Demonstrations 2026
February 2026 - Graham Webber ROI IEA - A Snow Scene in Oils
We were delighted to welcome Graham back to enthrall and educate us once again with his very eloquent explanation of ways to bring interest into paintings. Graham only uses the three primary colours plus white and no solvent: using one colour mix to lead into the next resulting colour harmony. To bring interest to his design he uses contrast, warm and cool colour versions, saturated and less saturated colours as well as lights and darks. Graham likes to capture the atmosphere and energy of a place and a deep connection to the landscape. A very interesting demo providing a lot of food for thought. www.grahamwebber.co.uk
March 2026 - James Power HSEA - Laying Out a Landscape and the Importance of Tone
The Society was delighted to welcome Jim back to demonstrate for us. Jim used a landscape in oils to illustrate the importance of laying out the fundamentals of composition in a painting to draw the viewer's eye to your focal point. This is achieved by placing the object on one of the four golden intersections then using lines from pathways, hedgerows, walls etc to lead the eye there. Then to use ariel perspective to create depth in the painting, making colours paler and bluer towards the distance and only to put in the detail that you need: objects will be less detailed the further back they are. A fascinating and informative demo with much food for thought. insta: jamespowerartist
April 2026 - Margaret Glass - Sunset in Pastels
A welcome return visit from Margaret, who treated the Society to a masterclass in the use of pastels. Painting the background of graded blue sky, using some of her favourite Unison pastels, Margaret explained how the use of a cool blue scumbled over with a warm blue can bring real depth and luminosity to the colour. This technique of using warm over cool colours or visa versa was also used at the base of the sky and in the foreground landscape. Margaret prefers a tinted sanded paper or board which can hold many layers of colour enabling her to paint in a style similar to oils.
May 2026 - Penny Overton - Foliage and Florals in Mixed Media
The Society were very pleased to welcome Penny back and to enjoy watching her exuberant style which enables her to capture an emotional response to what she sees. Flowers in a setting are her present focus and for our demonstration she chose poppies on an allotment, with a path leading the eye through to a greenhouse and shed beyond. Penny blocked in the important tones with broad brush strokes and then gradually began to add more detail, where she felt it should go. Chalk pastel and coloured pencil were used to add variation. Fascinating.
June 2026 - John Patchett - A Market Scene in Pastels
An old favourite, John Patchett imparted lots of great tips during this pastel demonstration. Such as to use willow charcoal to block in/sketch as this can be moved around and easily over painted with pastel. Create aerial perspective -foreground, middle and distance using colour and tone. Use a piece of the same colour card to test out colours first and medium pressure should make the colour transparent. Use multiple colours to create atmosphere: don't just use blues for a sky perhaps add in violet. Reflections are generally darker. He also recommends U-art for paper: 400 grit for slightly abstracted, soft-edged styles, Claire Fontaine for a smooth more photographic style of painting.
July 2026 - Michelle Parsons - A Lobster in Oils
Michelle gave an enthralling demonstration painting a lobster on a large canvas, with the image cropped to create additional impact. After being commissioned to paint a very large lobster for a restaurant she found that they as a subject gave her the opportunity to use them as a vehicle for her expressive light filled paintings created with colour and fluid brush strokes. For Michelle it is not just about the animal but the whole image. She tends not to use expensive paints and rarely varnishes her work afterwards.
