Aberdyfi Art Society Newsletter, January 2007
Hello
everyone,
A
Happy New Year to you all!
Since
you received the last newsletter, it has been very encouraging to see quite a
good number of new members attending our meetings during the autumn, and I
would encourage you to continue coming to meetings as often as you can make it
– it’s always enjoyable not only to make new friends with similar interests,
but to help and support one another in all sorts of ways. It would be even
better if we had a good number of more long-standing members (I daren’t say
“old” just in case I get accused of ageism!!!) to come along too and get to
know the “new blood”.
The
first meeting we had in September was a very inspiring tutored session by Julia
Gibson on making your own greetings cards. She gave us lots of creative ideas,
and at least some of us went home fired up with inspiration to make original
and unusual cards for all and sundry!
We
also had the joy of welcoming Wendy Murphy again in November to lead a tutored
session on portraits. That meeting was attended by probably the largest number
of members we’ve had in a long time, and was stimulating and helpful to many of
us. As well as showing us lots of examples of different approaches to portraits,
Wendy gave helpful hints on starting to draw portraits, and as she had brought
many pictures with her, we were able to put into practice what we had learnt
without demanding that we all sit for one another… and of course avoiding the
inevitable “I don’t look like that, surely!” Some of us even
managed to produce portraits that we were proud of!
We
have tutored sessions about once a term, but the remainder of the Tuesday
meetings (“Painting days”) we are free to paint what we like. You may have
spotted last time’s deliberate mistake (no, actually it was a genuine mistake –
I cannot tell a lie!!) our painting days only cost £1 per session, not
the £2 which I stated in the last newsletter. This is cheaper than most other
art groups, so I’m told; but that doesn’t reflect on the quality of our
society, I’m sure!
A Suggestion:
It may be that some people don’t come to
painting days because they don’t know what to do once they get to the Yacht
Club – other than chat. There is, after all, a limit to the number of times you
want to paint the view through the Yacht Club windows, glorious though it is,
and if you have no work on the go that you can get on with, inspiration can
sometimes be hard to find. There may be some of you out there who take lots and
lots of digital photos, like I do, with a view to doing paintings from them. If
we could compile a folder of photographs that our own members have taken, we
could borrow them and use them as inspiration for our own paintings. Of course
we must be careful not to use photos taken without permission from professional
photographers, especially if our paintings are likely to be hung in public at
our Annual Exhibition or in other public places, but there is no reason why we
should not share our own photographs with other members as source references
for each other’s work. I am certainly willing to print out some of my own
photos for the use of members at meetings. Would anyone else like to contribute
to a photo folder? Let me know if you would be willing to do so. The photos would
only need to be printed out on ordinary paper, and A5 size would be ample – I
often use a computer setting which prints 4 photos on an A4 page, which are an
adequate size for subjects that are not too complex, so it wouldn’t use up too
much ink.
We
had a trial period of Thursday evening meetings at the Neuadd
Dyfi during June and July and then into the
autumn. One of the meetings in October
was a tutored session on Watercolour led by Glyn
Davies. Around 10 people turned up for this, and it was a very helpful and
practical session as Glyn covered subjects which
members requested. We all enjoyed our time together and appreciated Glyn’s generosity in sharing his talents with us.
Unfortunately, after that evening attendance dropped off, with one Thursday
evening being a solo session on my own, and another one with the Treasurer, his
wife and me. This was not exactly encouraging, so we have decided not to hold
Thursday evening meetings for the time being, though if there is a renewed demand
for it, we could arrange some more in the future. Let me know if you have
strong feelings about it.
Members’ News.
Longer-standing
members may remember Betty Piper from Glandyfi
Castle, who kindly opened her home and grounds to members of the Society for
painting days on more than one occasion. We have heard that, sadly, she died in
November at the age of 92.
Bev Barratt had his
long awaited hip operation in the autumn, and we wish him all the best for a
complete and speedy recovery.
As
we know, Peter Coldham has not been enjoying the best
of health of late, so it was especially good to see him at the last meeting
which we held in the Yacht Club in 2006, when he dropped in for a short time
with Ann. We hope he will soon regain much of his health and strength, and send
our best wishes to Peter for his recovery.
Spring
Programme 2007
Tuesday
Morning Meetings are held at the Dyfi
Yacht Club, commencing at 10am:
February
6th Tutor Neil
Jones will be teaching Watercolours.
His plan is to do two demonstrations, a snow scene and a spring scene
(one in the morning, one after lunch), each followed by our own efforts. Please
try and be prompt as there will be a lot to cover. It is always good to receive
tuition and especially in a subject as tricky as watercolour (forgive me for
saying that, if you are a brilliant watercolourist –
I most definitely am not!!!), so we hope you will take advantage of Neil’s
expertise.
March
6th Painting Day
March
20th Annual
General Meeting at 10am in the Yacht Club. Please make an effort to attend this
important meeting. Your committee need your support and encouragement, and you
can have your say in the running of your group.
Peter
Coldham reminded me that it has become a tradition to
hold an annual luncheon during the Spring. In recent years this has been held
at the Trefeddian Hotel in Aberdyfi, and I shall
shortly be organising this, and will let you know the details when they are
finalised.
If you have an Email ID, and are happy to receive occasional communication via Email, please let me have your Email address. It is a useful means of reminding members of forthcoming events without the cost of posting letters.
Do contact me if there is anything you wish to say about the Society and its activities, or if you wish to let others know about your own artistic jaunts and adventures!
Jean
Mintoft.
22, Dolithel, Bryncrug, Tywyn, Gwynedd, LL36 9RR
Phone: 01654 711
154 Email: jeanmintoft-NOSPAM@aol.com