Aquarelle - Roses without thorns continued

Last Tuesday the Aquarellista group got together for a healthy bit of creative sparring! We're going to participate in the Grand Prix d'aquarelle and in the coming time we'll do research and development around its' theme 'Roses without thorns'. In this first phase we are looking into the character of roses - to get to know them and their characteristics.

Edith Alborni's roses. The last one has a photoshop-background to show what an extra dark layer does

Marina Teding-van Berkhout practised her hand on a couple of roses from the

demo of Fabio Cembranelli (btw - I like her version better)

Cathie van der Stel went one step further with an experimental bouquet. Click on it to see a larger version!  

Ann Edwards finished her white still life and just started on roses in a vase. She will work on them tomorrow and I'll keep you posted on the results! Lesley and Roly Bufton worked on an excercise that tests your patience and ability to mix colours. They had to 'pixelize' a photo by dividing it in 1x1cm squares and for each square choose the dominant colour. Difficult, but they both did a great job:

The picture

Lesley Bufton's 'pixelization'

Roly Bufton's version of the exercise

Help me get to the finals of the Saatchi Showdown

I have a request for all of you artlovers out there: could you help me by voting on the artwork that I put up in the “Showdown” on the great “Saatchi” website? (interesting for all artists! Neville Moray and Fiona Biziou are on it too) To be able to vote for me you have to subscribe first, via http://www.saatchionline.com/

Fill out the blanks in “Join us it’s free” in the right upper corner of the webpage.

Remember your password!

Saatchi will then send you a confirmation email. Click the link…

Log in and type ‘Marina Kulik’ in the search field (top right),

Select me from the results and VOTE:

You can also go to my website http://www.marinakulik.com/ and click “vote for my artwork”

It is a challenge for you I know!! But I would be SO grateful because it is a onetime experiment and I am in the top quarter right now and it would be such fun to get to the finals!
If I succeed I'll let you know: even more voting necessary!
Thank you very much in advance for you votes...
In utter gratitude - and I'd do the same for you of course!
Marina Kulik

NELLY’S TUESDAY MORNING OIL CLASS

Abstract in oil by Charmian Murley

Tuesday mornings see a group of, on average, some 12 or so enthusiastic oil painters arrive for Nellie’s ‘Atelier Libre’.  As the choice of subject and technique is free, it is always interesting to go round and see what the other students are creating and what methods they are using.   

June and Avril discussing their work

From each other you learn a lot and dare to experiment with Nelly always on hand to gently advise, suggest and help when asked – but she never criticizes!  

Prof Nelly van Hijfte (R) and Trish Jones

 From time to time Nelly sets up a special class to study a particular technique or style or painting for those who are interested. 

Ladies (in Paris?) by Claudine Delaney

For the rest of the time only your imagination sets the limits.

Chameleon I by Charmian Murley

This is a very social group, always starting with coffee and cake before getting down to the real business of the day – creativity in oil.

Véronique Vandenhoeck enjoys her Tuesdaymorning...

Chris Herlicq

Dominique Billiard

Sherry Spetz

Aquarelle Tuesdays 2 - 4.30pm - Marina Kulik

Welcome to the zen watercolour afternoon - where Anna Karin Fast has worked so hard that her brush broke... It was the big one that she had used for a long, long time and while she was working on her "white still life" it gave up...

The "white still life" in question

Sandra Seymour-Dale's finished version

Cathie van der Stel's finished version

Edith Alboni started over and did a "less transparent" version

Anna Karin's wonderful aquarelle - finished with another brush...

There were other projects going on, especially by Marina Teding van Berkhout and Sandra Seymour-Dale that I will write about later, on the aquarellista blog... We have now finished the work on the white still life, the coming weeks we will dedicate to 'research and development' for the Belgian "Grand Prix d'Aquarelle" that we are going to participate in... so watch this space...

New Year's reception in the Hangar

For those of you who weren't there to enjoy the company, the exhibition of artwork from the classes, the great drinks, ex-cel-lent appetizers by Sherry Spetz and Charmian Murley, the nice speech by our president Hans van Wijngaarden and the great atmosphere as always: here are a couple of pictures (taken by phone) of the crowd enjoying themselves!!

(click on the pictures to enlarge them)



Live Model drawing - Marina Kulik - 17/01/2011

Last Monday we had a fantastic session with a small group drawing our full-bodied model Carolyn. The only thing that didn't work with us (but what else would you expect in the South of France) was the sun! It shone so bright through the windows, that even our spotlights were too weak to make the shadows dissappear... you can see it in some of the other pictures too - but apart from that it was a wonderful morning... we worked hard, drawing several 'two-minute' poses...

Neville Moray drawing fast

and two longer ones of around half an hour... Click the pictures to enlarge them...

Marijke van Schijndel at work

Neville Moray at work

Sandra Seymour-Dale at work

Virginie Bertoluzzi  at work

Sue Ellis at work

As you can see the concentration is deep and when we are finished the participants are usually content - and exhausted. If you are interested to participate, drop me (Marina Kulik) an email!

Friday Atelier Libre with Model

This Friday Louise the model inspired a full class. Here you have 4 different interpretations of Louise:

Louise by Christian Lobel

Louise by Christie Robinson

Louise by Vero Kruch

Louise by Laetitia Bonnici

by Celina Schou

A still life in watercolours Part 1

Lesley Bufton's fabulous Colour exercise

Last Tuesday a small group of aquarellistas started the year 2011, with a gorgeous still life (left over from Pim's Monday class) while the two new participants (Lesley and Roland, or "Roly") went through the first steps of our book! They went fast and enthusiastic and I'm pretty sure they'll be joining the advanced group in no time... Above this post Lesley's watercolour - very well done, it is clear that she already understands the medium!

Roly is quite vigorous in his use of colours - I look forward to what that's going to develop into!

The still life: 

 And the results - not yet finished, tomorrow we'll take the work a step further - were excellent:

 Ann Edwards has used strong shadows and they give this painting a very sunny outlook!

 Cathie van der Stel's version, she will add contrast in the background - it will be stunning!

 Edith Albori observed the "colour" of the white and shows the different tones! She also experimented with salt -  not too visible in my pictures, but subtly there...

Unfinished and unmistakebly a composition by Sandra Seymour-Dale!

Bottles will get their volume tomorrow...