A major display of turned wood by members of the Association of Woodturners of Great Britain. The pre-emminent organisation of its type, with international members and profile, this display brings together a huge range of styles, techniques and woods. It is a celebration of craftsmanship and the beauty in wood – art in nature.
Just as the British Wildlife Photography Awards includes images by younger photographers, so this display will highlight the work of a group of young turners being coached and mentored by members of the Register of Professional Turners. These will be displayed alongside items by established wood turners, mostly based in the south west, south Wales and Midlands area.
The AWGB is a national charity which aims to promote woodturning to ensure the craft continues and to advance education in woodturning. It currently has over 3000 members, including makers abroad. There are 50 local UK branches, including in Gloucestershire.
SEE WOODTURNERS IN ACTION:
19th Steve Gordon
20th Paul Hannaby
21st Brian Ford
22nd Barry Starkey
23rd Jeff Belcher
24th Jeff Belcher
26th Brian Ford
27th Mike Macey
28th Keith Fenton
29th Peter Dixon
30th Steve Gordon
1st Rod Tester
Many exhibits will be for sale
A unique exhibition to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Society of Wildlife Artists.
2D and 3D works by members who have played an important role in the journey of the Society thus far, including work by all its past-presidents. The SWLA continues to be a hugely influential organisation delighting in the natural world through fine art.
About The SWLA:
Back in the late 1950’s, the original work of wildlife artists was not readily available even though it was a time of widespread and growing interest in natural history. With a society of artists in mind which might seize such an opportunity, Robert Gillmor and Eric Ennion, with the enthusiastic support of Keith Shackleton and Peter Scott, organised an exhibition of contemporary bird paintings in the Reading Art Gallery in 1960. It then went on tour for a year. Such was the interest, the tour was extended and R.B. Talbot-Kelly and Maurice Wilson joined the organisers to plan a society to build on the momentum. They began inviting founder members and the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) was formed.
Their first exhibition (1964) featured 149 works by 35 founder members. Today it has 63 elected members and 3 Associate Members. Their annual show ‘Natural Eye has over 300 works. In 1990 The SWLA became a registered charity through which it arranges exhibitions, publications, bursaries and partnerships delivered through the energy of individual artist members, many of whom are celebrated in this unique selection.
This exhibition highlights the work of some of the key drivers of the Society through its life. Sadly some of the founder members are no longer alive – people like Hugh B. Cott, Eric Ennion, Sir Peter Scott, Eileen Soper, John Busby, Richard Talbot-Kelly, Robert Gillmor, David Koster, Keith Shakleton, David Measures and David Shepherd, but their legacy lives on through initiatives of the Society and the work of its current artists.
Course Suitability: Beginners – Advanced
Maximum Capacity: 12
Course Description:
Rosalind will guide you through painting garden borders and how to emulate the energy, colour, beauty and vivacity found in them. You can use any medium to work with, oil paint, acrylic paint, coloured pencils, oil pastels, though watercolour paint may not be suitable for this particular style.
Materials List:
You will be required to bring your own canvas, board or paper to work on (any size) and your chosen medium to work with.
You must also bring your own photos to work from. I can supply some inspiration myself but it is more personal and meaningful if it comes from you. This can be photos of your own garden or magazine pictures that have inspired you.
Artist’s Profile:
Rosalind is a painter of Gardens and Wild Spaces. She has been teaching, exhibiting and an Artist in Residence at Nature in Art for many years. Most people know her work from the large Flower Cycle painting that hangs on the staircase at Nature in Art.
Rosaline also held an Exhibition – Flowers of the Fields Britain and Romania – at Nature in Art last June 2022.
She has been painting Wild Flower Meadows for many years and since the exhibition has been back painting Garden Borders.
Course Costs:
Members: £144
Non-members: £177
(cost does not include lunch (available to order and purchase on the day from the Coffee Shop))
Booking a place:
Places will be offered on a first come first basis.
To secure your place on this course a £20 non-refundable deposit is required. If you would like to book a place, please CLICK HERE
FULLY BOOKED
Course Suitability: Beginners – Advanced
Maximum Capacity: 12
Course Description:
The iPad and Procreate are powerful and extremely useful tools to visualise an idea. Starting with either a real pencil sketch or digital pencil sketch you can explore the composition, tonal values, colour values and iterations from that original idea. We will also create a painting of an animal so we get familiar with the process, the tools, and looking at how to create your style to then edit and output your art on paper or canvas.
Ian will guide you through various ways of editing your ideas using the tools in Procreate, an industry and consumer favourite app for approximately £10 from the Apple app store. (iPad 3 and upwards)
Materials List:
iPad 3 or above with Procreate installed. Apple pencil stylus optional but highly recommended for the course. (Please check your device is compatible with either Apple Pencil V1 or V2.)
Artist’s Profile:
Ian has been using digital painting techniques with his traditional media skills in illustration and fine art over the last 20 years, mostly depicting animal art with a passion for marine-life painting. He has been creating large oil paintings for hotels, palaces and government buildings often using the digital composition tools as part of the process. As an illustrator Ian uses the iPad and PC to create complete digital images for print and screen. Here on this day course Ian will share his methods and tips he’s discovered in his professional career.
Course Costs:
Members: £48
Non-members: £59
(cost does not include lunch (available to order and purchase on the day from the Coffee Shop))
Booking a place:
Places will be offered on a first come first basis.
To secure your place on this course a £20 non-refundable deposit is required. If you would like to book a place, please CLICK HERE
Course Suitability: Absolute Beginners – Beginners
Maximum Capacity: 12
Course Description:
Are you terrified of drawing but have a secret longing to learn how to do it? Then enrol on this course where Richard will guide you through certain processes slowly, gently and step by step. If you follow his ‘recipes’, you will be amazed at what you will be able to draw.
Because you are ‘terrified’ you will stay with a simple still life for the whole course.
The main focus will be upon learning how to SEE what is often merely glanced at.
Once this is understood and put into practice you will be able to try many and various drawing techniques in both monochrome and colour.
Materials List:
A drawing board or a 16×20” plywood off-cut *
Board clips or bull-dog clips, plus two more bull-dog clips *
A pad of A4-sized cartridge paper
A 2B and a 2H pencil – more if you have them
A pencil sharpener and an eraser such as a putty rubber
6 coloured pencils: crimson and scarlet reds, lemon and cadmium yellows, ultramarine and turquoise blues. Please try to bring those of good quality. Caran D’Ache are excellent and their respective number codes are as follows: 080, 060, 240, 010, 140 and 171. Richard will try to remember to bring some of these for those who would prefer to borrow a set at this stage.*
Two oranges, two apples, two onions and a small bunch of grapes
Two right-angled ‘corners’ cut from stiff card in the form of a capital letter ‘L’, about 8” in both directions.*
The items marked with an * means Richard will try to remember to bring loads of spares for those of you who find difficulty finding them.
Artist’s Profile:
Richard is a practising artist and has been teaching and lecturing for over fifty years. He is very keen to convince everyone that learning to draw is not only for the ‘gifted’ few but is possible for all those who are willing to follow simple instructions. www.richardbox.com
Course Costs:
Members: £96
Non-members: £118
(cost does not include lunch (available to order and purchase on the day from the Coffee Shop))
Booking a place:
Places will be offered on a first come first basis.
To secure your place on this course a £20 non-refundable deposit is required. If you would like to book a place, please CLICK HERE
(Photo is another example of Jamie’s work rather than a bird of prey)
FULLY BOOKED
Course Suitability: Absolute Beginners – Advanced
Maximum Capacity: 12
Course Description:
On this two day course learn all about working with graphite pencil from experienced artist Jamie Boots. Graphite pencil can be used to produce so much more than just a sketch.
Jamie will show participants that whether or not you are using a pencil that is blunt or sharp, pressing lightly or hard, or using a variety of tones, that the effect of fur, the texture of skin and the glassy look of an eye can be achieved.
Materials List:
All materials will be supplied free of charge to use during the course by Jamie Boots.
Artist’s Profile:
Originally from New Zealand, Jamie is a self taught artist whose work is produced in graphite pencil. Jamie first exhibited his work in 2004 and has won a number of awards for his artwork. In a very short period of time a hobby became a profession and with a limited number of originals being available each year his drawings have become highly collectable.
Course Costs:
Members: £96
Non-members: £118
(cost does not include lunch (available to order and purchase on the day from the Coffee Shop))
Here at Nature in Art we are extremely passionate about supporting local artists and craftspeople, helping to highlight the array of crafts available and the creativity of the people in the local area. Each month we host a two-day Mini Craft Market in the Education Centre, where five to ten crafters sell their unique handmade crafts.
Including but not limited to – nature crafts – paper crafts – woodwork – paintings-crochet/knitting – weaving – decoupage – cards – glass – silk painting – textile bags
- 10am – 4pm
- Education Centre
- Free to enter
Course Suitability: Absolute beginners – Advanced
Course Capacity: 12
Course Description:
Scraperboard or Scratchboard is a form of direct engraving where the top dark surface is scratched off to reveal the white chalk layer underneath. It produces an effect similar to an engraving. Many different tools can be used to make marks and textures to achieve all tones between black and white. Scraperboard can also be coloured once the design is finished. We will try out different makes of pre-coated scraperboard and also use blank white scratchboard to make our own panels.
Materials:
The tutor will provide the required materials for course participants. The cost per person will be £10 which will be paid to the tutor in cash by the participants on the day of the course.
Artist’s Profile:
Jackie has been a self employed artist for over 40 years and works in many different mediums.Since 2002 she has been teaching classes and workshops both locally and abroad. Jackie is a member of TWASI (The Wildlife Art Society International) and has won awards with her scraperboard pieces.
Course Costs:
Members: £96
Non-members: £118
(cost does not include lunch (available to order and purchase on the day from the Coffee Shop))
Booking a place:
Places will be offered on a first come first basis.
To secure your place on this course a £20 non-refundable deposit is required. If you would like to book a place, please CLICK HERE
7pm – doors open to view the galleries
7:30pm – Finger Buffet
Talk starts just after 8pm
Haunted by the Last Tide is the collaboration between the Society of Wildlife Artists and the Vadehavet National Park to celebrate the wildlife, landscapes and people of the Danish Wadden Sea. Join writer, Colin Williams, and SWLA members Nik Pollard and Marco Brodde as they tell the story of the project and the wild and human life of the water marshes and sea.
Nik will introduce the evenings’ talk by giving a brief history of the society’s collaboration with conservation NGOs and how the society sees it’s role and the role of art in the protection of nature.
Marco, visiting from Denmark, and organiser of the Wadden Sea project, will talk about how an idea gew into two art residencies. three exhibitions and a stunning book celebrating the land and the nature in which he works and lives. A really fascinating talk bringing the best of wildlife art and conservation together.
This talk coincides with our exhibition ‘Sixty’, which is a unique display of 2D and 3D works celebrating the 60th anniversary of SWLA. There will be a chance to view this exhibition between 7 and 7:30pm.
An evening for all.
£10 per person.
To book a place on this talk, please click here.
FULLY BOOKED
Course Suitability: Absolute Beginners – Improvers
Maximum Capacity: 10
Course Description:
This course explores the wonderful and versatile craft of glass engraving with a drill. It’s an opportunity for beginners to learn the basic techniques and for those who have attended a previous course to expand their skills. Over the two days we will discover three different techniques, starting with surface engraving, moving on to intaglio (low relief) engraving and also exploring vitreography – printing from your engraving onto paper. You will work on both flat glass and vessels and you will come away with at least one little masterpiece of your own making! No previous experience or artistic expertise necessary to join in, but some manual dexterity is needed for this technique.
Materials List:
The tutor will provide the required materials for course participants. The cost per person will be £20 which will be paid to the tutor by the participants on the day of the course.
It will be helpful for participants to bring along images that appeal to them, (drawings or photographs) to use as inspiration, and an apron or other protection for their clothes. If those with previous experience already have a drill that they regularly work with, they should bring it along.
Artist’s Profile:
Amanda Lawrence has been working with glass for over 20 years. She specialises in engraved and kiln formed glass, often combining the two. Her wildlife and landscape inspired vessels, sculptures and wall pieces are regularly featured in exhibitions around the country and she also works to commission. She is a member of the Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen and an Associate Fellow of the Guild of Glass Engravers. She has considerable experience of teaching both engraving and kiln techniques and enjoys passing on the pleasure of working with glass to other people.
Course Costs:
Members: £96
Non-members: £118
(cost does not include lunch (available to order and purchase on the day from the Coffee Shop))