2018

Art Sessions with Tibbs Dementia Foundation December 2018
A few members of BAS volunteered to help at six sessions at The Higgins run by Tibbs Dementia Foundation. The Foundation was awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary Services this year.
At each session a volunteer worked with a dementia sufferer allowing the carer or partner freedom to work on their own. This was not a formal arrangement pairing seemed to happen naturally. Leaders from Tibbs were on hand to assist and advise at all times.
We practised with acrylics, oil pastels, origami, collage and clay. It was rewarding, educational but above all great fun. During the six weeks a frieze representing Bedford was created with everyone contributing to an impressive display which will be exhibited at different places in Bedford.
The photos show the frieze and examples of the clay work and Christmas cards and trees created on the last session. The course was so popular it is hoped another series will be held in the spring.
Jean Paterson

The Paul Kane gave us a demonstration
The artist, Paul Kane, gave us a demonstration on 7th December showing what can be done in charcoal. He explained the different types of charcoals available and how he used his to make a wide variety of effects and tones from very dark and heavy to light and narrow. His use of a putty rubber to enhance the effects was remarkable.
He then proceeded to draw an old and familiar pair of walking boots for us, explaining that he liked to use familiar items in his still life pictures. First he blocked in the dark areas of the leather to establish where the light fell, then he covered the whole expanse of paper before smudging it to give a background.
Then he built up layers of charcoal to make his picture, demonstrating the different textures for the leather, soles, laces, cuff and eyelets in the boots. He also used the rubber to add to the effects and the resulting picture was a life-like pair of walking boots but not a photographic representation.
He then did a free-hand landscape to show us other techniques and he left us wanting to experiment with a medium we may have not used before.
Diane Bell



Bedford Art Society November 2018
Our winter season continued with a bewitching presentation by Jacquie Jones,. She is a notable painter of horses and other animals in watercolour among other mediums. She wore an outfit suitable for the time of year and impressed us with her costume.
She began her demonstration by drawing a pencil sketch of a horse on thick watercolour paper, 200 grade, and followed this with another one by its side. Two more were completed to fill the A3 paper and a race was revealed before our eyes.
Jacquie then began to mix her watercolours and to lay down the colours on the subjects. She welcomed questions about her work and life while she worked which revealed a varied and extraordinary adventure through wanting to be a lady jockey and her life at Newmarket, to art training teaching herself and her determination to reach the goals which she set herself.
She has painted many commissions in the Middle East – mostly horses, and has widely travelled the world with her skills, becoming a very successful artist along the way.
A most enjoyable and entertaining evening.
Diane Bell



Richard Morgan on local Victorian artist Henry John Sylvester Stannard October 2018
Richard Morgan gave an illustrated talk based on his short book on the life of the artist Henry John Sylvester Standard. Stannard lived in and around Bedford for much of his life. His first picture was accepted by the Royal Academy in 1897 and he exhibited nearly every year until 1920. His daughter, Theresa, was also an artist who specialised in gardens.. Sylvester painted primarily landscapes in the Victorian tradition. He was a much-married man – five times! Both Sylvester and his daughter were very involved in the local communities they lived.



Marie Antoniou paints animals in acrylics September 2018
Marie is an artist specialising in acrylics. She loves painting wildlife and exploring the subject through marks and colours. She is represented by several galleries and over the last five years has exhibited with The David Shepherd Wildlife Artist, Artist of the Year Exhibition at The Mall Galleries, London. In 2016 she was also a contributing author to the acrylic section of The Artists Painting Techniques. Marie is also contributing author to The Artist magazine.
Her painting of puffins emerged magically from soft shapes to clear, life-like birds. She made it look so easy to achieve! Her audience enjoyed her practical comments and imaginative style. A very successful evening.
Pauline Brown



Outdoor painting draws to a close August 2018
Another great year for outdoor painting. Yet again Jean did us proud. It was a glorious summer for painting! And we had several new locations which were both challenging and interesting. Scald End Farm at Thurleigh had lovely views over the countryside and paintable buildings, plus a large café (which most of us had not known existed). We were also shown the inside of Thurleigh church.
Hitchin Lavender Fields saw us hiding from the sun painting the 'sample' fields and later having an excellent lunch in the barn. Lavender in bloom is a wonderful sight. But the signs in English and Japanese surprised us... Japanese apparently come here to get married!
Milton Ernest Care Home allowed us access to their grounds. The care home is a huge manor with interesting and old outbuildings.
Elstow with Moot Hall and the Abbey were very popular and Great Barford never disappoints.
Tucked-away Eaton Socon with its mill as always delights.
Pauline Brown



Roy Holding demonstrates June 2018
Roy Holding was our demonstrator this month showing us how to use pastels with acrylics to make an interesting picture.
He uses mount-board to give a firm surface and he treats it with a chalky mixture before drawing the subject on it. Then he reinforces this with waterproof ink. This fixes the drawing as he uses sprayed water to give texture to his work later on in the process.
Using acrylics he painted in some of the picture and then sprayed it for an interesting effect. The dribbles are then used to give another feel to the foreground. He then used a pointed stick to 'draw' some trees in the background and sprayed them gently to enhance the leafy look.
When the paint was dry Roy took to pastels to finish the picture, which was very effective and gave an atmospheric look to the final scene.
Diane Bell



Bedford Art Society May 2018
Ali Yanya has been to our meetings before to give us a demonstration and last night was another excellent example of his work. He loves people-watching in public spaces and his resulting sketches are used by him to work into interesting paintings.
He uses his initial drawings to give an outline figure, which he then draws on tracing paper before transfering the outline shape of the person onto watercolour paper. This is then worked up into a painting, which concentrates on shape and colour tto produce an atmospheric picture.
Ali likes to work from the background to the foreground as it gives a better idea of size of charcter and transluscence of watercolour. This results in intersting and beautiful images.
He also stayed in Bedford to give a workshop on Saturdaay which was enjoyed by many of our members.
Diane Bell



Jim Francis April 2018
At Bedford Art Society’s talk on 6th April a lively audience enjoyed hearing about the techniques Jim uses to make his sculptures. Very small animals. Ones a large child could sit on – and stroke. Ones to amuse visitors. Each one individually sculptured and later covered in metal and resin to withstand weather and almost anything thrown at it.
He wasn’t able to give a full demonstration as it involved heat and the possibility of fire. But he gave a good account of how making them was done, how long it took, how labour-intensive it was. Right from the beginning there were numerous questions thrown at him and he fielded them with care and humour.
His jobs throughout his life were many and varied but in later life he has found an outlet for his artistic talent – and thereby gives much pleasure to those who buy his sculptures or receive them as welcome gifts.
Pauline Brown



Paul Fullstone March 2018 meeting.
Our meeting was postponed due to the snow so we met on 16th March to watch a demonstration of ink and wash paintings by Paul Fullstone, an untrained artist. He leads workshops as well as giving demonstrations and exhibitions.
He began by explaining that he tries only to use 6 or 7 colours in his pictures and described the weight of paper which he uses.
He began with an outline in pencil which centred his focal point, and, although he was working from a photograph, he edited it considerably to give him the picture which he wanted. He stressed his view that there should be a dark area across the top and bottom of the painting with hazy and lighter side edges, thus focusing the eye on the main focal point of the picture.
As his picture grew he demonstrated first that he inked in his pencilled line to give shape to the scene, and this was followed by broad strokes of paint across the wetted paper. As his easel was sloping it eabled the paint to blend and merge after whch he defined the buildings and foliage to bring out the details. When he added the shadows it made it appear more 3-dimensional and realistic.
We looked at his sketch books which were more like scrap books and they gave a geater insght into his work.
Diane Bell

Annual dinner at the Three Tuns
Bedford Art Society enjoyed their annual dinner at the Three Tuns in Biddenham this week, where about twenty members joined together to chat and get to know each other a bit more than when they meet at demonstrations, portrait classes and outdoor painting sessions. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was very friendly, so we all agreed that we had had a good evening which we would like to repeat in the future.
Diane Bell

How about a day out in Cambridge
If you want an entertaining day out why don't you visit the newly re-opened Kettles Yard in Cambridge? Either go on the X5 or by the Park and Ride system, and have a lovely lunch at the cafe before going round the house and galleries viewing the art. The atmosphere is calm and gentle
Don;t forget tot visit the little church behind the gallery which has an amazing array of baskets from Bangladesh displayed and suspended from the ceiling in an intriguing way. On the day I visited the sun was shining on the late snowdrops, scillas and wood anemones, which all added to the enjoyment.
Diane Bell



Bedford Art Society February 2018 meeting.
On 2 February we met at Putnoe Heights Church for an unusual talk and demonstration about stained glass by artist and creator Anna Conti.
Beginning with an outline of her career development, she went on to explain the method she used to produce a panel of stained glass – her first assignment being for Sir Richard Branson. She told us that she worked on projects all over the world which email has made easier, and she stressed the fact that she liked to make her panels sympathetic to the customer.
Anna is a passionate advocate of the retention of stained glass panels which architects incorporated into their house designs especially in the 1920's and 1930's, and she is horrified when such work is removed and destroyed. She encouraged us to prevent this happening whenever we might come across this destruction. Older panels can easily be restored and they are sympathetic to their site.
She has worked with individuals, schools, and work places as well as care homes and she is proud of the fact that the people who work or learn in these places have contributed ideas for the windows. She showed us the intricate paper drawings she makes before choosing the glass and assembling her work .
Finally we saw some of the lovely windows, panels, screens and ceilings which she has installed around the world including some which were the result of the paper drawings she had shown us earlier.
A fascinating evening.
Diane Bell



Bedford Art Society January 2018 meeting
On 5 January we met at Putnoe Heights Church for a welcome return of Sonia Bacchus for a demonstration of painting with guache and oil pastels.
She began by explaining her paints and her techniques for copying a picture from a black and white photo, which gave an interesting insight into an artist's thinking. She had also brought some examples of her work which included portraits and animals as well as landscapes – so, a wide variety of subjects.
The painting was drawn on a cream-coloured board which is not as 'shocking' as white and gives a favourable background to receive the colours which are applied on top. As the drawing evolved more and more tips were given to us to help with our own pictures.
The final picture which Sonia achieved, was that of a nude, the photographer's wife, washing herself by an open cottage window in France, with the countryside framed in that opening.
Diane Bell