Garforth Art Club

21/04/2026

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all keeping well,

This week the subject is “Portraits”, we will take our inspiration from a painting from a Grand Master.

A portrait is a representation of a particular person.

Portrait painting is a very old art form going back at least to ancient Egypt, where it flourished from about 5,000 years ago. Before the invention of photography, a painted, sculpted, or drawn portrait was the only way to record the appearance of someone.
But portraits have always been more than just a record. They have been used to show the power, importance, virtue, beauty, wealth, taste, learning or other qualities of the sitter.
Who will we get our inspiration from? There are many artists that have produced portraits and some of the most well known paintings are portraits,

Mona Lisa – Leonardo da Vinci (1503)

The Laughing Cavalier – Frans Hals (1624)

Girl with a Pearl Earring – Johannes Vermeer (1665)

Whistler’s Mother - James McNeill Whistler (1871)

These are only a few of the wonderful portraits that have been painted, please take a look at some online galleries for inspiration. I have attached a link to the National Portrait Gallery which holds thousands of paintings, prints and drawings of portraits. https://www.npg.org.uk

You can use any medium you wish, we are looking at the style of the painting, the skin tones and the light. Also try to get a sense of the person too,

I hope you enjoy this subject,

Take care

Lorraine

National Portrait Gallery, London. Open daily from 10.30. Free admission. We look after the world’s greatest collection of portraits.

13/04/2026

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all well,

This week the subject is “Focus on Facial Features”

Instead of doing a portrait we are concentrating on individual facial features.

This will give us a chance to practice the hard to draw elements of the face, the eyes, nose, ears, lips and teeth,

Remember everyone’s features are unique, eye shape, nose size, the fullness of the lips, ears with or without attached lobes,

Use any medium you wish,

I hope you enjoy this subject,

Take care

Lorraine

07/04/2026

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all well and had a lovely Easter.

This week the subject is “New Life”

This subject can be interpreted in many ways, especially at Easter where it symbolizes a fresh start, rejuvenating your own existence. Mentally and physically.

A total change, you can start a New Life, you move to another place or country, or change your career usually to try and recover from something unpleasant.

At this time of year the new life is emerging in nature. There are catkins, blossom, leaf buds and wildflowers in hues of, green, white, blue, purple and yellow. Fields with young animals, lambs gamboling about.

Also the birth of our young, a magical, wonderful thing, a blank canvas to fill with a life full of experiences.

As a subject for art there is so much choice, use any medium you wish,

Enjoy your “New Life” art,

Take Care

Lorraine

30/03/2026

Hi Everyone

I hope you are keeping well,

This week we are “Looking up – A Different Perspective”

We know about perspective, looking into the distance, using vanishing points. But we don’t often look up into the sky above us.

For this subject we could look up into a canopy of trees or perhaps a skyline of close buildings in a cityscape. Maybe stood under a tree in your garden looking up through the branches or gazing up through a fancy stairwell in a tall building.

Use any medium you wish,

Also Andrea the winner of our last competition has chosen the subject of “Waterfalls” for the next competition on 5th May.

I hope you enjoy seeing the world from another angle,

Take care

Lorraine

30/03/2026

Seven members of the club had a great day Leeds Museums and Galleries Lotherton on Saturday. We had a self-led workshop on Lino Printing. Everyone finished the day with a set of prints. We are all really appreciative of the welcome we get from the staff at Lotherton and feel so lucky to have such a wonderful resource nearby.

22/03/2026

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all well,

This week the subject is a little different for us, “Cartoon”

A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi realistic style. Anything can be drawn as a cartoon whether it’s a person, animal or scenery.

You can make up your own character or have a look online or in books. There is so much choice it could be a Disney Princess, Donald Duck, SpongeBob SquarePants, Garfield, Road Runner, Snoopy and Woodstock. There are thousands...

In terms of a subject for art you can do whatever cartoon style or character you like, don’t worry if it’s not something you would normally try. Give it a go.

I look forward to seeing what we all do.

Take care,

Lorraine

19/03/2026

Hi Everyone

We had our Crit and Comp evening on Tuesday, the subject of the competition was "Waves". We had 14 entrants for the competition, every one was different.

Lots of beautiful interpretations of the brief, in a whole array of techniques and materials from watercolours, acrylics and pastels. The use of different materials and ideas never ceases to amaze us.

We had a tie break, the ultimate winner was Andrea with a vibrant “Coastal view” scene using the very interesting technique of Encaustic Art, where melted wax is applied to the paper using a type of hot iron.

Well done to Andrea, who will choose the subject for the next competition.

Thanks to Debbie for choosing this lovely subject and everyone who brought pictures in for the competition and the critique. It was great to see the work of our lovely members.

See you all soon

Lorraine

16/03/2026

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all keeping well,

This week we are holding our Crit & Comp.

The subject, chosen by the previous winner Debbie is “Waves”

This is a great subject which can be interpreted in so many ways,

Enjoy your painting, use whatever medium you wish, just one entry each please,

Remember to bring along some other work for the Crit too,

Looking forward to seeing your lovely work,

Take Care

Lorraine

09/03/2026

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all well.

This week we are doing a still life, the theme is “Spring”

Members of the group will bring a few items associated with Spring to make a display.

Hopefully there will be an array of different shaped items to add height, structure and colour to the composition of the display.

The group will then sit around the central display to sketch or paint a portion or the whole of the display as they wish.

If members don’t wish to do the still life then please bring some other work you wish to continue.

Photographs of the display will be added to this post for members who are unable join us this week.

Please remember next week is our competition, the subject is “Waves”,

Take care

Lorraine

03/03/2026

Some club members had a trip into Leeds to see the Atkinson Grimshaw Exhibition Leeds Museums and Galleries

02/03/2026

Hi Everyone

I hope you are keeping well,

This week we are trying our skills again with “One Line Drawing”

One line drawing is a simple technique where the artist creates images using just one continuous line.

It’s great for exploring drawing without worrying about details or stopping to erase mistakes and over think what you are doing.

It helps to practice creativity and develop skills by using simple shapes and smooth, flowing lines.

You will need either a pen or pencil that flows easily. A fine tip will create clean, consistent lines. Paper should be smooth to let the pen glide without stops or scratches.

Practice on a small idea first then move on once you are comfortable with the technique.

I look forward to seeing what we all do,

Take care

Lorraine

23/02/2026

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all well,

This week the subject is a little different as we will be using “Just 2 Colours”

This could be interpreted in many ways and mediums.

Either by keeping the colours separate with clear division between them, this would probably be better produced with a medium that doesn’t mix so easily on the paper / canvas such as acrylic. Perhaps a bold abstract.

The other method which would be still using 2 colours but mixing them together to make different colours and shades, for example Yellow & Blue to produce many shades of green. Good for watercolours and pastels. Florals and landscapes may be something to explore.

You could also try different combinations of 2 colours. The choice of the colours and materials is up to you, experiment and have fun.

Take care

Lorraine