We're back!

The blog is revived.

Inspiration from David Ware

This afternoon, David Ware opened his studio for members of TAG. David was born in Bridgend, worked as a professional visual artist in Canada for many years, and has now returned to Wales to paint (and turn wood).

The photos below give you an impression of his atmospheric images of the local landscape, and also his skills as a wood-turner.

David Ware (left) in his studio with members of TAG

Programme updates

The programme has been updated again - just click on the "Programme" tab to see the details. The main changes are:

1. The pen and wash theme has been moved to April and May. Anne Soloman's workshop will be on Thurs 11 April.


2. Next Thurs, 7 Feb, Juliet will be giving a tutorial on watercolour techniques.

3. The theme for rest of February and March will be colour. Harry will give a talk about colour wheels on 14 Feb.

Field Trip to Bwlch Glas Mine

Last Thursday, James Cartwright showed us his fascinating photos of an unfamiliar Wales: far underground in the  lead and slate mines of Ceredigion and Gwynedd.
Then, on a surprisingly sunny Sunday, James took us to this forbidding lead mine east of Talybont and gave us an expert tour of the workings and their history (above ground). As well as sketching and taking photographs, we hunted for galena on the spoil heaps and enjoyed the spectacular views.

The ruined mine buildings brood over an adit

James Cartwright (left) shows the adit to group members and Sid 

The sun glances across a Cladonia colony on the spoil heap

Many thanks to Juliet for these brilliant photos.

... and they were never seen again.

TAG annual exhibition

On 6 Oct we held our annual exhibition of arts and crafts.
Below you can see:
(a) displays of the work we carried out on the year's themes, photographed as we set up the show the previous evening, and
(b) Juliet's photos on the day of the show.

This year's themes

HATS (for The Big Draw, 2012)

FUNGI AND NON-FLOWERING PLANTS

STILL LIFE COMPOSITION

STILL LIFE COMPOSITION 2

CHARACTER DRAWING FROM THE IMAGINATION

COLLAGE

COLLAGE 2

BIRDS IN PASTEL

TREES

TEXTURE IN ACRYLIC

WACKY GROUP DRAWING
(In dim light, to a musical background, we
each started a drawing, which was then circulated
and added to by each member.)

MORE WACKY DRAWING

At the exhibition

TAG Annual Exhibition

Our annual exhibition of arts and crafts 

will be held on

Sat, 6 October 2012, 11 am - 4 pm

in the Llanfach Hall, Taliesin.

§

Displays of work by the members on this year's themes.

Also, sale of original art work, prints, cards, wood turning, embroidery and other crafts.

§

Entrance free. Convenient parking.

Refreshments.

Textures in acrylic

On 23 August, Tracey Smith came to give us a practical tutorial on many ways of achieving texture and surface effects using acrylic paints and various other materials and media, which she had brought with her.

• dropping acrylic ink into wet acrylic
• dropping salt into wet acrylic
• dropping dust scraped from pastels into wet acrylic
• adding extender medium to improve flow
• glazing over acrylic once dry
• applying crackle medium over dry acrylic, then adding a contrasting layer of acrylic
• gluing sand or sandpaper onto the ground to provide texture
• gluing textiles onto the ground
• applying bubble wrap, cling film etc, to wet acrylic; peeling off when dry
• scumbling Treasure Gold over a textured acrylic under layer
• abrading a painted surface with sandpaper.

After a very full and rewarding evening, and enthusiasticapplause, Tracey was persuaded to return next week to help members develop their new skills into finished pieces.

Tracey demonstrates techniques

Using beach sand to create a textured ground

Close-up to show the early stages of the exercise, and some of the materials used