2018
Capturing movement in watercolour
In June, members were inspired by an enthusiastic demonstration by Jake Winkle. Watching the picture materialise on the paper was amazing as he generously shared his tips and techniques with the class.
Jake exhibits widely and in 2004 was a finalist in the Daily Mail's 'Not the Turner Prize' competition. In 2007 his work was selected for the Royal Society of British Artist's exhibition in The Mall Galleries, London, and he contributes regular articles for The Artist magazine. Jake has won best in show at Marwell International Wildlife Art Society's annual exhibition and in 2009 was awarded the prestigious St. Cuthbert’s Mill award for best watercolour at the Society of Equestrian Artists annual show.
Jake demonstrates and tutors all over the country and runs his own workshops and masterclasses in Dorset.
Brusho Supremo
Marilyn Allis is a water colour artist who works in a loose and impressionistic style. She uses strong vibrant colours to capture the movement and energy of a scene, and at a Saturday workshop in early June, she introduced members to the delights of Brusho.
The colours are a transparent, highly-pigmented water-colour ink that comes packed in small drums which contain the dry, crystalline powder in an extensive range of colours. They mix instantly with cold water to produce a vibrant and versatile painting medium.
Marilyn demonstrated and then guided members through their own work. The results were amazing!
Marilyn Allis is a water colour artist who works in a loose and impressionistic style. She uses strong vibrant colours to capture the movement and energy of a scene, and at a Saturday workshop in early June, she introduced members to the delights of Brusho.
The colours are a transparent, highly-pigmented water-colour ink that comes packed in small drums which contain the dry, crystalline powder in an extensive range of colours. They mix instantly with cold water to produce a vibrant and versatile painting medium.
Marilyn demonstrated and then guided members through their own work. The results were amazing!
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The May Exhibition
at Warminster Library resulted in sales of 15 pictures and 115 cards. For the first time, the Preview was held on a Saturday afternoon. 60 guests and visitors came to view the entries while enjoying the open buffet and chatting to the artists. The People’s Choice award was won by Vivien Green with her portrait of her collie dog ‘Teddy’. Some of the exhibition pictures are now displayed at our new venue in Warminster Hub in the central car park. There are also examples of our members work in the Athenaeum and at Warminster Park Community Centre. 
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Castles in Pastels
Kate Cochrane gained a Diploma in Graphic Design Design at Canterbury College of Art followed by local courses in Fine Art and in colour work. She has been exhibiting paintings since 1980, has designed home accessories and runs tutoring workshops. In April, she ran a Saturday pastel workshop in Warminster, creating vibrant castles. Kate works from her garden studio in Frome and the images she uses in her paintings are from places she has visited personally. Kate transforms what she sees into a mosaic of shapes and colour, considering hue, tone and composition. Local Somerset landscapes, visits to Tasmania, Wales and the Borders provide a wealth of images. Her current interest is derelict castles and abbeys. |
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Warminster in Watercolour
In February, Pete French gave a demonstration of how to paint buildings in watercolour and talked about his technique, the paint, brushes and the paper he uses. Pete has been a professional artist for 35 years, specialising in architecture, townscapes and landscapes. Water colour is his main medium but occasionally he switches to acrylic or oil. Recent Paintings have been exhibited in London Cork Street, The Mall Galleries and the Royal Water Colour Society Bankside. Other exhibitions have been with IEA at Holt, Stourhead Wiltshire, and also in Norfolk and Suffolk. Members especially liked the painting of Warminster. 
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2017
Visitors to the November Exhibition in Warminster Library who voted for the 'People's Choice' selected the oil painting by Kate Wikinson entitled 'The Jewel of Sutherland'.
She was presented with the Alfred Lilley award by Janet Cooke, the Society's Chairman.
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Dave White came to us last November and returned this September to demonstrate the painting of portraits of dogs.
Dave paints commissions of people's pets, with a large proportion of his work arising from his exhibition each year at Crufts' He showed us how to prepare the canvas and then mixed shades of acrylics, starting with the darkest tones in the eyes and nostrils, demonstrating the techniques of layering and glazing. He showed how to create fur with a rake brush or comb brush and how to produce realistic whiskers by painting the edge of a piece of flexible card and applying it to the canvas. He will be be back next year to hold an all-day Saturday workshop and his book on animal portraits is due out In October 2018. |
Pat Ebdon got the most votes in the competition for a postcard-sized picture of Autumn. She was presented with the prize of £25 by Janet Cooke.
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21 members came to the Lakeside Garden Centre in August where we drew and painted and had lunch.
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The first outdoor painting session this summer was at Ark Farm, Old Wardour.
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The coach outing to Mottisfont House and gardens in June was a great success.
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The May Exhibition was opened by Mere artist Laura Rich whose contemporary landscape paintings are sold in galleries across England and are held in private collections internationally. She is also coordinator of Wiltshire’s largest art trail - The Wylye Valley Art Trail which Warminster Art Society is part of.
Laura presented the Alfred Lilly award for the 'People's Choice' to Jane Dyer for her watercolour entitled Toby the Shetland Pony.
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A generous and inspiring tutor
We were delighted to welcome back Internationally published artist Fiona Peart on 22nd April for a Saturday workshop "Understanding Watercolour". Fiona studied drawing and watercolour at the Flemish Academy of Fine Art in Leuven, Belgium On graduating, she was awarded the 'best achievement' prize and then went on to gain an adult teaching qualification. Her work has been exhibited at many galleries including The Mall Galleries in London. A generous and enthusiastic tutor, she told members about the exciting and confounding properties of watercolour - which ones granulated and which flocculated, which ones were transparent and which opaque - and how to achieve the best when mixing colours. She demonstrated how all these properties can be used and then members practised what they had learnt, feeling as though they were using watercolours properly for the first time. Fiona has written seven practical art books, is a regular contributor to the Leisure Painter magazine and will certainly be invited back again. |
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