Hello Everyone,
As I put fingers to the keyboard, I heard that yesterday was the official start of Autumn accord-ing to the Met Office. What a beautiful summer we have had, although the Gardeners amongst you were probably wishing it would rain!
I hope you have had time to take advantage of the nice weather and maybe have done some en plein air painting. Or taken some photos that you can use to inspire you this Autumn.
My Summer has been somewhat hectic so I am really looking forward to getting back to my Art. September’s meeting of an interactive demo of Encaustic Wax Painting by Eleanor Tallowin sounds very interesting so do come along.
Happy Painting,
Liz
Recent Demonstrations – Write-ups by Jenny Hallam
John completed two paintings: a landscape in watercolour, and a view of cottages and the church in Newton St Cyres, in pen, ink and wash. He used Fabriano NOT paper, a limited palette (Raw Sienna, Light Red, Burnt Umber, Paynes Grey, Alizarin Crimson and Winsor Blue), a small range of brushes including a swordliner and a rigger, and a sharpened matchstick inserted into a piece of bamboo for the Indian ink, as it is unpredictable and produces less rigid lines.
It was a pleasure to watch an accomplished, confident artist at work.
He advised using lots of water, leaving white areas of paper, and paying attention to tone - plenty of contrasting darks and lights, as well as including both hard and soft edges. Dark accents around buildings helped them to stand out. Windows were minimally suggested rather than painted in detail.
He doesn’t use photos for reference, preferring a sketch, which doesn’t include a lot of detail, and began both paintings with the middle ground, rather than the sky, reminding us not to forget to put in people, cars, telegraph poles and wires!
Anna is experienced in helping others to create art, working with numerous groups and in her community, generous with her time and her materials. Watercolour is her main passion, which she discovered after training in photography. She enjoys experimenting with other media such as crayon, gouache, pastel and pencil added to a watercolour painting.
Today’s demonstration of a seascape (Lyme Regis) started with loose washes for sky and land, using a photo, upside down, to help with abstraction. She painted on Bockingford NOT 140lb, with a limited palette and only a couple of brushes.
She prefers Winsor and Newton paints, as well as some Daniel Smith colours. Her advice was to let the paint do what it wants, and not tinker.
The second demonstration was pebbles on a beach, painted loosely, leaving white areas for highlights, with pencil and crayon added afterwards to define the shapes. She stressed the importance of a wide tonal range - the darker the darks, the lighter the lights - to avoid a flat image.
The results were pleasing, lively paintings which allowed the viewer’s imagination to wander over them, with just enough detail to suggest plants, buildings, etc.
We hope to be able to organise a workshop with Anna soon.
And here is a follow-up email from Anna…
Thank you again for inviting me to visit your fabulous group - I had such a nice morning!
I did promise a kit list for those who were interested:
Bockingford 140lb NOT watercolour paper
Paints: All Daniel Smith or Winsor and Newton
Brushes: A random selection of dreadful looking things from the middle of Lidl plus Proarte Prolene 101/Daler Rowney Graduate brushes for smaller work.
Pencils: The big pencil I was drawing with initially was a Faber Castell Jumbo 9000 4B, the colour pencils were Faber Castell Polychromos and Derwent Drawing pencils.
Pastels: A mixture of posh (Sennelier, Unison, Jackson's own brand) and hard (cheap pastels are great for background areas)
If I've missed anything do just ask.
The other two things were Art Club videos - all found here:
https://www.youtube.com/@annabrewsterart
And for anyone who fancies finding out about Open Studios and workshops, the sign up for my newsletter is on the front page of my website here:
Www.annabrewster.com
Best wishes,
Anna
Lynda has had a varied and successful career, working in design on theatre and BBC productions, and painting, in all media. Her passion for art is palpable, and her enthusiasm infectious.
Today she used a sheet of white Pastelmat paper, already primed with colour (sky and land) and sprayed with fixative. She prefers this to using coloured paper. The scene (with a photo for reference) was a path winding through trees, a dark foreground and sunshine pouring through the branches and leaves.
Reminding us of the rule of thirds, she showed that her composition was pleasing, and advised using artistic licence, moving or omitting things, rather than attempting an exact copy. A painting should be a personal interpretation, eliciting emotion in the viewer.
Using quick movements she dotted on foliage, in a range of yellows, oranges and greens, starting at the top, to avoid pastel dust falling onto any painting below. She prefers Unison soft pastels, and also Sennelier. She warned us against skimping on materials -good quality is vital.
Each layer of pastel was sprayed with fixative. The lit sides of tree trunks were added, in light grey, which she also added to the dark foreground, to link the two parts of the picture. Then dark areas were added with pastel and Conte crayon.
More vigorous dotting in a limited range of colours hinted at foliage and vegetation. She varied the marks, occasionally making some parts larger areas of colour.
The result was a light-filled, colourful and joyful interpretation of a woodland walk.
She recommended triple mounts for pastels, as space is needed for dust to fall and remain invisible.
Jenny Hallam
Programme of Events 2025/26
Monthly Club Meeting/Demonstrations, 10am for 10:30am – 12:30pm, Parish Hall. September 26th
Eleanor Tallowin
Encaustic wax interactive demonstration.
October 31st
Club Morning
Monochrome - any subject, any colour or pur-sue your own work.
November 28th
Geoff Teece
Snow in watercolour, demonstration using a ‘fast and loose’ technique.
December 12th *
Club Morning with mince pies
Fast and loose painting - snow/Christmas Cards or pursue your own work
January 30th
Rod Ashman
Mixed media demonstration and using torn pa-per in an exciting way.
February 27th
Club Morning
Take inspiration from Rod Ashman or bring your own work.
March 27th
John Hoar
Flowers in a loose watercolour style.
April 24th
AGM
AGM and opportunity to have your work
critiqued after the AGM.
in an exciting way.
February 27th
Club Morning
Take inspiration from Rod Ashman or bring your own work.
March 27th
John Hoar
Flowers in a loose watercolour style.
April 24th
AGM
AGM and opportunity to have your work
critiqued after the AGM.
Meet to Paint
10am-1am, £9 for the three sessions, no booking required. September 12th
Meet to Paint
A social morning working on artwork of your choosing.
Exhibitions
Boniface Centre 2025
We are delighted to be exhibiting at the Boniface Centre during the Christmas Tree Festival again this year. Wednesday 3rd December, please deliver paintings between 2-3pm. Exhibition to run from Thursday 4th to Sunday 7th December, 10am-4pm daily except Sunday 2pm- 4pm. Entries to Debbie by Friday 21st November – entry forms to follow. All exhibitors will be required to sign-up for a stewarding slot nearer the time. This is a great opportunity to exhibit even if you have never exhibited before, please do give it a go.
Member’s Artist Profile
At the AGM we discussed reviving the folder of member’s artist profiles, to display at Exhibitions. If interested, the folder will be at the Boniface Centre and you can add 2 sides of A4 about yourself and your work, with whatever contact details you wish, e.g. email and or telephone number. It may create interest and commissions for those involved. No obligation though!
Website
We have a new website, www.newtonstcyresartclub.org. There is a gallery space for members to exhibit their own work. If you would like to add some of your own pictures, please email good images to either of our 2 website administrators, [email protected] or [email protected] These pictures will not be shown as for sale and will be just for display.
Other News
Members Data
Subject to approval at our next AGM, the following statement is proposed to be included on our Membership Form.
The Group takes every reasonable precaution to safeguard the personal information which you give to us and only uses this information for the purpose of informing you about the Group’s activities and organising events. It is never shared with 3rd-parties, and we do not use cookies or electronic means of gathering more information about you. By submitting your application, you agree that a limited number of Committee Members may access this information on a need-to-know basis. When you resign your membership, this information electronically or on paper, will be deleted.
In the meantime, if you wish to opt-out please do get in touch.
Beryl Cook Exhibition
The Box in Plymouth has announced a Beryl Cook Exhibition which will run from Saturday 24th January 2026 until Sunday 31st May 2026. “This will be the most extensive exhibition of her work to date” and promises to be well worth a visit. For more
As I put fingers to the keyboard, I heard that yesterday was the official start of Autumn accord-ing to the Met Office. What a beautiful summer we have had, although the Gardeners amongst you were probably wishing it would rain!
I hope you have had time to take advantage of the nice weather and maybe have done some en plein air painting. Or taken some photos that you can use to inspire you this Autumn.
My Summer has been somewhat hectic so I am really looking forward to getting back to my Art. September’s meeting of an interactive demo of Encaustic Wax Painting by Eleanor Tallowin sounds very interesting so do come along.
Happy Painting,
Liz
Recent Demonstrations – Write-ups by Jenny Hallam
- Friday 30th May – John Hoar ‘Fast and Loose Watercolour’.
John completed two paintings: a landscape in watercolour, and a view of cottages and the church in Newton St Cyres, in pen, ink and wash. He used Fabriano NOT paper, a limited palette (Raw Sienna, Light Red, Burnt Umber, Paynes Grey, Alizarin Crimson and Winsor Blue), a small range of brushes including a swordliner and a rigger, and a sharpened matchstick inserted into a piece of bamboo for the Indian ink, as it is unpredictable and produces less rigid lines.
It was a pleasure to watch an accomplished, confident artist at work.
He advised using lots of water, leaving white areas of paper, and paying attention to tone - plenty of contrasting darks and lights, as well as including both hard and soft edges. Dark accents around buildings helped them to stand out. Windows were minimally suggested rather than painted in detail.
He doesn’t use photos for reference, preferring a sketch, which doesn’t include a lot of detail, and began both paintings with the middle ground, rather than the sky, reminding us not to forget to put in people, cars, telegraph poles and wires!
- 27th June 2025 Demonstration in mixed media by Anna Brewster.
Anna is experienced in helping others to create art, working with numerous groups and in her community, generous with her time and her materials. Watercolour is her main passion, which she discovered after training in photography. She enjoys experimenting with other media such as crayon, gouache, pastel and pencil added to a watercolour painting.
Today’s demonstration of a seascape (Lyme Regis) started with loose washes for sky and land, using a photo, upside down, to help with abstraction. She painted on Bockingford NOT 140lb, with a limited palette and only a couple of brushes.
She prefers Winsor and Newton paints, as well as some Daniel Smith colours. Her advice was to let the paint do what it wants, and not tinker.
The second demonstration was pebbles on a beach, painted loosely, leaving white areas for highlights, with pencil and crayon added afterwards to define the shapes. She stressed the importance of a wide tonal range - the darker the darks, the lighter the lights - to avoid a flat image.
The results were pleasing, lively paintings which allowed the viewer’s imagination to wander over them, with just enough detail to suggest plants, buildings, etc.
We hope to be able to organise a workshop with Anna soon.
And here is a follow-up email from Anna…
Thank you again for inviting me to visit your fabulous group - I had such a nice morning!
I did promise a kit list for those who were interested:
Bockingford 140lb NOT watercolour paper
Paints: All Daniel Smith or Winsor and Newton
Brushes: A random selection of dreadful looking things from the middle of Lidl plus Proarte Prolene 101/Daler Rowney Graduate brushes for smaller work.
Pencils: The big pencil I was drawing with initially was a Faber Castell Jumbo 9000 4B, the colour pencils were Faber Castell Polychromos and Derwent Drawing pencils.
Pastels: A mixture of posh (Sennelier, Unison, Jackson's own brand) and hard (cheap pastels are great for background areas)
If I've missed anything do just ask.
The other two things were Art Club videos - all found here:
https://www.youtube.com/@annabrewsterart
And for anyone who fancies finding out about Open Studios and workshops, the sign up for my newsletter is on the front page of my website here:
Www.annabrewster.com
Best wishes,
Anna
- Lynda Kettle ‘A Walk in the Woods’ pastel demonstration.
Lynda has had a varied and successful career, working in design on theatre and BBC productions, and painting, in all media. Her passion for art is palpable, and her enthusiasm infectious.
Today she used a sheet of white Pastelmat paper, already primed with colour (sky and land) and sprayed with fixative. She prefers this to using coloured paper. The scene (with a photo for reference) was a path winding through trees, a dark foreground and sunshine pouring through the branches and leaves.
Reminding us of the rule of thirds, she showed that her composition was pleasing, and advised using artistic licence, moving or omitting things, rather than attempting an exact copy. A painting should be a personal interpretation, eliciting emotion in the viewer.
Using quick movements she dotted on foliage, in a range of yellows, oranges and greens, starting at the top, to avoid pastel dust falling onto any painting below. She prefers Unison soft pastels, and also Sennelier. She warned us against skimping on materials -good quality is vital.
Each layer of pastel was sprayed with fixative. The lit sides of tree trunks were added, in light grey, which she also added to the dark foreground, to link the two parts of the picture. Then dark areas were added with pastel and Conte crayon.
More vigorous dotting in a limited range of colours hinted at foliage and vegetation. She varied the marks, occasionally making some parts larger areas of colour.
The result was a light-filled, colourful and joyful interpretation of a woodland walk.
She recommended triple mounts for pastels, as space is needed for dust to fall and remain invisible.
Jenny Hallam
Programme of Events 2025/26
Monthly Club Meeting/Demonstrations, 10am for 10:30am – 12:30pm, Parish Hall. September 26th
Eleanor Tallowin
Encaustic wax interactive demonstration.
October 31st
Club Morning
Monochrome - any subject, any colour or pur-sue your own work.
November 28th
Geoff Teece
Snow in watercolour, demonstration using a ‘fast and loose’ technique.
December 12th *
Club Morning with mince pies
Fast and loose painting - snow/Christmas Cards or pursue your own work
January 30th
Rod Ashman
Mixed media demonstration and using torn pa-per in an exciting way.
February 27th
Club Morning
Take inspiration from Rod Ashman or bring your own work.
March 27th
John Hoar
Flowers in a loose watercolour style.
April 24th
AGM
AGM and opportunity to have your work
critiqued after the AGM.
in an exciting way.
February 27th
Club Morning
Take inspiration from Rod Ashman or bring your own work.
March 27th
John Hoar
Flowers in a loose watercolour style.
April 24th
AGM
AGM and opportunity to have your work
critiqued after the AGM.
Meet to Paint
10am-1am, £9 for the three sessions, no booking required. September 12th
Meet to Paint
A social morning working on artwork of your choosing.
Exhibitions
Boniface Centre 2025
We are delighted to be exhibiting at the Boniface Centre during the Christmas Tree Festival again this year. Wednesday 3rd December, please deliver paintings between 2-3pm. Exhibition to run from Thursday 4th to Sunday 7th December, 10am-4pm daily except Sunday 2pm- 4pm. Entries to Debbie by Friday 21st November – entry forms to follow. All exhibitors will be required to sign-up for a stewarding slot nearer the time. This is a great opportunity to exhibit even if you have never exhibited before, please do give it a go.
Member’s Artist Profile
At the AGM we discussed reviving the folder of member’s artist profiles, to display at Exhibitions. If interested, the folder will be at the Boniface Centre and you can add 2 sides of A4 about yourself and your work, with whatever contact details you wish, e.g. email and or telephone number. It may create interest and commissions for those involved. No obligation though!
Website
We have a new website, www.newtonstcyresartclub.org. There is a gallery space for members to exhibit their own work. If you would like to add some of your own pictures, please email good images to either of our 2 website administrators, [email protected] or [email protected] These pictures will not be shown as for sale and will be just for display.
Other News
Members Data
Subject to approval at our next AGM, the following statement is proposed to be included on our Membership Form.
The Group takes every reasonable precaution to safeguard the personal information which you give to us and only uses this information for the purpose of informing you about the Group’s activities and organising events. It is never shared with 3rd-parties, and we do not use cookies or electronic means of gathering more information about you. By submitting your application, you agree that a limited number of Committee Members may access this information on a need-to-know basis. When you resign your membership, this information electronically or on paper, will be deleted.
In the meantime, if you wish to opt-out please do get in touch.
Beryl Cook Exhibition
The Box in Plymouth has announced a Beryl Cook Exhibition which will run from Saturday 24th January 2026 until Sunday 31st May 2026. “This will be the most extensive exhibition of her work to date” and promises to be well worth a visit. For more
newtonstcyresartclub.org Click here to go to Newton St Cyres Art Group website (Will open in new window)