Category Archives: Art Events

My art activities, exhibitions, workshops, courses etc.

Art Trail and New Paintings

The Dersingham Art Trail will be opening this weekend, as part of the annual Dersingham Open Gardens event. Around fourteen artists will be taking part, including myself, of course! The Open Gardens event is a fund-raiser for the new Village Centre and for St Nicholas Church, and usually raises a substantial amount each year. Tickets costs £5 on the day from the Village Centre, 83 Manor Road, Dersingham, PE31 6LN, or you can save a £1 by buying in advance from Dersingham Post Office.

Most of the artists taking part are opening their gardens too, so there’s plenty to see. Your ticket will get you a programme and a map with all the details.

Here at Alexandra Close, Margaret has been busy in the garden and it’s looking good, with a riot of colour. Meanwhile, I have got some new paintings to show, plus prints and greetings cards. Do come and have a look and a chat!

11.00am – 5.00pm Sunday and Monday 26th – 27th May 2019.

Sunset at Thornham Harbour
Sunset at Thornham, in a bygone era. Watercolour 22ins x 15ins.
Early Evening, Thornham Harbour
Early Evening, Thornham Harbour. Watercolour 22ins x 15ins.

Paint a Lincolnshire Church

My artist friend Jane Ford emailed me recently, about an Art Competition to paint a view of a Lincolnshire church. There are some nice prizes to be won and your work can be in any medium. Perhaps the best thing is that all accepted entries will be hung in the exhibition of Competition work, so your fame is guaranteed! This is an annual competition and had proved very popular

There are links below to the competition details and to the entry form. These links open PDF files. Why not have a go, I may well do so myself and will post my efforts here in due course. By the way, you can also find the entry form and more information on the Lincolnshire Churches Trust website.

Link to Lincolnshire Churches Competition poster

Link to Competition Entry Form

End of another year of Art

Yes, it’s the 31st December, so this will definitely be my last post of 2018! The Dersingham Art Trail went well and I sold a painting – not one of my new works but one that I painted a couple of years ago which, unusually for me, is a still life. Well, I suppose it’s a still life as it does show a bit of action in the kitchen!

Watercolour painting of cooking on a stove
Cooking on Gas! Watercolour, 8ins square

Other good things from the Art Trail weekend were an order for several prints of my work, and a commission for a painting of . . . ah well I can’t tell you yet, as it’s a surprise gift. I will show you the finished work when it’s been delivered, but I’ve been working on it in the studio today and it’s coming together now. Another session or two and it will be ready for framing, I hope!

Finally, to artists and art lovers everywhere, a very Happy New Year and may 2019 bring you everything you wish for.

On the Ocean Waves

Well not quite on the waves, but painting them anyway! A couple of days ago I was at Castor and Ailsworth Society of Art, not far from Peterborough. It was an evening demonstration and I was looking for a slightly different type of subject to my usual landscape as I’d been to several Peterborough societies before and didn’t want to repeat myself.

Charcoal sketch of a Thames sailing barge
My charcoal planning sketch on A2 cartridge paper.

As luck would have it, I’d recently been asked to do a watercolour of a Thames barge, as a gift for some friends, so I thought that this might be an interesting subject to demonstrate. I began by planning the painting, using my favourite method of a large charcoal sketch. My photo that I was using as reference was just a close-up of one barge, so I added a couple of others in the distance to give the composition more balance and to add interest. The sky in the reference photo was also clear blue and as you can see, I changed that too!

Thames sailing barge watercolour painting
The watercolour demonstration painting. 15ins x 22ins on Waterford 140lb NOT paper.

After the sketch was completed I then had to try and retain the composition and the tonal values in my watercolour painting. I used a very limited palette of colours, with Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna and a touch of Raw Sienna. It can be a little tricky trying to paint and talk at the same time, and I might have liked to bring the dark clouds even lower, but overall I was pleased with the painting.

Margaret and I were warmly welcomed at Castor and we really enjoyed our evening in this charming village. Hopefully we’ll see everyone again at some point in the future. Happy painting!

Pen and Wash in Suffolk

pen and wash of old Norfolk barn
Old Barn near Ringstead – pen and wash. 15ins x 22ins on Waterford 140lb NOT paper.

Just before Easter I was at Clare in Suffolk for a pen and wash demonstration evening. I’ve been to Clare Art Club before but not for a long time. A very friendly group, it was good to be back!

I always enjoy the challenge of demonstrating in pen and wash. It’s a little tricky because the medium works best at a fairly small size, whereas art clun demonstration pieces are usually quite large, so that people can properly see them. I did this painting on a half-imperial sheet of Waterford NOT surface paper with a weight of 140lb or 300gsm. When I’m outside sketching in pen and wash I usually have a spiral-bound Bockingford sketchbook, about A4 in size.

ink sketch of old Norfolk barn
The pen drawing

I chose a scene of an old Norfolk barn, not too far from my Dersingham studio. I sketched it in ink, using an Edding 1800 series pen, with an 0.7 tip. You can see the ink sketch here, although this one I did earlier in the day in my studio. You can’t have too much practice!

Sketching the subject occupied me until the coffee break, after which I got busy with my paints. I used a simple palette of French Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, and Cadmium Yellow Pale. For the roof of the barn I used a mixture of Brown Madder with a tiny touch of Ultramarine, as I wanted it to contrast with the rest of the barn. All these paints were Winsor and Newton artists quality. I used a 3/4 inch flat brush for muck of the work, only dropping down to a number 8 round for some of the more detailed areas. If in doubt, use the biggest brush you feel comfortable with, it keeps your work feeling fresh and free.

Total working time was about half an hour or so with the pen and the same with the painting. Pen and wash should be a quick, lively medium. A very enjoyable evening and a big thank you to Clare Art Club for making Margaret and myself so welcome. See you again in the future!

Stephen Martyn demonstrating pen and wash
A view of the back of my head! The demonstration painting is on the easel, with a projection screen behind me.

 

My Painting goes to a New Home

watercolour painting of thornham
Past Times Remembered – Thornham. Watercolour 15ins x 22ins. Now in the collection of Ms Pauline McSherry.

Just over a week ago I took part in the Dersingham Art Trail, where fourteen village artists opened their studios to the public. Margaret and I enjoyed welcoming over fifty visitors during the weekend, one being our good friend Pauline McSherry, who just couldn’t resist adding to her collection of my paintings. Thank you Pauline!

Here you see the watercolour hanging in its new home. As Pauline herself so kindly said “thank you for the pleasure your painting gives. Money well spent!”

Exhibition Coming Up

The West Norfolk Artists Association are holding a week long exhibition in the Fermoy Gallery, King’s Lynn Arts Centre, King St, King’s Lynn. It opens with a Private View between 12noon and 2pm this coming Saturday 4th November and continues every day until Saturday 11th. Opening hours 10am – 4pm each day.
Watercolour painting of the Wash from Ringstead
The Wash from Green Bank, Ringstead. Watercolour 22ins x 15ins.

There are about 80 works on show, one of which is my painting of The Wash from Green Bank, Ringstead, which you can see here. You will be very welcome at the Private View or any other time during the run of the exhibition. Margaret and I will be at the PV and will also be on duty during the afternoon of Sunday 5th, from 1pm until 4. Do pop in if you’re in the area.

If you’re not sure where the gallery is located, it is behind the Guildhall in King Street. There is a large archway which you can walk through into a courtyard and the gallery is right down the courtyard on the right, just before the Riverside Rooms restaurant. There will be some West Norfolk Artists Association signs about.
Look forward to seeing you if you can make it, but if not, don’t forget the Dersingham Art Trail on the weekend of 25th and 26th November. Fourteen artists are taking part, at nine locations, and my own studio will be open.

Wide Open Spaces

Watercolour painting of pink footed geese flying over fields
Geese over the Fields, Dersingham. Watercolour 15ins x 22ins.

Those of you who know my work will know that I love those wide open spaces in the landscape. The beach, the fields, and of course the sky! Here are a couple of recent watercolour paintings that certainly have that theme. These, and more, will be on show in my studio for the Dersingham Art Trail event on the weekend of 25th and 26th November. Not only my own studio but eight others will be open around the village. You can find details and a map of studios on the Trail website dersinghamarttrail.org

Watercolour painting of the sky and beach near Hunstanton cliffs
Alone with the Sky, Hunstanton. Watercolour 11ins x 15ins.

A visit to Horncastle

It’s been a couple of years or more since I last visited Horncastle Art Group, but I had the pleasure of returning there on Friday 7th July. When I last visited the group I demonstrated a couple of paintings in the style of Edward Seago, but this time my brief was pen and wash.

Pen and wash is a medium that is always a pleasure to work in and is particularly suited to scenes that have buildings, boats and generally things going on. I chose for my demonstration a view of Burnham Overy Staithe, up on the North Norfolk coast.

Pen and wash painting of Burnham Overy Staithe
Burnham Overy Staithe – pen and wash. Approximately 19ins x 12ins on Waterford 140lb NOT paper.

At Burnham Overy there is a large building right down by the water, which was obviously a store of some sort in the days when Burnham Overy was a working port. Nowadays it’s mainly used for recreational sailing and the building houses one or two small shops, although their occupancy seems to be rather erratic. Still, it’s a splendid looking structure, particularly with the other buildings of the village in the background and some boats drawn up on the foreshore.

I drew the scene out using one of my permanent ink pens, such as Edding or Faber-Castell. I like to use one with a fairly large nib, about 0.7 but this is purely personal preference. Even an 0.7 fibre nib is actually quite small, so the drawing took about 45 minutes, because in the early stages it’s important to get the size and proportions looking right. When doing the drawing I go straight in with the pen with no preliminary pencil work at all, but that does take a bit of practice before you gain the confidence to do that.

Once I’d done as much pen work as I felt necessary, and had a refreshing cup of coffee, I applied some simple watercolour washes, trying to keep things nice and free to contrast with the fairly tight drawing of the main building. The colours I used were all MaimeriBlu watercolours, and I selected one blue, Ultramarine Light, two reds, Burnt Sienna and Venetian Red, and two yellows, Raw Sienna and Primary Yellow. It didn’t take long to apply the washes, using a number 8 round sable-synthetic brush for the buildings and boats and a couple of fairly large squirrel hair wash brushes for the foreground and sky. When working in pen and wash I often leave the sky until the end of the painting, particularly if I’m working outside on location. Why, because if you paint the sky in first you will have a large area of the painting wet, which can make working awkward. No hairdryers out in the field, although I suppose you could have a gas powered one!

The group asked plenty of interesting questions and it was a real pleasure to visit them again, with Margaret and me feeling very welcomed. Thank you Horncastle, see you again in the future I hope.

Seago Style at Beccles

It’s been a little while since I posted anything from my art club travels, but yesterday morning I was at the Quaker Hall in Beccles, just over the Suffolk border from Nelson’s county of Norfolk. I was invited to give a watercolour demonstration by the Beccles SAA Group, who are a lovely group of artists who meet twice a month on a Thursday morning.

painting of a fishing village in the style of Edward Seago
Norfolk fishing Village in the style of Edward Seago. Watercolour on Waterford 140lb rough paper, 22ins x 15ins.

Being on the Norfolk and Suffolk border my thoughts naturally turned to that great artist Edward Seago, who had his home in Ludham, not a million miles away. There is so much to learn from someone of his calibre, and although Seago is perhaps best known for his paintings in oils, I think his mastery of watercolour was almost second to none.

As my demonstration piece I chose a view of a fishing village on the Norfolk coast. I didn’t attempt to make a direct copy of Seago’s original, but simplified the sky to make the painting a bit quicker to do. I worked the sky wet into wet, using MaimeriBlu watercolours Ultramarine Light, Raw Sienna, and Venetian Red. Seago’s original sky, well at least the version I’ve seen, was built up in layers of wet paint on dry paper, which means allowing drying time in between each layer of paint.

Pen and wash painting demonstration
A quick pen and wash demonstration. 12ins x 10ins.

Once the sky was on, a few simple washes in the foreground and a little bit of detail on the cottages and boats completed the picture.  Actually, it completed it so swiftly that I had a bit of free time in which to just quickly show a few simple pen and wash techniques, using a permanent ink pen and the same three colours I’d used earlier. I did a little bit of pen work to start with using my Staedler 0.7 permanent black pen, then added some very simple washes with a 3/4 inch flat brush. A sketch in every sense of the word, taking around 15 minutes, just as if I was working outside.

The Beccles group made Margaret and myself very welcome and we both look forward to seeing you again at some point in the future. Happy Painting!