FESTIVE LOG...or Yule Blog?

January

As we wind up our Arty activities for the Christmas break we look back on a year of achievement, new friends, laughter (lots of that!) and an excess of cake and coffee! My waistline hopes that will be rectified in the New Year!
Our PPP calendar of artfulness began back in January with a complete beginners introduction to painting Portraits. 

Getting a likeness is one of the hardest things to achieve but by turning the exercise on its head we seriously had some amazing results!
​We hope that we will see some more positive painting next year!  ​

February

February saw a Still Life Workshop where we looked at light and form using a limited colour palette! Wow! Acrylics and wine were our best friends as we tackled this one with some fantastic results! 

It is testament to our beginners being willing to open their minds to new possibilities and just a teeny bit of competitive spirit! We had some lovely ladies from one family that used it as time to spend together learning a new skill and they entertained us with their banter through the session!
We even got our PPP print master, Karen tackling the exercise, and very good she was too!

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March

As spring brightened up the day we turned to some high key abstracts and used reference photos from the local woods as inspiration! Techniques learnt here were using texture, mark making (using every part of the paint brush), using colour to emphasise and bring forward or set back, and just seeing how much fun we could have! Well done ladies! Here are a few from the session...

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April

Our 'Pet Portraits' workshop saw some great progress in applying their observation skills and use of colour and brush techniques. Two of our ladies were very ambitious and brought their own reference photos and I was amazed at what they achieved in 3 hours! Lots learnt and some happy artists!

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May

Time to feed the creative beast this month so it was off to a fantastic Pastel Workshop courtesy of Les Darlow at Castle Park Arts Centre. A very informative day spent at the hands of Les and we learnt some great top tips! 
Materials were included and Les' generosity with his time and tutelage have got me hooked on pastels, taking them into several paintings since!

Pan Pastels are great for laying down atmospheric backgrounds and I have since used them to paint a complete horse, though it was admittedly hard to get the detail even with the 'knives' that come with a set of Pans.
We also learnt how to use ink to create an interesting ground to lay the pastels on top. This creates movement and added interest.
​Both techniques have been used extensively in personal work since this workshop. Thanks Les! :)

PPP will be running pastel workshops in their 2019 programme of events - you can find out more HERE

June

June sees the Buxton Spa Prize and this year I met up with my lovely Big Painting Challenge pal Anne Blankson-Hemans to to some plain air - luckily in the sun! We pulled 'The Crescent' out of the hat of possibilities and spent a lovely afternoon chatting and painting. 

We may not have won a prize but it was worth it for the exercise and the company! And chatting to the general public that are always interested to see what you are up to when painting outdoors!

July

July was one of the highlights in the PPP calendar as we had a day out in London, and especially to the Summer Exhibition at the RA which was curated by the colourful Grayson Perry. It didn't disappoint!
We came away having been most entertained and inspired and with the feeling that really, with the right audience anything goes!!
As we are all in a BIG BIRTHDAY year we treated ourselves to the poster for 1968's exhibition which now hangs on the wall at the PPP studio!
Though, admittedly not one of the most inspiring posters through it's 250 year history!
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August

One of the hottest on record if our weight loss over the 3 days of Patchings was anything to go by!
We took our art on the road and pitched up alongside our fellow artists for some on stand demonstrations, and meeting our public! We had a ball! Though admittedly probably spent more than we took on accommodation and refreshments! We sadly cannot do Patchings in 2019 due to family commitments but will definitely be back in 2020!

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September

Karen's Lino print, 'Pintail Patterns' appeared in several publications and was much admired - especially by those that appreciated the intricacies and technical aspects of this print! 
You can find out how Karen did it in our 'Reduction Lino Printing' workshop! To find out more click HERE

Always a busy month as we organise the Exhibition for the Association of Animal Artists! We were at the fantastic Weston Parks Granary Gallery and filled it with some very talented members artwork. Sales were great and feedback fantastic! We will be returning to Weston Park in 2020 with the AAA and plan to have a PPP exhibition that year too!  More of that later.

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October

Another exhibition - this time Animal eARTh in Chester. More demo's on the stand and Karen managed to intrigue and inform in equal measure with her Lino print demo!
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Karen will be demonstrating the one colour Lino print technique in her PPP workshops in Spring - Book early to avoid disappointment as these workshops are limited to 5 maximum to ensure that everyone gets the attention they need to complete a simple image in the 3 hours allowed. All materials are provided and beginners are welcome! 

Let's not forget Inktober too! This year Alison set about painting every day with her Drawing Inks and mixed media to create 31 paintings which she sold to raise money for Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary, after visiting for a workshop with Lesley Humphrey earlier in the year. She managed to raise a fantastic £300 which will go towards winter feeds!

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November

Damp and dark must mean a sneaky trip to France to stay with the lovely Linda Matthews, a recent defector to sunnier climes (in more ways than one!), and despite the weather forcing us to partake in a spot of Still Life painting in Linda's dining room, we managed to cover a lot of ground in the Languedoc region, where she lives.
We will be planning a PPP painting trip in the back half of 2019 so watch this space for news of that!
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December

Forward planning and catching up with neglected tasks to ensure a fresh start back in January! Our New Year's resolutions are to Print, Paint and Pastel even more and spread the art bug far and wide!
We would love you to come and join us for a 3 hour workshop in 2019! Or meet up with you if you are out and about at an exhibition, or painting plain air! In short 2019 is all about making new friends and having fun! After all life is too short! Be kinder, smarter, wiser and spread a little artfulness wherever you go! 

Thank you for following our journey and we look forward to seeing you next year!
Happy Christmas to you all and wishing you a happy and healthy 2019!

Alison, Karen and Jenny 
xxx