Paul Chapman ...Art Historian and a National Gallery-trained guide.

Paul Chapman is a highly regarded freelance art historian and an official National Gallery-trained guide. He is well-known for delivering engaging lectures, educational courses, and gallery tours across the UK, covering masters such as Picasso, Matisse, and the impressionists. Paul is going to talk on the subject of political art, in particular how painters embed political/social commentary into their work sometimes subtle, to the point of being hidden and sometimes direct and obvious.

Venue; Clevedon sailing Club

Time; arrive at 7.15 for 7.30 kick off.

Free Tea and Coffee available.

Free to members/ non-members welcome £5 entry

Interested in 20th century design? Come to hear Chris Yeo talk about the extraordinary collection of 20th and 21st century design and applied art that is The Stradling Collection of Bristol.

Chris was the first curator of the collection set up by Ken Stradling, Managing Director of Bristol Guild for many years. Studio pottery and glass, important Bauhaus furniture and mid-century Scandinavian design all feature. There are many stories contained amongst the objects and their designers and Chris’s talk brings them to life. 

Chris is the Senior Valuer at Clevedon Salerooms and BBC Antiques Roadshow expert.

Fiona is a visual artist, educator and curator.  She creates mixed media assemblages, blurring boundaries between sculpture, drawing, installation and textiles, often large-scale and immersive. 
'The work blends ancient craft with contemporary concepts, fusing cultures. Deep-rooted connections with Kenya (where I was brought up) inform work.  Larger concerns are layered over personal histories. Through my work, I invite introspection and conversation.'

Learn about the art of glass plate photography, antique cameras, historical process and more.....
.....Its challenging to capture the morning starling lift-off at RSPB Ham Wall. With low light pre-sun-rise that is changing quickly. My panoramic shot came out best. I gave the glass plate camera a long exposure to capture the movement of the starlings clearly.

Venue; Clevedon Sailing Club, first floor ( no disabled access at this time)

Belinda is an acclaimed contemporary landscape artist living and working in Devon, who has previously won Devon Life’s Landscape Artist of the Year.

She will be talking about her career so far, her technique and inspirations.

Belinda’s landscapes are a reflection of herself. Every painting is a result of several days of work, with layers of texture and colour added to create a finished piece that seeks to engage the viewer and evoke their individual thoughts and emotions.

Belinda will be demonstrating an autumnal woodland, oil on canvas.

Local Landscapes in Oils - Annie uses oils to create atmospheric and expressive landscapes.

Annie’s training as a geographer has given her a deep understanding of meteorology, wind and wave patterns, rock formations and landscape processes; all of which inform her work. Somerset Art Weeks in September provide an opportunity for visitors to see the range of Annie’s work and her art studio which nestles in the Tone Valley, on the Somerset-Devon border where there are unlimited possibilities for walking, sketching and painting outdoors. There is Exmoor, the Blackdowns, the Brendon Hills and the Quantocks on her doorstep as well as the stunning coastline near Minehead and Porlock on the West Somerset coast.

Current exhibition; ACE Arts, Somerton, The Old Town Hall, Market Pl, Somerton TA11 7NB OPEN NOW https://www.acearts.co.uk/

Daydreaming world of intuitive monotypes – including oil demonstration.

 ‘Jazzdimp’.

'An analogy between jazz music, dance, creative visioning and getting out of your own way'

 An evening of exploration into the process surrounding freedom of thought, playfulness and improvisation in art practice.

 A talk and discussion together with a short demonstration of the technique of creating an oil monotype. 

Gail Mason’s work is a crossover between print and paint, colourful gestural images exploring her day-dreaming world of imagined landscapes.

There will be original works, giclées and cards for sale on the night.

www.gailmason.co.uk
instagram@gailmason1

https://linktr.ee/gailmason

Upcoming Exhibitions 

Bath Society Of Artists

Victoria Gallery Bath 

18 Oct - 10 Jan https://www.bsaorg.uk/open-exhibitions

Art Surrey Epsom  3-5 October

https://www.artsurrey.co.uk

West Bristol Art Trail 

11-12 October

https://westbristolartstrail.co.uk

North Street Gallery Bristol ongoing

https://northstreetgallery.com

Chuck Elliott overlaps the precision and order of symmetrical geometry with mesmerizing digitally drawn non-repeating patterns. He explores notions of contemporary drawing using a high end computing system and the latest digital drawing tools. His vibrant prints are energetic yet rhythmically soothing; pools of colour ripple, whilst smooth chromatic ribbons flow with electronic clarity, sheening like a lacquered metallic surface.

The intensity of Elliott’s work offers a dynamic visual aesthetic for both modern and classical settings. The sense of free-flowing vitality, under-layered with an appealing sense of order, replicates the familiarity of architectural rhythm and asymmetrical structures found within the natural world.

Through digital imagery Elliott questions what drawing can be. His experimental curiosity has led to new work.

https://chuckelliott.com/

My Nights in the Museums: A filmmaker's story of bringing art to life on the big screen

In this illustrated talk, documentary director Ali Ray shares insights from her career making films about art and artists for the cinema. From exploring the complex inner world of Frida Kahlo, to uncovering hidden truths about Mary Cassatt, celebrating the National Gallery’s 200th anniversary, and diving deep into the story of Klimt’s The Kiss, Ali offers a behind-the-scenes look at how great works of art are brought to life on screen.

She’ll reflect on the joys of spending her nights in museums among the world's greatest masterpieces and challenges of turning static images into compelling film narratives, and why storytelling is such a vital tool in keeping the legacy of art alive for new generations.

Photo of Ali by David Bickerstaff

TAKE 2!- Sally Coulden- Glass Artist/Painter
Talk: Wednesday 21st May
7.30-9.30pm Evening event
Free to Members
'Venue; CLEVEDON SAILING CLUB

The process and performance of painting is core to my practice. I use paint to explore a transition between the contained physical and psychological complexity of the corporate world into one of unconfinement and freedom of self-expression, influenced by Abstract Expressionism…

…...https://sallycoulden.art/about-my-art/

Come along and ask her all about her work, her inspiration and what her artistic drive is all about. (She is making a return visit as we had to cancel her last month...apologies to all.)

As you can see I'm an abstract painter but I also transpose my artwork onto toughened glass as well see...www.reddogbydesign.com'

'It’s important for me to work with a strong vibrant colour palate which I use to translate my energy and vigour into my work. Bigger the better’!

(First Floor venue; apologies, 'Lift not working at the sailing club'.)

'walking / mapping'

Lydia explores places that are rapidly flooding and eroding - on foot often with low-fi contraptions attached to her body – and transforms them into earthy “matter maps”. These works use print, drawing, installation and painting. She’ll bring some of the 300 million year old earth she makes into ink.

Lydia was shortlisted for the 2025 John Ruskin Prize, a recipient of the Burton Environmental Art commission in 2019, and a GroundWork Gallery resident artist in 2024 exploring themes of extraction.

A video of Lydia walking and making on the Taw can be found here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCruvAJdIWA.

Insta @lydiahalcrow

Georgina Towler (born. 1993) is a contemporary painter, whose practice is entwined with her exploration and understanding of the landscape...... moving back and forth, investigating dichotomies; hard meets soft, light meets dark, abandoned meets resolved… 

(She has a current exhibition at Glastonbury’s Rural Life Museum, entitled in not knowing one, we're without an other  

Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury
7th December 2024 - 22nd February 2025)

Next talk:

• Tuesday 11th February;

• 7.30 AGM ( approx 15mins), followed by Coffee and a Talk….

• Meet the Artist....Nigel Downing
  60 min talk 

  Nigel talks about starting points; Nigel's work primarily begins with looking and drawing. Everything builds from this starting point. For him drawing is an investigation, a method of recording an experience and expressing ideas and emotions

"I am an abstract painter & printmaker, I make work which resonates with the urban landscape around me and my own emotional landscape. " 

I use a playful mixture of collage, drawing and painting to build up the surface of my paintings. They have scruffy surfaces, which are forensically created by layering over a number of years. 

Some of the collaged fragments come from cardboard packaging (tea, soap, toothpaste). Once flattened they create edges, jutting square and straight; forming raised creases and folds. Where there are holes in the card these make windows.

I also use linear ink drawings made on transparent rice paper. These sink into the surface and make areas of sharp focus amongst the messy surface.

Lucy will talk about her view of the world and how it messes up patterns.And bring some of her current work to show us!

Venue: The Sailing Club, The Beach, Clevedon BS21 7QU

Max tells us how it is to be a professional artist and tutor. And he should know. He’s had five decades of practice. He not only paints for a living – versatile in all-media, a winner of many awards, hung in London galleries - but he also offers a range of classes on an eclectic range of subjects, writes regularly for magazines with a book in progress and demonstrates to art clubs like our own.

Come along with questions at the ready and Max will be willing and able to answer them after his talk on Tuesday evening, 12th November kicking off at 7.30pm at the Sixth Form Centre, Clevedon School with a break for refreshments and chat.

https://www.maxhaleart.co.uk

October 8th - Stewart Geddes RWA -

Stewart Geddes is a painter. He is Past President of the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) and an Honorary Royal Academician in London until 2019. 

​He currently exhibits with Close Ltd, Tin Man Art and Blond Contemporary, London. He recently collaborated with Philip Selway of Radiohead with visuals for his solo albums 'Strange Dance' released in February 2023, and the subsequent live album 'Live at Evolution Studios' released in December 2023.

He is currently preparing for a solo exhibition - 'Letting String Fall' - at Close Ltd opening on Saturday 19th October, 2024.

https://stewartgeddes.weebly.com

10th Sept- Ian Shipton Art Educator.

• Ian has had a varied creative career. He began by making jewellery in 1983 and graduated in 1989 from Loughborough School of Art and Design with BA(hons) in Jewellery and Silversmithing. He has also have received a MA Fine Art from Bath Spa University. Ian also has over twenty years of teaching experience. Currently Ian is painting, running jewellery workshops and designing and building gardens. He has also established Codename Octopus, a collaborative educational organisation delivering a range of creative courses and exhibitions supporting the work of local artists.

• Talk; Ian’s talk will be in two parts: Firstly he will give a overview of his practice and how he has sustained a creative career by diversifying into different disciplines. The second part will concentrate on how through teaching, he has managed to identify methods to encourage creativity in students; as well as to offer some thoughts on what blocks there are in developing a genuine creative voice and how to overcome them. There will also be the opportunity to ask questions throughout the evening.

Jessica is an artist and illustrator whose work spans collage, paper sculpture, paper cutting, digital drawing and painting.

Jessica will reveal how her way of thinking as an artist has evolved through her illustration training, working in museums and galleries, forming collaborations, learning by teaching art, working on commissions and experimenting with mixed media.  She will talk about the techniques she has developed and the tactile nature of the way she works, share her appreciation of materials and show her sketchbooks and materials, as well as various pieces of her work.  She will also talk about becoming an artist later in life, retraining and how to approach a change of career – the losses as well as the considerable gains in quality of life. Jessica’s clients include Disney Pixar and English Heritage.

(Jessica will return to the Club to hold a workshop on 20th April 2024.)

Check out Jessica’s website: http://jessicapalmerart.com

Nicky King explores a topic and gives us some insight into the genre.

Nicky is a local enthusiastic art teacher. She worked as a fashion designer for number of years and is a great mentor.

Join Esme Clutterbuck talking about and demonstrating her drawings. They are non-representational and representational. Some explore formal concerns on multiple surfaces – paper, flannels, household linen, walls, magazine pages, and plaster. Others are careful delineations of hair, drawn onto digital images, which explore loss and memory.

INTRIGUED? JOIN ESME AND LEARN MORE https://esmeclutterbuck.co.uk

Esmé has exhibited nationally and internationally and shown in numerous Open Exhibitions including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

https://esmeclutterbuck.co.uk

Meet the Watercolour Artist- Ros Cuthbert RWA

https://www.roscuthbert.com

- Since Covid and the lockdowns Ros has been working on a series of watercolours inspired by streets and buildings close to her home in North Somerset, often seen at dawn or dusk.

Ros will be bringing a selection of yer work and sketchbooks to look through.

Two of our fabulous members will be showing us their latest work and giving us more insight into their craft; be prepared to hear their different approaches to working with felt!

https://www.textileartist.org/gordano-textile-artists-natural-selection/kirsten-hill-nixon-robin/

Amanda Chambers is a British multi-disciplinary artist working in sculpture, ceramics, music, drawing, photography and printmaking. Recently she has had a residency, working in Japan.

https://www.amandachambers.co.uk

– Amanda is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and an elected member of the Royal Society of Sculptors

Take a look at Stephens work here…http://stephenjacobson.co.uk/?doing_wp_cron=1676979114.5650730133056640625000

- Since moving to Portishead Stephen has found a new and unexpected source of imagery.

Sara will talk about her work and the connections she makes with the landscape.

‘From a child collecting buckets of crabs on the shoreline of the Stour Estuary or jam-jars full of sticklebacks caught in local streams, my heart has always been rural and coastal. The natural environment and its myriad of inhabitants with their interwoven relationships has been a constant fascination and the enduring locus of my artistic practice. CONNECTIONS are at the heart of everything I paint, draw or film.’

Due to pressures of work Chi- Yen is unable to join us on Tuesday

You can explore her work on her web site…..

https://chiyiensnow.com/new-blog

Where she showcases her work and looks behind the scenes at Sky’s Landscape Artist of the Year 2019, with Chi-Yen; a local member of the club and winner of Art Battle Bristol 2019.

‘Although it only took one day of my life, the impact of taking part in Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year has changed my perspective permanently. Since filming for the show, I’ve started to hire studio space in order to pursue my ambition of painting as a full time career.’