26. Good Friday

 

Acrylic and emulsion on lining paper, 8ft x 20ft.

 

We painted the figures separately and stapled them so we could remove them, leaving the crosses empty for Easter Sunday.

 

I'm pleased with how my two figures came out.  (I drew them in the large church hall but painted them mostly on my kitchen floor.)  It was extremely painful to paint the crown of thorns - I should have expected that!

 

 

I was almost badly caught out as I cut the figure below about two inches too short!!  His left hand should have been sitting just above the crossbar with his right hand in the middle of it.  It didn't look too, too bad though.  Phew!

 

25. Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday Views

 

This was the backdrop we prepared for our Maundy Thursday service.  The left-hand cross was prepared for the non-repentant thief, hence the symbolic dark cloud.  It's difficult to separate my bit as we all worked on various parts.  However, look at the wood-grain.  Our team member, Bernice, came up with the idea of painting natural grain and she painted the bulk of it on her hands and knees copying the pattern from one of our lovely old doors.  Great work!

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This is what it looked like while we were on the floor in the hall checking it would fit together properly.

24. Cross from Palette Knife Scrapings

 

This was created from the remains of paint on my wooden palette (which you can see peeping through bottom left).  We'd been doing the Easter backdrop so crosses were on my mind.  I'll also post my contribution to the backdrop.



Christine's Pestle and Mortar

 

 

This is an acrylic painting by Hertfordshire artist, Christine Spence, done on Pebeo canvas board. It's either 30x30 or 40x40.

 

Once a month or so, a few of us meet together in Essendon for an art workshop with her.  Essentially, it is a watercolour workshop but she covers everything from design, composition and drawing through to painting.  Throughout the year, she covers dry media (pencil, charcoal, pastels, etc.) and wet media (watercolour, inks, acrylic, oils, etc.) as well as concepts and techniques.  She runs three-day summer schools each year which allows you to immerse yourself in art for three solid days. (Warning: includes homework! LOL!)

 

I first joined the group about 15 years ago, although I had a four-year gap due to a job that required me to work every Saturday.  Some have attended even longer than I have but new faces are always welcome.  Although we work hard (as it's a workshop, rather than an art club), her studio at Flint Stable has become a monthly sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of life!  Thanks Christine!

 

(Yep! That was an unashamed plug for our teacher!  Hope you don't mind.)