back to life

I’ve always thought of myself as a bit creative and I’ve dabbled with all kinds of arty projects in my time. My dad went to art college in his youth and he taught me the basics of sketching and painting when I was a little girl. But something must have gone a bit awry when I started secondary school. According to my first art teacher, lovingly called Granny Grierson, my pieces of art were nearly always ruined once I was let loose with a paintbrush. In my school reports she used the term “doesn’t know when to stop” quite a few times.

Haunted by these words I have tended to avoid the slapping on of paint, with the exception of wall painting about the house. But I’m no quitter and 45 years after those school reports I decided to bite the bullet and give creative painting another go.

My first attempt at re-joining the scary world of paint and brushes was at a Brush Party event. These happen all over the UK at various venues such as pubs, restaurants and adventure parks. My sister in law, Sharon, and I found ourselves one evening just before Christmas at Puxton Park learning how to paint “Ice Ice Angus”. Armed with a blank canvas, brushes, blobs of paint, an apron and a Christmas hat, we followed step by step instructions to produce a pretty good painting to take home. I’m really quite proud of my Angus and he is now stationed on the toilet wall looking down on folk sitting on the throne.

Well after the success of the Brush party there was no stopping me and I was keen to use my new found talents again. My next chance to shine was at a creative printmaking workshop at Flourish Glenavon farm that lies between Bristol and Bath. In a designated part of the farm shop, 4 members of the BMT drinking club gathered to help fellow member George participate in her birthday present. We were trusted with very sharp scalpels to cut out stencils and after creating various hues from the blobs of primary colours, we rolled this way and that until we were happy with the end result on the paper. It took a great deal of resolve to know when to stop adding another layer of paint or another decorative stencil, but with those words from my old school report ringing in my ears I resisted the urge and stepped away from the roller. I was so pleased with the end result that I kicked a David Hockney print out of it’s frame to give my print it’s new home.

I highly recommend both of these activities, they are a really good way to learn new skills to produce a something very decent to take home. The best part is spending time with friends and family in a shared creative experience.

https://www.slowsunday.co.uk/collections/workshops https://brushparty.co.uk/