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

Donegal Sketching Holiday 2018

An Port Ghost Village

An Port is a favourite destination of mine and we visited it this year on the second day of our workshop. Port has a very special atmosphere. It is said that the whole village was abandoned at the time of the famine in the middle of the 19c leaving the houses to fall into ruin. It must have been a very hard existence – what appears picturesque to those visitors who make their way down and leave again, the reality was in fact a harsh existence.

On the first morning we spent an hour on Fintra Beach before moving on to St John’s Point. At Fintra our first exercise was to walk and make marks as we go, seaweed, stones, footmarks, pawmarks, feathers, waves – anything that took our eye. These sketches ended up as scribbles in most cases but served the purpose of honing hand-eye coordination.

St John’s Point

Ceramic Workshop

On the final morning we had a ceramic tutorial from the potter Alan Snape. At the start of the holiday he had asked everyone to think of five or six motives for a mini frieze. Always daunting at first the final results were awesome to the delight and surprise of all the novice ceramicists!

Muckross Head

Our final destination was at the stunning Muckross Head with wind and waves and foam – an inspiration for any artist of paint or words.

Thank you to all who took part – to the tutors, the companions, the helpers. Thank you for all your work – sketches , paintings, poems and most of all – thank you for the craic!

 

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

Donegal Sketching Holiday 2017

The weather gods were kind this year although if I were one to bite my nails they would be down to the quick! For painters it was perfect – windy, cloudy and sunny all in one Donegal day. Motifs are always plentiful, satisfying every taste whether landscape, water, fishing ropes, scudding clouds, busy, colourful, towns or sweeping mountain passes.

 

Below is a slideshow of some of the work produced

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                                          This year we had a guest tutor, the ceramic artist Alan Snape, who gave a masterclass in modelling in clay. Results were stunning as you can see…

All over for another year. My thanks to Alan Snape, the Potter, for his excellent tuition, to Gerry (Mrs Potter and my big sis) for her help making thousands of sandwiches and gallons of coffee and tea and of course to all those who took part for your work, the laughs, the wine and the company!

Life drawing Saturdays

A selection of  life drawings from recent life workshops

90 minute Oil sketch on canvas block

constantly moving series conté crayon on A2 cartridge paper

10 minute gestural sketch conté crayon on cartridge paper

90 minute oil sketch on canvas pad

40 minute charcoal drawings on A2 cartridge paper

30 minute mixed media sketches

Charcoal on cartridge paper

First life drawing session 2017

30 minute charcoal sketch on full size Arches hot pressed paper

2 minute gestural sketches conté crayon

40 min Charcoal sketch on A2 cartridge paper

50 minute oil sketch on canvas pad

50 minute oil sketch on canvas pad

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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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

May Life Drawing

Conté crayon and collage on A2 cartridge paper 20  mins

I loved this pose would be a good study for a San Sebastian painting!

Oil pastels and collage on A2 cartridge paper 30 mins

No quick gestural poses this session 2 x 15 min poses charcoal on cartridge paper

Head studies. Oil on canvas sheets

Saturday Life Drawing

Oil sketch 60 mins 70cm x 56cm

Gestural sketches 2 minutes conte crayon on A2 cartridge paper

Oil sketch 60 minutes 70cm x 48cm

Life Drawing Workshop Sat Feb 20 2016

Conte, gouache, charcoal in A3 cartridge sketchbook

2 minute gestural poses charcoal on A2 cartridge

5 minute preparatory sketch – carbon pencil

Oil on gesso prepared card 54cm x 50cm (90mins)

Back in the Liferoom

It’s been nearly 3 months since my last foray into the life room and it was so good to shake off the temptation to sink into winter hibernation on this miserable grey January Saturday. Below are a few sketches from the 4 hour session…..

2 minute gestural sketches – charcoal on A2 cartridge paper

15 minute sketch charcoal on A2 cartridge paper

45 mins mixed media in A3 sketch book

15 mins gouache/charcoal on watercolour sheet

Mixed media in A3 sketch book

Opening Night

Finally everything was framed and hung, flowers were arranged, the glasses were laid out, the wine was cooling and the artists were waiting for viewers (and hopefully buyers) to arrive – and arrive they did!

The opening night was a great success with fun, chat, raffle and….. sales!

There are lots of people to thank – the library staff for being so helpful, Art and Home for their raffle gift and last minute framing,the Tom Kerr group for lending us their boards, Patrick McDonald from NIAMH and of course all the artists who exhibited and helped with the organisation.

Charity Exhibition – Artist Bios – Patricia Burgess

Patricia Burgess.

Qualified as a lawyer but began painting seriously about 18 years ago.  I work in most media –sometimes all at once, which I love,  using whatever processes or methods seem to suit the image in my mind’s eye, be it  free and full of colour like Barbara Rae, or quiet and cool like Morandi. The effect of light on colour plus a strong form are always important to me whatever the catalyst, and I love to experiment with new methods and subject matter. Fascinated by Picasso’s cubism in my teens, his earlier works came as a revelation when I discovered them. I continue to discover artists who excite me –  Cezanne, the Pointillistes, Uglow, Hockney, Freud, Diebenkorn and many, many  others..

Full Member of Ulster Watercolour Society, Art Society of Ulster, Ulster Women Artists, Pastel Society of Ireland, received awards from all , and  selected to exhibit at RHA, RUA, and  final of the Laing Exhibition in the,Mall Gallery London.