Hugh Murdoch Trophy

A great evening with a total of nearly 40 paintings depicting the sea shore - our theme this year.

The event was very well attended by some 25 members and there were so many good works that it was rather difficult to choose between them.  The 'voting' was by those present and of course all names were well hidden! The beach and sea featured, as did some attractive fishermen's cottages at Arniston and graceful sand dunes. There was one unusual entry which was a montage of four, 7x7cm canvases that was of particular interest. 

Ann Zwets was awarded the Hugh Murdoch Trophy for her horses on the beach, and also the third prize of a sunrise over False Bay - all in watercolour - while Dave Parry, with his beautiful sunrise painting in oils, was second.  

After the prize giving (Sue Green did the honours), John Strickland gave a short talk on the merits of the first six works chosen.

Aided by a glass of wine or juice, it proved to be a very pleasant evening and everyone appreciated the ambience and the competitive spirit.

Thank you to all of you who brought paintings and attended the evening, especially our newer members.  Without you there would be no art society.

Once again we have Rob McAlpine to thank for the photos.

Catching up on workshops and paint outs

As a quick preface and a finally a postscript, there are a couple of irritating errors in this blog which appear as blue squares with a question mark.

IGNORE THEM and hope your web mistress does better next time! Apologies.

We had a number of interesting items this July and August and people had fun trying out things that were not within their usual range of subjects.

Did you look at the blog last month when Ann Zwets also kindly hosted a paint out on what turned out to be a lovely day?

Frances Johnson organised a 'therapeutic art' workshop demonstrating how colour and freedom of brush stroke can be so very liberating. 15 members attended and left feeling more uplifted than when they arrived!

Thank you Frances.

Sue Green also organised a workshop on drawing birds. It's goal was to help artists recognise shapes and colours when they saw birds in the garden or out in the countryside enabling them to make better drawings.

Sue brought along a computer and two screens with a recording of a workshop run by nature illustrator John Muir Laws and played these to the members present. She brought computer paper so that we could make quick sketches as we watched the documentary.

This was about learning to make quick drawings, not about finished works and it was enlightening for us all. It is worth looking up this artist and seeing other teaching clips - such as trees - that one can watch at home or download from YouTube.

Thank you Sue.

  

 

We also had a morning of sketching in Simon's Town which was fun.

Did you join in? July paint out.

Another fair day and a group of keen artists embarked on a morning of discovery in Chairperson, Ann Zwets' Fish Hoek mountainside garden.

Crayons, oils, pencils and watercolours came out and the FHAS members enjoyed the camaraderie and challenges.

Many thanks Ann for the venue and the refreshments, and Rob McAlpine for the photos.

Great day for the monthly paint out

The Jameses house in Simon's Town is a wonderful venue not just for its spectacular views but for the interesting garden cared for by gardening enthusiast, Alison and our fellow FHAS artist, Doug.

A handful of enthusiastic artists made their way there and enjoyed the sights and company.
Many thanks to the Jameses for their hospitality.

Pictures by Rob McAlpine.

Penny Steynor demonstrated how it's done.

Some 20 members and friends attended this month's workshop - a good turnout.

The very talented Penny Steynor brought her watercolours and wowed us with the fabulous marines cape that she worked on in front of us.

The picture she painted was simplicity itself in design and proves the point that you don't have to get complicated to produce a great work.

We were able to pick up some great tips and were encouraged to get back to the easel ourselves.

Thank you Penny!