Portrait painting with Martin Brooks

I  don’t do a lot of portrait painting.

Woman | Portrait painting with Martin Brooks

As a member of Salcombe Art Club, I attend watercolour and acrylic classes on a weekly basis, a term at a time. On top of that, there are often specialist workshops – life drawing and portrait painting – and I sign up for these too.

 

2018 Portrait class with Martin Brooks

Last year, I produced this portrait at a Martin Brooks workshop.

I know it’s not brilliant but I can honestly say I caught a likeness of the model and am pleased with my efforts.

Aware though that I had much to learn, this year, I signed up for two more workshops with Martin Brooks.

  • Life drawing last weekend
  • Portrait painting this weekend

advert | Portrait painting with Martin Brooks

I attend as many Life Drawing classes as I can – they are always immensely helpful in keeping your hand and eye ‘in’.

 

2019 Portrait class with Martin Brooks

As for the portrait paintings I completed this weekend … well, judge for yourself. This was painted on Saturday.

Woman 2 | Portrait painting with Martin Brooks

The model for Sunday gave me more problems. This is the morning study.

Man, side view | Portrait painting with Martin Brooks

Martin kindly helped me with positioning of parts of the face: the ears, the eyebrows etc.Martin's sketch | Portrait painting with Martin Brooks

MY sketch | Portrait painting with Martin BrooksAbove, the top sketch  is Martin’s; the other is mine, and I can see how my proportions went awry.

However, I think I am improving … what do you think?

Man again | Portrait painting with Martin Brooks

Salcombe Art Club logoHow can you join Salcombe Art Club?

There are three categories of membership.

  • Lay members may take part in workshops, courses, and social activities and generally assist in supporting the club but may not exhibit.
  • Associate members may take part in most club activities including exhibiting in the Little Studio section (but not the main gallery) of the Annual Summer Exhibition. Associate members also have voting rights at the annual AGM.
  • Full members may take part in all club activities and exhibit their works in the Annual Summer Exhibition when they are required to carry out their share of stewarding duties. Full members also have voting rights at the annual AGM.

The first step is to enroll as a lay member; it only costs £12 per annum. After that, there is an annual selection process to become an associate member or a full member. For full details, check the How to Join page on the SAC website.

Postcard from Milton Keynes: Woughton House

We travel up to Milton Keynes once or twice a year to visit family. We can’t stay with the family – no room – but we found this wonderful hotel, perfect for our needs.

 

Woughton House

MGallery Woughton House is a beautiful country house surrounded by green fields and parkland. It’s so beautiful, I’ve taken many photos and produced this watercolour sketch.

It was a clear day, early in January, with the house bathed in sunshine. How could I resist?

MGallery Woughton House

But the hotel also boasts a gallery and has a splendid display of hundreds of paintings and prints. This collection is at the foot of the stairs. The book on the chest, left casually there, is an ornament – a box fashioned to look like a book.

Walking up the stairs, the walls are packed with images. There’s no space for any more.

And this is the view from the top.

Even the corridors are decorated with a variety of plaques.

Where is Woughton House?

The hotel seems like it’s in the middle of nowhere but is only a few minutes or so from the A5 and the M1 – and very easy to find.

If you have reason to travel to Milton Keynes, eg to visit Bletchley Park, I can heartily recommend this hotel.

This post is one of my POSTCARD series, sharing all things ART with you when I go travelling. My previous postcard discussed the Magic of Manrique, and his house which Anne and I visited when MV Ventura stopped for one day in Lanzarote.

Postcard from Lanzarote: The Magic of Manrique

Imagine: a fourteen-day cruise with stops at Lisbon, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, La Palma, Tenerife, and Madeira … each one with tours to take you ashore and show you the local sights and delights.

When the MV Ventura stopped for one day in Lanzarote, Anne and I took advantage of an excursion to discover the Magic of César Manrique, the Spanish artist, sculptor, architect and activist.

The visit included entrance to the César Manrique Foundation, situated in Manrique’s former home, Taro de Tahíche.

Outside the house, visible from far away, is this statue: Monumento al Campesino (a monument to the peasant). It’s constructed from scrap parts and stands tall above the coach park.

Monumento al Campesino | Postcard from Lanzarotte: The Magic of Manrique

Monumento al Campesino

César Manrique was passionate about the landscape, keen to make use of it, to blend buildings in with it. He chose to site his house on the solidified lava rock created by an 18th-century volcanic eruption that transformed the Lanzarote terrain; he made use of the bubbles which naturally form when the volcano erupts.

The top of the first bubble is visible as you walk through the gates and into what we might call the front garden.

Garden | Postcard from Lanzarotte: The Magic of Manrique

Looking down into it, you see the room below.

Top of bubble | Postcard from Lanzarotte: The Magic of Manrique

The sculpture you can glimpse from up here … is within a room below and is indicative of his style. His sculptures appear all over Lanzarote, especially on the islands in the middle of the many roundabouts.

Red sculpture | Postcard from Lanzarotte: The Magic of Manrique

The decor of the rooms, cut into the volcanic earth, is simple, with single colour schemes. White …

White room | Postcard from Lanzarotte: The Magic of Manrique

And yellow …

Yellow room | Postcard from Lanzarotte: The Magic of Manrique

The emphasis is on clear cut lines. No fuss.

 

The paintings of César Manrique

There’s not enough space here to share all the paintings on show. His, and those of many famous artists of his generation, like Picasso, adorn the walls.

Anne liked this one the best – for its simplicity.

Line drawing | Postcard from Lanzarotte: The Magic of Manrique

His geometric lines are to be seen in the garden too.

Rainbow wall | Postcard from Lanzarotte: The Magic of Manrique

When you are inside the house, you are acutely aware of the outside – the view across the volcanic black earth to the sky through massive windows.  Within the space, a pool is cut into the rock and the black volcanic rock painted white. Even the man-made structures are made to look natural.

Pool | Postcard from Lanzarotte: The Magic of Manrique

If ever you are in Lanzarote, take time out to visit the César Manrique Foundation. Rather than taking a coach tour, which limits you on time, make your own way there and enjoy every part of the experience to the full.

This post is one of my POSTCARD series, sharing all things ART with you when I go travelling. My previous postcard focused on the sketching I did while aboard MV Ventura.

Next week’s blog shares the art we discovered when we returned to the UK.