sufficient numbers so please let me know if anyone would be interested.  There are still a few places remaining on the evening course.

If you have any questions about the courses just get in touch – email: leedsartgroup@yahoo.co.uk or tel: 07788 871286.

See you next week.

Wendy

Hello everyone and welcome back after our short break.

You produced some really beautiful and colourful pictures this week.  It was a pleasure to see such lovely work being created and to see your confidence start to grow.  The drawing course used a cross-hatching technique in pen instead of using pencil to show tone in their still life drawings .  The animal portraiture course had a go at using soft pastels and mixing darker colours without using black to create their pig pictures.  The pattern course were inspired by Art Deco this week to create these geometric designs.  The watercolour course used all the techniques they have learned so far to paint a selection of leaves on a contrasting background.  Well done everyone, you did brilliantly this week.

Bookings are now being taken for the Beginners Portraiture Courses starting on 20th June 2016.  Go to the “Courses For 2016” page for further details.  When applying, please remember to specify whether you would like to book the morning or the evening course.  Places are filling up fast so please book early to avoid disappointment.

See you all next week.

Wendy