Demonstrations & Special Events
15 July 2026 - Alison Board
Alison Board is a Dorset based artist. She enjoys nature, animals, ballet and loud music and has had the wonderful advantage of being part of an art shop owning family. As an artist, she loves watercolour above all else.
Alison gave us an interesting, thought provoking and informative evening! She demonstrated a contemporary landscape, using collage and graphite together with a simple, but effective, palette.
She also encouraged us to take a good look at what we do, inspired us to break a few “rules” but, most importantly, reminded us to enjoy the process.
Her new book “Painting Landscapes” is full of her tips and advice and she has many ( free) tutorials on line.
It was a really enjoyable evening.
Alison Board is a Dorset based artist. She enjoys nature, animals, ballet and loud music and has had the wonderful advantage of being part of an art shop owning family. As an artist, she loves watercolour above all else.
Alison gave us an interesting, thought provoking and informative evening! She demonstrated a contemporary landscape, using collage and graphite together with a simple, but effective, palette.
She also encouraged us to take a good look at what we do, inspired us to break a few “rules” but, most importantly, reminded us to enjoy the process.
Her new book “Painting Landscapes” is full of her tips and advice and she has many ( free) tutorials on line.
It was a really enjoyable evening.
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17 June 2026 - Ronnie Ireland - "Take Six Artists - Interiors"
20 May 2026 - Carolyne Viney - "Exploring Texture" in acrylics and mixed media.
An excellent evening on 'texture' with an emphasis on the movement particularly in the sea. Carolyne was enthusiastic and demonstrated the application of various acrylic texture mediums to create motion and interest within a seascape. She inspired all those who attended.
An excellent evening on 'texture' with an emphasis on the movement particularly in the sea. Carolyne was enthusiastic and demonstrated the application of various acrylic texture mediums to create motion and interest within a seascape. She inspired all those who attended.
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15 April 2026 - Paul Oakley “Brushing up your buildings in oils”
Paul shared his practice with great clarity, explaining the steps in creating his painting from composition, preparation of support and choice of colour palette to keeping in mind the tonal range in a painting. It was fascinating to watch the group of farmyard buildings emerge in such a short time. Paul displayed a range of his work and runs courses from his studio in Pewsey Vale.
Paul shared his practice with great clarity, explaining the steps in creating his painting from composition, preparation of support and choice of colour palette to keeping in mind the tonal range in a painting. It was fascinating to watch the group of farmyard buildings emerge in such a short time. Paul displayed a range of his work and runs courses from his studio in Pewsey Vale.
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18 February - Fiona Forbes
Fiona really brightened a dull February day with her demonstration of a sunny poppy field. She showed us how her underpainting, in acrylics, mapped out her composition, in bold strokes of colour. When this was dry, she was able to add oil paints, using a palette knife, to give depth and texture to her painting. Fiona brought several completed works to show to members.
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21 January 2026 - Colleen Cockcroft Colleen led an inspiring interactive session using tea bags to create a wide variety of images. It was also a great opportunity to get together on a grey January day. |
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19 November 2025 - Jake Winkle
In November we welcomed back Jake Winkle to give a demonstration entitled “Birds Fast and Loose”. Jake explained his choices of paper and artist quality watercolours before proceeding to paint a vibrant image of a puffin, using blended strong colours and swift, but considered, brush strokes. After the break, he went on to paint a pair of dancing cranes. Jake answered many questions from the audience and always inspires us to pick up a brush! 
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15 October 2025 - Helen Talbot
Helen Talbot presented a demonstration, “Light on Dark”, using dark backgrounds ( black card, old sketch book covers) and creating images that formed a strong contrast by using white waxy pencils, chalk, gesso , etc., and adding small “pops” of colour. The effects were stunning and we were reminded to think of light, tone and shadow. |
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17 September 2025 - Ronnie Ireland
Ronnie Ireland gave a really inspiring talk, choosing six artists to follow the theme of “Land”. Starting with Claude Lorraine, ( b.1600) who painted the countryside around Rome in a manner much admired by Turner many years later. His work was not of a particular view but a composite of many sketches of trees , sky and country all bathed in striking light. Moving on to Caspar David Friedrich, who broke more rules with his centrally placed subjects such as “The Wanderer above a Sea of Fog” . Born 1774 he was a German Romantic artist. Then followed Katsushika Hokusai “Fine Wind, Clear Morning”. An artist from a very different culture, creating work that was printed and cost as much as a bowl of rice so available to everyone. We then looked at Joan Eardley, a British artist, b. 1921, whose semi abstract landscapes were painted from life,in all weathers,including storms, often from the Scottish fishing village of Catterline. A real contrast was the very famous “Hay Wain” by Constable, voted Britain’s second most popular artist! But he was aware of Claude and was also creative with his composition. Like Claude, he kept and valued his sketches more than his paintings. The finale was a chance to appreciate the work of Andy Goldsworthy, who doesn’t paint the land but uses it to create his ephemeral artwork, memorably the bending of icicles into beautiful shapes. If you weren’t able to come, a few moments looking up some of these artists would be well worth it! |
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16 July 2025 - Marc Jackman
"The Colour Man"
Marc Jackman visited NFAS to talk about his paint making business. He spoke with infectious enthusiasm about the quest for the best quality materials needed to produce the aqueous base for a very wide range of pigments. Every step of the process was carefully controlled by Marc including putting the paint into the tube and producing the label.
His website is certainly worth a visit! “
"The Colour Man"
Marc Jackman visited NFAS to talk about his paint making business. He spoke with infectious enthusiasm about the quest for the best quality materials needed to produce the aqueous base for a very wide range of pigments. Every step of the process was carefully controlled by Marc including putting the paint into the tube and producing the label.
His website is certainly worth a visit! “
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18 June 2025 - Jayne Perkins
Jayne used pastels to demonstrate a painting themed “Hengistbury Head”. She used Sennelier pastels and a black charcoal pencil on hardboard randomly coated with a pastel primer to create a textured surface. Working on a dark background and using the side of the pastel her method was to lay down the colours required and then blend with the fingers to blend wonderful reflections in the water, she then picked out the rocky wall and other details with the charcoal pencil and showed us how to create rocks in water. A most enjoyable and informative evening. |
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21st May 2025 - Jamel Akib
Jamel used oils to demonstrate “Warm and cool colours in land and seascapes”.
Jamel used oils to demonstrate “Warm and cool colours in land and seascapes”.
16 April 2025 -- Stewart Beckett
‘An Alla Prima Portrait: Oils’‘
Stewart says "For me, art is not merely a profession but a vocation—a source of boundless joy and fulfillment. Each stroke of the brush tells a story of resilience and determination, reminding me and others that art is not just about where it begins but the endless possibilities it holds.’
‘An Alla Prima Portrait: Oils’‘
Stewart says "For me, art is not merely a profession but a vocation—a source of boundless joy and fulfillment. Each stroke of the brush tells a story of resilience and determination, reminding me and others that art is not just about where it begins but the endless possibilities it holds.’
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19 February 2025 - Marion Royle Coastal Scenes - A talk and interactive demonstration Marion was really organised. We started with a brainstorm around the central word “coast” (we all did our own) and then watched her video of how to make a texture mix of hot wax and oil paint which was then applied with a dry brush and left to dry. When dry she applied images of wading birds. Her inspiration is Keyhaven marshes and she showed some beautiful photos taken at sunrise and evening, including the wading birds. In Blue Peter style she had one to demonstrate that was dry. Continuing the coastal theme, after the break she showed us, via another whole group tracing exercise, how she creates abstracts using sailing rigging etc., by extending lines within the reference material. |
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15th January 2025 - Rebecca Hurst - An interactive demonstration
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Members took part in an exciting, interactive demonstration, led by Rebecca Hurst. The idea was to try a range of mark making techniques, work intuitively and complete a painting in fifteen minutes. Rebecca demonstrated this using a jug of tulips as her inspiration for a vibrant still life as can be seen in the photo. The range of work completed by members was a joy to see. After the break, Rebecca applied her techniques to a landscape wherein addition to charcoal, paint, pastels, scraping, and scratching, she used a plastering trowel.
This was a very good way to learn new skills, loosen up and really livened up a January afternoon! |
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Rebecca’s still life
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Some of the members images
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20 November 2024 - Appraisal of our work by Helen Talbot
Helen gave us an excellent appraisal of our work in her enthusiastic and encouraging manner. Not only did we receive constructive comments about our paintings, we also learned a lot about composition, colour and the way our work could lead to a series of work based on the one painting by selecting areas and using different formats.
Helen gave us an excellent appraisal of our work in her enthusiastic and encouraging manner. Not only did we receive constructive comments about our paintings, we also learned a lot about composition, colour and the way our work could lead to a series of work based on the one painting by selecting areas and using different formats.
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15th November 2024
Our Quiz Night and Ploughman's Supper was a tremendous success.
Many thanks to Alli and Adrian for organising an enjoyable quiz evening together with a "five star" ploughman's supper.
Our Quiz Night and Ploughman's Supper was a tremendous success.
Many thanks to Alli and Adrian for organising an enjoyable quiz evening together with a "five star" ploughman's supper.
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16 September 2024 - Susan Smith
We were entertained in September by Sue Smith. Sue used home printed tissue paper that she had prepared with acrylic paint. She glued torn tissue to the paper with a gluestick before appling watercolour for the bulk of the painting. The acrylic acted as a resist to the watercolour creating some interesting effects. She then introduced wax crayon and oil pastel to the painting to produce a multi-media depiction of foxgloves. Susan will be running a private workshop in October to demonstrate gel plate printing. If you are interested contact her on [email protected] |
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19 June 2024 - Ronnie Ireland
In June we were entertained by Ronnie Ireland a Hampshire resident, he gave us a talk and very comprehensive slide show on the Scottish Colourists. They were John Peploe, Francis Cadell, GL Hunter and John Duncan Furgusson. All born in Scotland in the 1870s. They didn’t become known as The Scottish Colourists until the 1950.
Their style was primarily the strong confident use of paint, using liberal brush strokes showing the enjoyment of painting. They primarily painted small paintings designed to be hung in domestic settings. John Peploe moved on from impressionist style to more positive lines and shapes. He loved the arrangement of objects and would often rearrange them over several days. John Duncan Furgusson was mainly self taught, he changed his style in 1910, to strong lines and strong colours with hints of cubism. Francis Campbell Baileau painted portraits and still life, developing a pallet of blues and greys. His painting moved to a more controlled painting method. George Leslie Hunter had poor health and bad luck, he moved to California and lost all his art work in an earthquake. He painted still life in a free way ‘happy brush strokes’. |
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15 May 2024 - Will Dyke
Our speaker for May was Will Dyke, he spoke about and demonstrated his love of woodcuts. Will showed us pictures of woodcuts through the ages going back as far as the medieval period, some of them incredibly intricate. He explained that when he is developing an idea he does multiple drawings, sketches and plans, he worked on Japanese ply to which he had already applied a thin coat of ink. We were shown various gouges, U gouge, V gouge and flat chisel. The woodcut is then inked and using a Barren to push the paper into the inked wood. We were all enthralled when Will went on to demonstrate how to create a repeat pattern, which first time round looked somewhat complicated.
Our speaker for May was Will Dyke, he spoke about and demonstrated his love of woodcuts. Will showed us pictures of woodcuts through the ages going back as far as the medieval period, some of them incredibly intricate. He explained that when he is developing an idea he does multiple drawings, sketches and plans, he worked on Japanese ply to which he had already applied a thin coat of ink. We were shown various gouges, U gouge, V gouge and flat chisel. The woodcut is then inked and using a Barren to push the paper into the inked wood. We were all enthralled when Will went on to demonstrate how to create a repeat pattern, which first time round looked somewhat complicated.
17 April 2024 - Lindsey Cole |
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This month we were entertained by the very effervescent and enthusiastic Lindsey Cole giving a demonstration in acrylic on A Response to Landscape.
Lindsey explained that she creates a lot a background work before she starts a piece, she showed us a rough painting that she had created exploring the colour and tone she was looking for and she then created an impressive rough sketch in charcoal and lifting out with a rubber.
Lindsey worked on mount board that had been treated with gesso, creating a rough base to work on ( Lindsey would usually work on canvas). Using woodies (stabilo) Lindsey created an under drawing and painted in a background colour. As the work progressed Lindsey was using implements to move the paint around, turning the picture upside down and allowing ink to run through the indentations created by the gesso, she used ink on a roll to create the impression of trees and applied ‘ghosting’ a thin layer of watered down ink in several layers to create the illusion of distance. A Reservoir brush was demonstrated which looked interesting, used baby wipes to remove paint and silicone brushes for texture.
An inspiring energetic demonstration leaving some us feeling a little exhausted after watching her work.
Lindsey explained that she creates a lot a background work before she starts a piece, she showed us a rough painting that she had created exploring the colour and tone she was looking for and she then created an impressive rough sketch in charcoal and lifting out with a rubber.
Lindsey worked on mount board that had been treated with gesso, creating a rough base to work on ( Lindsey would usually work on canvas). Using woodies (stabilo) Lindsey created an under drawing and painted in a background colour. As the work progressed Lindsey was using implements to move the paint around, turning the picture upside down and allowing ink to run through the indentations created by the gesso, she used ink on a roll to create the impression of trees and applied ‘ghosting’ a thin layer of watered down ink in several layers to create the illusion of distance. A Reservoir brush was demonstrated which looked interesting, used baby wipes to remove paint and silicone brushes for texture.
An inspiring energetic demonstration leaving some us feeling a little exhausted after watching her work.
15 November 2023 - Colleen Cockroft
This afternoon was our first day time meeting and we had a fun afternoon. Colleen Cockcroft led an interactive session on ideas how to make our art more interesting. 25 of us tried painting on newspaper, treated with glue or gesso, drawing without looking, devising abstracts using coins as shapes, using rags to apply paint, and then using the rags for collage, wet wipes too, and tea bags…so many ideas to follow through.
Colleen supplied very useful notes on how to improve our work. Click on the link for copies of the Colleen Cockroft Hand outs
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19 July 2023 - Soraya French
Wow ,what a brilliant evening on Wednesday . Soraya French gave a really interesting talk and demonstration to over 50 of us . She produced a seascape, but only after showing us some of the mediums and gels which she used to produced texture and depth to her work. Her practical approach to the use of Golden paints and products , as well as her brief history of the development of Golden acrylics was refreshing and informative. She has offered to provide a workshop for us, and as she is an ambassador for Golden products it should be good value. We look forward to seeing you all during the course of our summer exhibition, particularly if you are unable to come to the reception on the first Saturday of the exhibition, 5th August. |
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