Eshaness
Amy and Donald outside the Booth
Wild in the Wigwams - Eshaness
Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th October 2009
Weekend Workshop at Braewick Cafe in Eshaness
On a wild and blustery October afternoon, nine hardy individuals took to the wilds of Eshaness for a weekend of outdoor art and fun. This northerly location was chosen particularly for its’ spectacular sea cliffs, architectural heritage and wildness, as it is at its best during wilder weather and is ideal sketching and painting ground.
Friday
First stop was the Braewick Café and their gorgeous wooden wigwams, which were to be home and base for the weekend. With warm supplies unpacked, the group met in the restaurant for the evening meal. In true Blue Sky fashion (never wanting to miss an arty opportunity) everyone was provided with paper and a variety of media for a portrait extravaganza between courses. With continuous line, drawing without looking, tonal studies and upside down drawing there were some pretty interesting outcomes! After the meal a slideshow was given with the weekend’s aims, someinspirational artist’s work and top tips. Full of ideas everyone was then let loose to experiment with materials and produced some pre-prepared sheets to work on during the weekend.
Saturday
After a good sleep in the cosy wigwams everyone was up early for breakfast overlooking the distinctive rock formation the Drongs, which were bathed in sunlight. Our enthusiastic group had sketchbooks and watercolours out capturing the scene while coffee was finished and the cars were packed.
The first location for the day was the spectacular Eshaness sea cliffs below the lighthouse. With rolling waves and surging white water the group had plenty to work with; tonal charcoal drawings and compositional studies were completed first and were followed by some mixed media colour sketches. After a coffee and scone break a fully revived group were ready to tackle the cliffs once more. With a good sense of the subject matter everyone then choose a board to paint on and were let loose with large scale brushes and a selection of house paint, acrylic and ink to create some action-packed and dramatic seascapes. As the paint was flying, Burnt Candle Productions turned up to film our colourful group, so, for a little glimpse of painting on the edge, click here to see the footage. Soon it was time to head back for lunch at the café and a review of the morning’s work.
In the afternoon we set out to Stenness and a beautiful pebbled beach. Everyone was sent on a mark-making materials hunt before beginning a 360° drawing using their found objects and ink. Each person took a section of the view to draw and the dramatic dark skies made for an impressive large scale collaborative piece once we joined together the sections. Late afternoon tea and biscuits were issued just as the rain clouds caught up with us, so the hard working group were quite grateful to return to the café to put their feet up before dinner.
After another lovely meal (and some hilarity – particularly enjoyed Mary’s “Rabbit on a Motorbike” impression…!) the group reviewed the day’s photos. There was then some more experimentation with media before retiring to the wigwams.
Sunday
Another beautiful, fresh Blue Sky morning and after a sketching breakfast, the group headed to Hillswick and the oldest public house in Shetland for some tuition on perspective from Eve. Mixed media, including: wax and chalk pastel, ink, watercolour, acrylic and graphite stick was used on pre-prepared sheets to great effect to capture the traditional buildings’ character. We sojourned in the atmospheric Hillswick Hotel for some charcoal reduction drawings and then finished up at the Booth before heading back to the café for lunch.
Finally, the group took to the hills for a fine panorama of sky, land and sea. Nestled into the heather artists used paint and pastel on board to bring to life the Drongs and moody skies beyond.
We then returned to Braewick for a review of the weekend’s work and some very reluctant goodbyes. All in all this was another positive and productive Blue Sky weekend with some great fun, plenty of wildness and some fantastic keepsakes!
Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th October 2009
Weekend Workshop at Braewick Cafe in Eshaness
On a wild and blustery October afternoon, nine hardy individuals took to the wilds of Eshaness for a weekend of outdoor art and fun. This northerly location was chosen particularly for its’ spectacular sea cliffs, architectural heritage and wildness, as it is at its best during wilder weather and is ideal sketching and painting ground.
Friday
First stop was the Braewick Café and their gorgeous wooden wigwams, which were to be home and base for the weekend. With warm supplies unpacked, the group met in the restaurant for the evening meal. In true Blue Sky fashion (never wanting to miss an arty opportunity) everyone was provided with paper and a variety of media for a portrait extravaganza between courses. With continuous line, drawing without looking, tonal studies and upside down drawing there were some pretty interesting outcomes! After the meal a slideshow was given with the weekend’s aims, someinspirational artist’s work and top tips. Full of ideas everyone was then let loose to experiment with materials and produced some pre-prepared sheets to work on during the weekend.
Saturday
After a good sleep in the cosy wigwams everyone was up early for breakfast overlooking the distinctive rock formation the Drongs, which were bathed in sunlight. Our enthusiastic group had sketchbooks and watercolours out capturing the scene while coffee was finished and the cars were packed.
The first location for the day was the spectacular Eshaness sea cliffs below the lighthouse. With rolling waves and surging white water the group had plenty to work with; tonal charcoal drawings and compositional studies were completed first and were followed by some mixed media colour sketches. After a coffee and scone break a fully revived group were ready to tackle the cliffs once more. With a good sense of the subject matter everyone then choose a board to paint on and were let loose with large scale brushes and a selection of house paint, acrylic and ink to create some action-packed and dramatic seascapes. As the paint was flying, Burnt Candle Productions turned up to film our colourful group, so, for a little glimpse of painting on the edge, click here to see the footage. Soon it was time to head back for lunch at the café and a review of the morning’s work.
In the afternoon we set out to Stenness and a beautiful pebbled beach. Everyone was sent on a mark-making materials hunt before beginning a 360° drawing using their found objects and ink. Each person took a section of the view to draw and the dramatic dark skies made for an impressive large scale collaborative piece once we joined together the sections. Late afternoon tea and biscuits were issued just as the rain clouds caught up with us, so the hard working group were quite grateful to return to the café to put their feet up before dinner.
After another lovely meal (and some hilarity – particularly enjoyed Mary’s “Rabbit on a Motorbike” impression…!) the group reviewed the day’s photos. There was then some more experimentation with media before retiring to the wigwams.
Sunday
Another beautiful, fresh Blue Sky morning and after a sketching breakfast, the group headed to Hillswick and the oldest public house in Shetland for some tuition on perspective from Eve. Mixed media, including: wax and chalk pastel, ink, watercolour, acrylic and graphite stick was used on pre-prepared sheets to great effect to capture the traditional buildings’ character. We sojourned in the atmospheric Hillswick Hotel for some charcoal reduction drawings and then finished up at the Booth before heading back to the café for lunch.
Finally, the group took to the hills for a fine panorama of sky, land and sea. Nestled into the heather artists used paint and pastel on board to bring to life the Drongs and moody skies beyond.
We then returned to Braewick for a review of the weekend’s work and some very reluctant goodbyes. All in all this was another positive and productive Blue Sky weekend with some great fun, plenty of wildness and some fantastic keepsakes!
Workshop film clip by BurntCandle.TV
