Welcome to the new Painting for Pleasure U3A group. This group meets on the 2nd Thursday morning of each month, 9.30am-12.00 noon at All Saints Church Hall on Smedley Road, Matlock, DE4 3JG. There is a good-sized car park.
Next term’s dates are 9th January, 13th February and 13th March. The cost is £4 per session to include tea, coffee and biscuits (£12 per quarter).
This is an informal group of like-minded people interested in developing their skills in artistic painting, learning from each other whilst enjoying each other’s company. There is no formal teacher – some of the members are experienced painters and artists; others are complete beginners, me included. We all help each other.
Each month, a few weeks before the next meeting, you will receive an email suggesting a specific theme for you to work on in advance with the idea of completing it in the next group session, using whatever medium you prefer. A message will be sent to all members of the group by the organiser a couple of days before each meeting. It is important for members to check their emails in case of last-minute cancellations due to bad weather (as in January).
You can ask other members to help you, or you can work independently. You may want to try out a new style, or attempt abstract painting or find out how to use pastels or acrylics. Anything goes. There may also be an opportunity to work on your own long-term project, time-allowing.
You do need to provide your own materials, i.e paints, brushes, paper etc. You will be working on a flat table, so you may prefer to bring an easel (but not essential). If you are a complete beginner, the group leader will advise you what to bring to your first session. Pencils are always a good idea.
This group is now full. However, if you would like more information, please contact Heather (e-mail).
Session March 13th : This week, Mike showed us how to stretch paper for watercolour painting. He explained that this technique prevents bubbles occurring and keeps paper flat during painting.
After this, we all started on our individual projects based on the theme of “The Emergence of Spring”. This was a wide-ranging brief and everyone was able to develop their own particular skills using either their own stimulus material or the books, twigs and flowers that many people had brought along.
Next session: April 10th – the theme is “Matlock”. This is a great opportunity to take photographs of landmarks or one’s favourite location in Matlock, such as the Bandstand, the Hydro, High Tor or the river.
Nigel has been using an online course to assist his learning, and he will show us where to find this tutorial online and he will pick out a section that he thinks we may all find useful.
Future Plans We are planning a couple of sessions ‘en plein air’, maybe Chatsworth or Froggatt & Curbar Edge. We will wait for warm weather for these, perhaps the first one being in June. We also plan to take part in Hopton Hall’s Art month in July.
Do contact Heather if you are interested in joining this group.