CREATING ART IN LOCKDOWN

Having managed to run face-to-face, socially-distanced, masked, sanitised, tracked-and-traced classes in the autumn (without any infections arising), it came as a blow to realise that this just wasn’t going to happen in the recent winter course. With rising infections and government lockdowns, there was nothing else for it but to head for the laptop and adapt lessons for online teaching.

Although I have been running private art groups for around 30 years, both here in Northern Ireland and previously in Germany, this has been my greatest challenge. Just when I thought I had earned my wings and could conduct an art course fairly competently, a global pandemic happened! So I delved into my archives (thankfully I had kept notes of lessons throughout the years – slightly disorganised but legible!), collated them and set to work. After many frustrating hours of grappling with PowerPoint, PDF files, demonstration videos, Zoom class meetings and individual video calls, we made it through the course. When I say “we” I mean, of course, myself and my students who were magnificent – logging in each week, trying the zoom password a thousand times until they succeeded, leading me through their house on video calls to view their work and never giving up the faith – I love you all!

The theme of this course was “Reflections” which could either be taken literally or metaphorically (or not used at all!) and the main technique was mixed media, from simple combinations of materials to collage, mono prints, transfer prints, assemblage…

I have put together a selection of just some of the work produced over the past 12 weeks.

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Oonagh Catchpole “Donegal Schoolhouse” mixed media; “Donegal Farm” mixed media; “Reflections on the Lagan” mixed media

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Janet Clarke “Reed Beds” acrylic; “Autumn Grasses” grasses and oil paint; “North Antrim Coast” oil and grasses; Ink on photographs printed on matt photographic paper

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Helen McKelvey “Autumn Seedheads” mixed media on rough watercolour paper; “Killian, Near Malin, Co Donegal” oil on canvas; “Honesty” mixed media on rough watercolour paper (Photo credit The Garden magazine RHS)

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Shirley McDonald “David Bailey” transfer print, acrylic and ink; Trace mono prints; “Glasses” acrylic on board

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Patricia Burgess Mixed media on canvas; “Remembering Ardglass” mixed media; “The Room” Inks on canvas (work in progress)

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Libby Pallin “Botanical Gardens, Melbourne” oil on canvas; “Reflections on Mount Stewart Lake” oil on board

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Marie Murray “In Deep I” oil on canvas; “In Deep II” oil on canvas; “Picnic with Pierre” mixed media on paper

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Heather Hughes “Early Evening, Victoria Park” acrylic and pastel; “Sunflowers” pencil drawing and acrylic; “Victoria Falls” acrylic, charcoal and pastel

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  Site seeing in Las Palmas

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Eilish Smith “Siteseeing in Las Palmas” monochrome collaged painted paper; “Kitchen Sink Chaos” mixed media; “Snakes and Ladders” mixed media using masks

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Anne Polland “Mary Anne McCracken, anti-slavery activist” mixed media; “Stile at Ballystokes, near Saul” oil grisaille on textured board; “Emilia, Lockdown Schoolgirl” oil on canvas

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Joan Magee “Geranium in a Pot” (inspired by Henri Matisse); “Potted Gerbera for Mum” oil and acrylic; “Splash of Colourful Tulips” oil and acrylic

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Margaret Finlay “Roberta” collage; “My Garden” oil on board; Acrylic transfer print

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Roberta Lindsay “Skid Row” acrylic transfer, pen on canvas pad; “Twin Brothers” acrylic on canvas board; “The Yard” acrylic on canvas board

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Caroline Twemlow Acrylic, wax crayon, collage; acrylic and collage; acrylic transfer, acrylic, ink

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Bernie O’Hare “Galway Hookers” oil on canvas (after a painting by Ivan Sutton); “Tra na Rossan ” oil on canvas (from photo by Rita Wilson)

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Rosalind McConaghy Acrylic transfer and watercolour; mono print and soft pastel; mono print

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Karen Hamilton “Disappearing Footprints” hand appliqué; “Tree” mono print and soft pastel; “Tree” watercolour, mono print and machine stitching; “Covid, covid Reflections” charcoal; “Oyster” watercolour

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Julia Simms “Family Ties” mixed media; “Ballyholme Beach” monoprint; Abstract, mixed media; “Reflections of a Wet Dusk”, Ballyholme soft pastels; “Heirlooms, a Reflection” oil on canvas

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Barbara Carlisle “Cumbrian Waterfall” oil on canvas; “Boathouse Reflection, Hillsborough; mixed media “Decades of Troubles” mixed media

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Katherine Nixon “Skins” oil on gesso panel; “Wrapped” oil on gesso panel

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Floresca Karanasou “Dutch Masters” soft pastels, (photo credit Sarah Raven autumn 2020 catalogue); “Lunar Annua” soft pastels (photo credit The Garden magazine Sept 2020)

Days of Isolation

We all have our favourite rooms where we can sit and relax . My sister Geraldine’s bolthole, where she can escape the humdrum chores of everyday life, is her summer house. Set in an oasis of a garden, with lovingly tended vegetable patches, fruit trees, a birch grove, a herb garden and even a labyrinth, this is where she and her husband Alan, the Potter, spend a great part of their summer days. This painting is as much a portrait of the summer house as it is of Geraldine. Here are all the bits and pieces which formerly adorned the main home but, having served their purpose, are loved too much to be thrown out and end up forming an eclectic collection of their family’s history.  Painted before lockdown started here in March this year it nevertheless shows how she spent those never-ending months of isolation.

Geraldine in the Summer house Oil on Linen 100 x 100 cms

Exhibited by the Royal Ulster Academy 139th Annual Exhibition http://www.royalulsteracademy.org

Jackson’s Painting Prize 2020 longlist

A Postcard from Donegal August 2019

During this summer’s Donegal Sketching Holiday I gave each participant a sheet of a postcard-sized watercolour  pad.  The image they painted or drew had to reflect the pretty village of Kilcar where we were sketching at the time and, of course, they didn’t disappoint…..

But let’s go back to the first morning in Rosbeg. We started off making marks as we walked – a great way of sharpening the observational skills and becoming familiar with your surroundings

Placing yourself in front of a panoramic view can be daunting as to where to start so I handed each person a  piece of drawing paper, 45cms square, which I had folded and pressed together to form a “pad” approx 15 cms sq. The first drawing/painting within this square was to be of the middle-distance. They were then to fold out the side “wings” and draw/paint whatever was on either side of their original square – ditto for the top and bottom “wings” (are you still with me?). This was aimed to sharpen spatial awareness and also to explore compositional aspects of the scene. 

If I were to say the weather was perfect, I would be lying, there were a lot of showers but it was warm enough and the clouds were dramatic and painterly ( we Irish know how to spin a weather story!). However, by the time we got to Maghera on Monday afternoon the rain had set in so sketching time and the outlook were limited. Rossy still managed to get down some quick watercolour marks of the “Granny” (Pass) before it disappeared!

These were a couple I did the week before when I was out scouting for locations – maybe next year we’ll make it ……

Never to be defeated by rain or wind, we stopped, on the way home, at Killybegs Harbour and sketched from the shelter of our cars

Tuesday morning was ceramics time and the potter, Alan Snape, had another brilliant project planned and what could be more fitting for Donegal….

..than a flock of sheep?

We spent Tuesday afternoon at Kilcar. I’ve already shown the postcards so here are some of the rest

One of my favourite places in Donegal is the beautiful, deserted village of An Port. The first time I visited here (around 30 years ago) it seemed like the end of the world – empty – wild – elemental. This year we arrived down to find half a dozen cars, 3 camper vans and two coaches full of Spanish walkers! I suppose it was only a matter of time before the rest of the world caught on to the magic of Donegal and in particular these hidden gems. The Wild Atlantic Way has helped put the Atlantic coast on the tourist map and it is certainly good for the local economy. The Spanish walkers eventually made their way across the mountain path towards Glencolumbcille where the coaches would be waiting for them, leaving us to our sketching…..

Rossy McConaghy watercolour; acrylics

Roberta Lindsay watercolour pens; mixed media

Patricia Wilson watercolour; oil pastels

Pamela Greene watercolour; pastels

Oonagh Catchpole watercolour; pastels; watercolour pens

Margaret Finlay pastels

Helen Mckelvey watercolour

Geraldine Snape frottage; assemblage

Rosie McClelland oil pastel; oil pastel on acrylic monoprint

Another fun-filled and productive workshop comes to an end. My thanks to everyone who took part, to the potter, Alan Snape and my helper, sister and fellow artist Gerry Snape. Thank you Donegal for your hospitality especially Ethna from Inishduff B & B who, quite frankly, spoils her guests, the Tara Hotel, Killybegs and the Rusty Mackerel, Teelin where we had fabulous meals.

Until next year……….

 

Life drawing

It’s been too long since I posted anything on my blog so here are a few sketches from today’s life drawing workshop. You can see more of my work on Instagram @rosiemcclellandart or on my website http://www.rosiemcclelland.co.uk

60 minute oil sketch 24 in x 18 in

2 minute gestural poses pen drawings

Charcoal on cartridge paper

Mixed Media – acrylic, charcoal, conté, oil pastel

Mixed Media – conté crayon and oil paint on canvas block

Faultlines and Fractures

Through the media of paint, glass and photography Rosie McClelland and Pamela Greene each explore the complex issue of identity. Recognising that identity has may facets and is subject to reinvention, their work explores the relationships we form with certain people, landscapes or objects and why these draw us close on emotional, spiritual or physical levels that we do not always understand. Drawn to the imperfections in the human condition and in nature, McClelland’s and Greene’s work recognises that it is in connecting with these fault lines that we find our DNA

‘Little Blue’ oil on linen 50 x 40cm Rosie McClelland

The condition of self is transitory, never fixed. Our position within society, family and workplace can change radically throughout our lives. It is with this in mind that I approach my work which is first and foremost intimate and reflective, a personal response to my subject matter.

My chosen method of working is figurative, weaving underlying abstract forms into reality and, in the process, hopefully creating a sense of presence – a vibration. The study of the human body, an ongoing fascination throughout my life, returns time and again as does the art of still life which is about much more than the objects it portrays and more often than not represents human relationships. Another repeating motif is the tethered boat, so long a symbol of the spiritual, at times swaying on choppy seas, times on still waters portraying a reflection of the self.

Woven into this process is the acceptance of faults, fractures and imperfections as it is only through a holistic view of reality that the truth and the real self are revealed.                   Rosie McClelland

Iceland Series ‘Frozen Sea’ dia 30cm depth 18cm Pamela Greene

Through the media of kiln-formed glass, photography and poetry I explore my primary interest, identity.   I am particularly drawn to the identity of landscape and why many of us make emotional or spiritual or physical connection with wild and inhospitable places whose beauty is often savage and transient.

My current work focuses on the landscapes of Iceland and Ireland, sustained sources of inspiration.   For my ‘Iceland’ series I chose to work with glass for its versatility: its ability – like ice – to transmit and reflect light, its reaction to fire, and, like the landscape of Iceland, its strength and vulnerability.  These properties make it the perfect medium to try to reflect the spirit of a landscape whose identity is shaped by ice and fire.

My glasswork is supported by photographs of Donegal, a landscape similar to that of Iceland.  In these I have sought to capture the essence of a fractured and fragmented landscape where it sometimes seems that the identity and history of our ancestors can be read in the faces and fault lines of the rock formations.

Working with glass and photography has enabled me to explore how landscape, actual and remembered, shapes our sense of who we are and where we come from.                            Pamela Greene

 

 

Charcoal on watercolour paper Rosie McClelland

 On Saturday 12 Nov 2016 10am – 4pm, I shall be tutoring a life drawing workshop in the Island Arts Centre, Lisburn. Please contact the Island for details

 

 

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Donegal Sketching August 2016

Another long overdue blog!

Monday August 8  – The deserted fishing village of Port was our first venue. A windswept but sunny day creating a continually changing light show….

       Tuesday August 9     Assaranca Waterfall and Ardara Town

 

Wednesday August 10 – A wet day so drawing exercises inside the cottage using Donegal’s wild flowers

‘Losing control’- Sketching with charcoal taped onto the end of a paintbrush                   (left to right Margaret F, Kay McC, Karen W, Gavin H)

‘Large and Small Scale’ – drawing with a paintbrush and black ink on scrolled paper, pen and ink on small scale card. (left Kay McC, right Pamela G)

Subtraction drawings with charcoal and putty rubber.(left Pamela G, right Gavin H)

Brambles (Margaret)

Thank you to all who took part!

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September Life drawing workshop

Conté crayons on toned paper 65cm x 55cm 60mins

Conté and charcoal on A2 cartridge paper 30 mins

Pen and wash in A4 sketch book 15 mins

Charcoal on A1 watercolour paper 30 mins

Drawing in the City

                                                       Pen and wash Rosie McClelland

This year, in May, I undertook a new, exciting venture. In conjunction with my talented daughter  Jessie ( www.jessicaweberphotography.com ) I led a tutored sketching/photography break in Berlin.

With a small, select group we took in the sights of that fascinating city, visiting locations such as the Eastside Gallery (old Berlin wall), the historical Oberbaumbrucke  to the beautiful Museuminsel, Gendarmenmarkt, Berlinerdom amongst many others,  sketching and taking photos on the way.

Included during the week were gallery visits, most noteworthy of which this year for me was the Erwin Wurm exhibition at the Berlinische Galerie.

Below are a few examples of work undertaken during the course but, for a fuller picture, head over to the Drawing in the City website www.drawinginthecity.com and have a peek.

Our next Berlin sketching break is May 2017

Sketching in Donegal August 2014

Just a few images from this year’s sketching workshop in Donegal.

Eight painters took part over 4 days starting on the Sunday evening with a meal and a chance for everyone to get to know each other followed by a short talk on what to expect over the coming days.

The weather when I travelled down from Belfast on the Saturday was horrific. The rain was coming down in stair rods and Sunday wasn’t much better! Just as I was expecting to put plan B into operation, on Monday morning the sun came out and we were off to our first location, Maghera waterfall (above) and later across the dunes and down to the beach and caves (below)

      

        

Making marks to convey the movement of the water and texture of the vegetation.

        

           

        

 

Moving into colour and making colour notes

On Tuesday we travelled down to the very tip of St John’s Point for a panoramic view of the Sligo mountains across to Sliabh Liag.

     

Tonal sketch capturing depth and atmospheric perspective

        

Negative drawing of  ragwort

Not a bad place to have a picnic!

The plan for the final day was to sketch around the Church graveyard and megalithic Ogham stone in Glencolumbcille, beautifully nestling in a valley surrounded by rolling hills. As we settled in to sketch and, in some cases, take rubbings from the ancient stones, the rain set in.

Now, in my experience, rain in the hills doesn’t always mean rain elsewhere in Donegal so we set off for a favourite spot of mine- a peaceful little harbour on the coastal road between Kilcar and Carraig with a spot of retail therapy on the way at Glencolumbcille Woollen Mill and Kilcar’s Design Weaving Studio. Sure enough we managed to escape the rain here and spent a peaceful afternoon with nothing but the sound of lapping water and seagulls crying.

      

      

 

       

Thank you to all who took part on the course you were amazing –

Brid, Margaret, Kay, Pamela, Karen, Sue, Mandy, Bernie.

Thank you Gerry (big sis) for all your help.

Thank you to Ethna at Inishduff House  who, as always, provided excellent hospitality and accommodation

Thank you for the good company and delicious food at Kitty Kelly’s

The images above are just a small example of the work produced and my apologies to those who had to leave early and whose work has not appeared here – I stupidly forgot to take photos before you left.

Da dah!!

Food for Art

Ooh look what Skye, my portrait model for last night’s portrait class, brought! I feel a portrait AND a still life coming on!

10 min charcoal sketch on cartridge paper

Latest Portrait (Dr Ivan Pollock)

Just finished another commissioned portrait.

I took a few photos of the process and am sharing them here.

The first sitting is always scary –  exchanging a few awkward niceties with someone you have never met before and then starting to sketch them.

As if it isn’t bad enough sketching in front of people let alone someone who doesn’t know you!

At this stage it’s sometimes more about interacting with your subject and  the drawing is an analytical study more than creating a “likeness”. (just as well!)

15 min charcoal line sketch

At the end of the sitting, a couple of nervous sketches and a batch of photos later I get to work on the next stage – tonal sketches and layouts for the final composition.

This is a head and shoulders commission so I worked to the same dimensions as the canvas itself.

Looking at this now after several weeks more of studying the subject, I can’t believe how unobserved it was.

Below is a reworked study – much more satisfying!

Willow charcoal on hot-pressed watercolour paper

However next stage is transferring the image to the canvas. I prefer to work on stretched linen for these portraits and I often start with a terre verte underpainting.

This is when I request a second sitting and, using raw umber and white , I start a tonal painting.

Time for dabbing on some colour. Now the terre verte underpainting comes into play. The skin tones resonate immediately with the green contrast:-

The subject was to be painted in his academic gown and hood and I felt these would work best with a dark background:-

In the course of painting – studying the planes, lines and characteristics of the face I tend sometimes to over emphasise them creating an image which looks older than the subject really is so this is the point where another sitting is necessary to reduce this effect and check skin tones, hair and costume colours  – also realised I had major corrections to do around the mouth area :-

Final stage – waiting for approval from the person who commissioned the painting – another scary moment but thankfully they liked it!

Portrait of Dr Ivan Pollock

Headmaster of Campbell College Belfast 1987 – 2005

Ballynoe stone circle

This beautiful island of Ireland never fails to amaze me.

Yesterday I visited the ancient Ballynoe Stone Circle. Lying 2.5 miles south of Downpatrick, parts of this site date as far back as Neolithic times and the early bronze age (3000 -4000 BC)

This is the grassy vortex that leads from the main road through what seemed like middle earth to the site and back 5000 years!

The sun was shining, the air was crisp and clear and there was frost on the ground.

In the distance were the blue Mourne mountains.

The only noise was the drone of a distant tractor trimming hedges.

What do these stones mean who put them there and what did they do there?

Excavated in the 1930s the plaque at the entrance states that it’s still not fully understood when various parts were added and for what purpose – certainly partly used  as a burial site – but I have ideas of my own! Just look at the shape of that stone and then compare it to Slieve Donard in the distance – could it be some sort of homage to the magnificent nature surrounding them? Of course this is just fancy on my part as Ireland was probably covered in forest at that stage and the mountains may not have been seen at all from Ballynoe!

A magical,timeless place, surrounded by beautiful countryside

-this is our heritage and it belongs to us all – 20 miles and a million light years from Belfast – I wonder if neolithic folks fought over flags!

Life-drawing Sat Nov 24

15 min pose

Series of 2 minute poses

Foreshortening grrrrrrrrrrr!!

90mins and somewhat overworked so another quick 15 min of same pose…

Still Waters Exhibition

A little slideshow of paintings from the “Still Waters” Exhibition

a combination of seascapes in soft pastels and still lifes and portraits in oil

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Castle Espie Gallery

Last Saturday saw the launch of my exhibition “Still Waters” at the Gallery in WWT Castle Espie, Comber, Co Down. Castle Espie itself is beautifully  situated in the rolling hills of Co Down beside Strangford Lough.

The Gallery is in the original house and is a wonderful space for an exhibition.