Art Group Oct-Dec 2015

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In October I started attending an art group with the intention of getting myself out of the house more and becoming comfortable being around other people. The group is not full of artistic people as I expected it to be, and most people sit there doing colouring (and rarely keeping within the lines).

Instead of joining in with the colouring bunch (I already do a lot of that in my spare time), I decided to practice and develop my drawing skills. In my first session I had absolutely no idea what to draw and must have spent at least 15 minutes flicking through magazines looking for inspiration. Eventually I came across an advert – for suntan lotion I think – with a woman in a hat on it. So that is what I drew. And I was surprised with the outcome, as were the rest of the group! [see first image above]

Since I find it easier to draw from images, I searched the internet (mostly Pinterest) each week for something I could draw or copy and adapt. For the remaining art sessions this year I drew from those images, adding colour or shading to make it my own.

I intend to continue drawing in the new year, both at art group and at home. My aim is to eventually not need the guidance of other’s images to draw from. It would be fantastic if I could draw straight from my imagination!

 

Merry Christmas!

What have I been up to recently?

In November I started going to an art group for people recovering from various mental health issues. It is more of a free for all rather than a class, and many people choose to do colouring in. I, however, decided to use these sessions to practice my illustration techniques. So far I have sourced images online that I would like to draw and sketched them out in pencil followed by fine liner pen. I then began to teach myself how to add colour and shading with coloured pencils.

Above is one of the drawings I produced during my time at the art group. Instead of buying Christmas cards this year, I decided to make my own. This was the image that some of my friends or family received from me. Everyone has said that they loved it! (I will post other illustrations I have produced at a later date).

But, what else have I been doing?

Before the summer I was approached by the ministers of my local church about designing a new website for the Heath and Havering URC group of churches (on a voluntary basis). I explained I had no HTML experience, but they were only expecting me to use online software anyway. So, with the help of Weebly, I designed the layout, attempting to make it as professional looking as I could. Here is the final result: www.heathandhaveringurc.co.uk

Finally…

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and a happy new year!

I aim to continue developing my illustrations and graphic design skills throughout 2016.