Past Events

The Cambridge Drawing Society Spring Exhibition will be held again this year in The Pitt Building, Cambridge. The public exhibition will run from Saturday 14th April through to Saturday 21st April 2018. Over 400 original works will be exhibited, which will include Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Sculpture.

Members can apply to exhibit on-line or using a postal application. More details can be found here.

The price for this workshop is £40 per person, or £35 per person per workshop if two or more workshops are booked. The cost will include model fee.

John will supply tea, coffee biscuits, but you will have to provide your own packed lunch.

Please click here for an application form.

CDS member Sue Eaton and her Husband Tony are holding an Open Studios and Garden event from Good Friday to Easter Monday to raise money for East Anglia's Childrens Hospices. Sue will be opening her art studio and Tony will open his music studio and guitar workshop. You will also be able to see Sue and Tony's courtyard garden and a wildlife meadow in the making.

Sue says "The one we held over the August Bank Holiday raised over £400 for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices and with an extra day we hope to raise more."

Free entry. Home made teas and cakes will be available.

For images of the event please click here.

CDS Member Tracey Ashman is currently exhibiting some of her recent prints in the CCA gallery in Cambridge.

Tracey's Bio 

"My latest series of prints continue my exploration of trauma, and the process in which stitch and nature played an important role in my healing process."

"The receiving of bouquets after traumatic surgery in 2016 inspired a series of prints intending to convey the power of nature and art to heal. The dried petals and leaves convey physical fragility, whilst stitch imparts the renewal process, a metaphor for growth of new tissue that binds, mends and heals."

"The final culmination is the cathartic creation of the print and complete restoration of health."

WORKSHOP IS FULLY BOOKED.....

Overview: This is for artists who enjoy working from photographs in a clean, patient manner.

What makes a good portrait? Likeness? Expression? Mood? Detail? Beauty as they say is in the eye of the beholder, but in this workshop we will look at number of techniques and considerations involved in creating a dynamic large-scale portrait in charcoal.

While working in black and white can simplify the process, a number of subtle techniques are required in taking a drawing from personal photograph to a finished and ready-to-frame piece of art. There is much more to this than one person and their stick of charcoal.

I will bring a number of my own works, photographs and preparatory pieces as reference. Please bring 2 or 3 portrait photographs to be looked at critically, considering images that can offer a variety of ingredients, including (but not necessarily all) light and shade, areas of detail, mood, facial expression and most importantly, how the finished piece will look on the wall. I will provide a number of my own black and white photos for those without.

What to bring: Large white paper, ideally no smaller than A2 and a drawing board to match. Charcoal/charcoal pencils, pencils, erasers/pencil eraser, ruler (ideally large) fixative.

Workshop cost: £30 for Members and Friends, £40 for Non-members. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided but please bring a packed lunch.

Application Form

CDS Members Christine Lockwood and Neil Warmsley come together to present a demonstration and talk respectively for the last CDS evening event of the year.

Watercolour Demonstration by Christine Lockwood

Chris will be demonstrating her exciting watercolour painting techniques. In keeping with the seasons, she has chosen to paint a ‘wintery’ themed landscape, looking firstly at light and shadows on snow, followed by loose, experimental, flower painting techniques.

Chris trained as a Textile Designer at Chester College of Art ( foundation course) and Nottingham Trent College of Art and Design in the Department of Fashion and Textiles (Degree). A career in the retail trade followed, running a fabric design business in the centre of Nottingham selling unique hand printed clothes and furnishings.

Chris’s love of colour and pattern is evident in her loose vibrant watercolours. She exhibits her paintings and is a member
of several art societies. She also takes part in Cambridge Open Studios during the first two weekends in July.
Her watercolour workshops are very popular which she runs near her home in Fen Drayton. You can visit Chris’s website at www.chrislockwoodwatercolours.co.uk 

An Illustrated Talk by Neil Warmsley

Neil's topic will be Painting the Urban Forest. Neil has been painting and drawing Cambridge's quieter green quarters for over 25 years. Neil also works as a gardener and he will talk on how these two disciplines compliment each other. 

This year St  Barnabas Press is hosting a Winter Show with fourteen artists from 2 - 17 December. Large and small artworks and small gifts will be on view and for sale.

CDS Members Ann Massing, Catherine Mellis and John Preston are exhibiting at this year's show.

A book of 60 linocuts of images inspired by the Radio 4 Shipping Forecast will be launched.

Full details of the book are on my website first page.

You are warmly invited to call in on Thursday evening, the 30th November between 7pm and 9pm for the preview, a chat and a glass of wine.  The exhibition is then open daily except for Sunday's until the 23rd December.  A proportion of all sales will be donated to Melbourn Hub, to ensure the long term continuation of this valuable community facility. 

ANNA PYE  Artist   Printmaker   Tutor  CHRISTMAS OPEN STUDIO 2017

November 25th, 26th and December 9th,10th    10am to 4pm

All welcome to browse, visits at other times by appointment

Original hand pulled prints, Home textiles, Cards,  Notebooks,  Mugs

Refreshments

The Walnut House  3 Station Road   Steeple Morden  Royston  Herts  SG8 0NN  where I hold lino and mono print workshops.

Fran Godwood invites you to her certificate exhibition at the Curwen Print Study Centre. As Fran completes her year-long study, she and five other artists display their work. Free admission. Parking.

Seventh Art Productions, are a film company well known for our art documentary EXHIBITION ON SCREEN series. We are about to launch our next EXHIBITION ON SCREEN film ‘DAVID HOCKNEY AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS: A Bigger Picture 2012 & 82 Portraits and One Still-Life 2016’ on 21st November 2017, featuring intimate and in-depth interviews with David Hockney and focusing on two blockbuster exhibitions held in 2012 and 2016 at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. The film will be screening across the UK, including at the Hebden Bridge Picturehouse. 

COAX 2017 - Members of Cambridge Drawing Society are exhibiting at Cambridgeshire’s major independent non-selective Open Art Exhibition featuring contemporary and traditional paintings, sculpture and prints and the Cambridge Art Awards.  The exhibition is non-selective to ensure a wide-ranging show of artwork and encourage emerging artists to exhibit alongside professionals.  The exhibition promotes art, artists and well-being through exhibition, education and participation.

Overview: Prepare to be creative and experimental with colour and texture. In this workshop we will explore the stunning colours of Autumn, from rich reds and browns to vibrant yellows and greens.

Learn how to combine watercolours with acrylic inks and oil pastels in a loose exciting wet in wet style with lots of spattering for texture.

In the morning we will create an autumn landscape painting, looking at composition, perspective, colour mixing and brush techniques. Fallen leaves will be the subject for the afternoon, exploring shape and tone with hard and soft edges.

Lively demonstrations will be given as well as individual help and advice.

Materials to bring - Watercolours, watercolour paper, brushes, palette, water containers, masking fluid, watercolour pencils, oil pastels ( optional ), Acrylic Inks ( optional ). Reference Photos of Autumn landscapes. Photos will be provided but you are very welcome to bring your own if preferred. Leaves - a variety of different coloured leaves to work from.

Workshop cost: £30 for Members and Friends, £40 for Non-members. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided but please bring a packed lunch.

Application Form

A new exhibition featuring paintings by Vivienne Machell, photography by David Hatton and 3D art by Lisa Stanway commences on 7 November.  A special preview evening will be held on 7 November from 6-8pm with drinks and nibbles.  All three exhibitors have agreed to support Home-Start charity by donating 10% of the preview evening proceeds.  The exhibition runs until 5 January, weekdays 9-5 pm.

Overview: This is for artists who are keen to try working in soft pastel, or who already have some experience. Proficient pastellists are more than welcome too! Soft pastels are a wonderful medium: versatile, expressive, quick and easy to apply, and forgiving. They also combine well with other media such as watercolour, ink, and acrylic. They work for all subjects, and being a dry medium can remain fresh and stable (under glass) for centuries. Degas was one of the greatest exponents.

Programme: I shall begin by providing detailed guidance on the practicalities of using pastels both in the studio and en plein air, and on the range of available brands and supports. Printed notes will be provided for members of the class to take away, and a bibliography of good ‘how to’ books and CDs on pastels. Using finished works of my own as examples, I shall then demonstrate the steps in how I build up a successful pastel painting, the way I use the sticks, and techniques for achieving different kinds of effect. The class can then briefly experiment with these. Members will then create a work or works of their own, using either sketches or photo references or their imagination. I shall advise and critique individually as they develop.

Bring:
• Sketches or photos from which you would like to work.
• Your easel and board, floor-standing or table-top.
• All the soft pastels you have. (Not oil pastels)
• A mid-tone pastel pencil. Stabilo are good.
• 2 large sheets of pastel paper in a mid-tone of your choice (e.g. sand or grey but not white). Tindalls stock both the standard Canson pastel paper and Canson Mi-Teintes Touch; the latter has an excellent fine abrasive tooth.
• A small stiff brush, e.g. size 3 hog, and a putty rubber.
• A small lid or box to hold the pastels you select for your work.
• Flannel or wet-wipes. • A nose-mask if you are uncomfortable with pastel dust.
• Black ink and reed-pen or sharpened stick (optional).
• Fixative (optional). • Jam-jar and large soft brush (optional). 

Prepare: Do look at some leading pastel artists. Google: The Pastel Society and go to their Mall Galleries entry which contains many works from this year’s exhibition. Also Google John Tookey, whom I much admire, and again select his Mall Galleries entry.

Workshop cost: £30 for Members and Friends, £40 for Non-members. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided but please bring a packed lunch.

Application Form