BBQ Social Evening

22^nd June 6.30pm

Stratford Oaks Golf Club CV37 OEZ

Between Bearly and Snitterfield

Menu

Glass of Prosecco

Aberdeen Angus (170g) Beef Burger - Brioche Bun

Chicken Tikka Masala Skewers

Cumberland Sausage “Hot dog”

Vegetarian options

Mixed Leaves

Tossed Salad: Tomato, Cucumber, Celery, Red Onion

Potato Salad

Coleslaw Salad

Burger Relish, Mustard.

Strawberries and Cream

Entertainment by ‘Max Stockin’ who is a singer, songwriter and guitarist with over 10 years live experience.
Max plays a wide variety of well known vintage pop, rock and roll and blues music.

 Artists featured in his repertoire range from Chuck Berry, Nancy Sinatra and The Beatles to Billy Joel, ABBA and Queen.

Unique, powerhouse vocals coupled with energetic guitar rhythms, Max delivers a lively, upbeat and memorable performance for all to enjoy!

£25 per person

13th June Monthly Demonstration

7.00 pm to 9.00 pm at Holy Trinity School, North Willows Road, Stratford upon Avon

Tom Shepherd and Chris Eastham - Portraits - digital and traditional

This year we have been thinking about digital art and how it compares to more traditional approaches. To help us with this, we are very pleased to be able to offer a simultaneous portrait demonstration.

Tom Shepherd, will be live in the hall and will paint a portrait using his wonderful loose watercolours.

Chris Eastham will be live via zoom, projected onto our large screen and will produce a portrait digitally, using Procreate on her i pad. Both artists will be looking at the same model.

It should be fascinating to compare the processes and results.

More Information on the Portrait demonstration using iPad Procreate by Chris Eastham

Chris Eastham is a Leeds born Artist with a degree in Fine Art. She has taught Art and Design extensively throughout her career.

Since 2017, Chris has worked as a professional artist and has a painting studio in Leeds City Centre where, in the same building she is also an active member and teacher at ‘Leeds Print Workshop’.

In 2020 she was a successful quarter finalist on the popular Sky Television Portrait Artist of the Year program.

Chris started to use Procreate and digital art as a medium, especially during lockdown when she had to work from home.

As well as using the iPad to paint and draw freehand, the Procreate app can be used in many other ways, such as in the planning and development stages of a painting.

In 2023, Chris was awarded a commission by Leeds City Council to produce a public artwork celebrating the people, culture and heritage of Leeds. Chris produced the commission on her iPad using the Procreate App. It was then printed out and is displayed 7 x 2 metres on Neville Street Leeds.

To see more of Chris Eastham's work:

www.chrisieastham.co.uk

Instagram.com/chrisieastham

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Chrisieastham

11th July Monthly Demonstration

7.00 pm to 9.00 pm at Holy Trinity School, North Willows Road, Stratford upon Avon

Colin Brown – Acrylic - Towns, cities, architectural

Colin studied illustration and design at Canterbury College of Art before first working as an illustrator and then in design and advertising for over 25 years. His clients included Hasbro (Transformers), Mattel (Barbie), Saga, Cuprinol, Audi, Corgi Toy, St Ival, Craft, Burtons Biscuits, Dawes Bikes, Castrol Marine and The Lotto. He later went on to work in publishing, illustrating for books and magazines including the Guinness Book of Records in 2004.

Colin now works as an artist, specialising in acrylic painting. His work focuses on perspective, the importance of light and tone and applying colour in an easy, fresh, and fast way. 

27th April Workshop 

Keith Billington - Acrylic Landscapes - Towards abstraction  SOLD OUT

at Shottery Memorial Art Studio, CV37 9BL

10am to 4pm

Cost £35

In this workshop, Keith with guide you how to start with a photo as reference and finish with a loose or even an abstract painting inspired by the reference. He will show you how to consider the important colours and shapes in the reference photo, what to keep and what to change to improve your composition. He will demonstrate how to apply the acrylic paint thickly to achieve a loose feel. 

Paper and paints will be provided but you will need to bring your own brushes and water pots. More details about equipment will be sent out, to members who sign up for the day, before the workshop.

Creating Pattern and Texture in Woodland Watercolours with Sarah Miles

at Shottery Memorial Art Studio, CV37 9BL

18th May am, and 15th June pm See below for exact times.

Cost £35 SOLD OUT

This workshop leads on from Sarah’s demonstration to us in March, but don’t worry if you missed it! Sarah will teach and guide you through her process of considering patterns and texture in a composition, to selecting your materials and exploring with them to create these patterns and textures, to applying these techniques to a final, woodland themed painting!

The workshop is split into two half days, as your painting will need time to be pressed overnight before starting the next stage. Here is how it will work:

On Saturday 18^th May, 10am -12:30pm, we will work through the process of printing with materials into watercolour paint to create different patterns and textures. At the second session on Saturday 15^th June, 1pm-4pm, Sarah will demonstrate ways to take your work from the first stage to a completed textured painting.

Peter Kotka - Traditional Painting Techniques

at Shottery Memorial Art Studio, CV37 9BL

Saturday 18th May 1pm-4pm

Saturday 15th June 10am-12.30pm

Cost £35 SOLD OUT

Peter has an international reputation for his breath-taking still life paintings. In this two part workshop, Peter will show us how to paint a classical still life, using a monochrome under painting (which we will do in the first session). This teaches us about shape value and tone.

In the second session, we will complete the picture using a coloured overpainting, re-enforcing the above but adding an understanding of colour and temperature using a limited palette which helps us with colour harmony. We will also deal with capturing light.

Carl March - Plein Air Painting based

at Luddington Hall, CV37 9SD

Saturday 20th July 10am-4pm

Cost £35

Carl is a professional artist and qualified teacher with over 30 years experience teaching adults. As well as running regular classes and workshops in Studley.

Carl will provide a step by step approach of exercises and demonstrations, designed to help beginners and more experienced painters. This will include showing how to begin and plan the subject, how to use the materials, colour mixing plus pen and wash techniques. This is principally a watercolour workshop although if participants would like to work with other media such as oils or pastels, Carl is happy to assist.

The plein air session will be based at Luddington Village Hall with opportunities for outdoor painting in various locations in the village, depending on the weather. Appropriate clothing and waterproof footwear is recommended. Please also bring a portable chair, sunhat, water and camera/ mobile phone. Parking, tea and coffee and toilets are available at the Hall but bring your own lunch and mug. Participants will need to be prepared to carry their own materials and equipment.

Further details about equipment needed can be obtained by emailing Susan Archer on workshops@stratforduponavonartsociety.co.uk

The course will cost £35 per person and is limited to 12 participants and take place at Luddington Village Hall, Luddington Road, Luddington, Stratford Upon Avon CV37 9SD.

Further Workshop Dates for your diary 2024:

20 July Plein Air Workshop 

Carl March - watercolour

21 September Workshop

Mark Warner Acrylics

5 October Workshop

Ian McMannus watercolour – dynamic street scenes

19 October Workshop

Colin Brown – Acrylic - Towns, cities, architectural

16 November Workshop

Jane Powell - Oil and cold wax

25 April Looking at Art

Tony Mawbey: "The Age of Caricature and Satirical Art"

Free Event for Members.

Prints have been used, from the very early days of their existence, as a means of social and political commentary. The Reformation saw the spread of anti-papal and anti-clerical satire which later expanded to cover social and political issues. Political satire has a long tradition in Britain dating back to the eighteenth and early nineteenth century with artists such William Hogarth, James Gillray, Thomas Rowlandson and George Cruikshank in the vanguard. Whilst the later Victorian period saw rather more genteel humour, savage cutting satire returned in the twentieth century with newspaper exponents such as Ronald Searle, Gerald Scarfe and Ralph Steadman. 

The talk will take us from the first religious prints through to the modern era linking the events of the period with some of the most effective and amusing examples of the genre.

23 May Looking at Art

7.00 pm to 9.00 pm at Holy Trinity School, North Willows Road, Stratford upon Avon

Jane Hornby: "London Pleasure Gardens: Art, Music and Entertainments".

Free Event for Members

Vauxhall Gardens was one of London’s pleasure gardens that became an integral part of the social scene from the 1660s until 1859.  Culturally significant, British art, music and entertainments were promoted there.   The names of Thomas Arne, George Frideric Handel, William Hogarth and Francis Hayman were linked particularly to Vauxhall Gardens.  Pleasure gardens were open to everyone who could afford the entrance fee: one shilling in the case of Vauxhall Gardens, sited on the south bank of the River Thames.

By the end of the 18th century, there were many pleasure gardens of all types and sizes in and around London, but Vauxhall Gardens remained the most important one, having the patronage of Frederick, Prince of Wales, in the first half of the 18th century.   

Entertainment was varied and included dinner, music, dancing, looking at art, and promenading.  It was important to see and to be seen.   

Entertainment moved with the times, and balloon ascents from the beginning of the 19th century became an attraction at Vauxhall Gardens.

For a time, pleasure gardens were an important part of Georgian life, but times changed in the Victorian era.  The advent of the railways enabled the seaside to become the place to visit.

20th June Looking at Art

7.00 pm to 9.00 pm at Holy Trinity School, North Willows Road, Stratford upon Avon

Tony Mawbey: "The Treasures of Wightwick Manor".

An Introduction to Wightwick Manor to coincide with the Society’s visit in July.

The Wightwick estate was purchased in 1887 by Theodore Mander, a Wolverhampton paint and varnish manufacturer. He built a new house and proceeded to renovate the nearby 17^th century house and outbuildings. The new house is an outstanding example of Victorian craftsmanship and is one of the few places where the designs of William Morris can still be seen as originally intended. Theodore’s eldest son Geoffrey continued to enhance the house and with his second wife, Rosalie Glynn Grylls, put together a fine collection of Pre Raphaelite art. In 1937, just 50 years after it was built, Wightwick was one of the first houses accepted by the National Trust under the Trust’s Country House Scheme and the first to be given absolutely in the lifetime of the owner.

The combination of William Morris designs and Pre Raphaelite art together with the separate De Morgan Gallery of arts and crafts ceramics and late Pre Raphaelite paintings make Wightwick a fascinating property to visit.

18 July Looking at Art

7.00 pm to 9.00 pm at Holy Trinity School, North Willows Road, Stratford upon Avon

Michael Culverwell: "The life and work of Henry Raeburn".

Do you know this picture, who painted it and the story behind it? You must come and join us at “Looking at Art” on the 18^th July at Holy Trinity School for a 7.00 pm start when Michael will be talking about the story behind the picture and the other work by this great artist.

This artist was originally apprenticed to a goldsmith, he showed enormous artistic talent as a young man. In 1784 he moved to London where he met the important portrait painter Joshua Reynolds. He spent some time in Italy but returned to Edinburgh in 1787 where he began painting portraits of the rich, famous and important people of his day. He was in constant demand and received many honours: in 1822 he was knighted when the King visited Edinburgh. Sir Henry Raeburn died a year later.

21st April Trip to Birmingham Gas Hall Museum

Victorian Radicals from the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts and Crafts Movement

Cost: £37 for coach and entry to Museum

Booking Closes on 5th April

Three generations of British artists, designers and makers revolutionised the visual arts in the second half of the nineteenth century. The Pre-Raphaelites and the Arts and Crafts movement transformed art and design.

Fresh from an award-winning tour of the US, Victorian Radicals, the city of Birmingham's outstanding collection, is the first comprehensive showing of the city’s Pre-Raphaelite and Arts and Crafts collections for over five years. Victorian Radicals presents vibrant paintings and exquisite drawings alongside jewellery, glass, textiles and metalwork to explore their radical vision for art and society.

We are lucky to have Jane Hornby as our tour guide for the day

Departs:      Henley Depot 8.45am               

                   Rother St 9.15am                           

                   Holy Trinity Primary School 9.30am

Arrives: Birmingham       11.00am

Departs Birmingham 4.00pm

Arrives: Holy Trinity Primary School      6.00pm

19th May Trip to International Watercolour Masters Exhibition

Lilleshall Hall Shropshire 

Cost: £35 for coach and ticket

Staged at the beautiful Lilleshall Hall the show is a unique event, bringing together the best Watercolour Artists from across the globe. This is the only watercolour event of its kind, in the UK. Not only will it be possible to view the exhibition but there are also 3 demonstrations a day.

Departs:      Henley 8.45am                             

                  Rother St 9.15am                           

                  Holy Trinity Primary School 9.30am

Arrives: Lilleshall  11.00am

Departs       Lilleshall 4.00pm                         Arrives: Holy Trinity Primary School  approx. 6.00pm

7th July Trip to Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton

Cost: £20 for coach only. Entry free to National Trust Members with a valid card.

 This trip follows on from our Looking At Art evening on 20th June, "Treasures of Wightwick Manor"

When Theodore Mander commissioned the building of a new manor on Wightwick Bank in 1887 he started the Mander family's love for Victorian art and design which would unfold over a century of collecting and preservation. His untimely death in 1900, left the care and development of the new home to his son, Geoffrey. His story is one of art and design, industry and politics, told through

the house he saved and lived in.

Although the art and design collections stand out, most of the items at Wightwick are deeply personal. The Mander family left an archive full of letters and photos covering their whole lives.

Geoffrey Mander was very clear the house should remain a home and not become an art gallery, and he said as much in Parliament.

The artwork is therefore shown in a domestic setting. This theme is maintained by not placing labels next to items. Instead, information can be

found in the catalogues provided in rooms.

It often surprises visitors that William Morris never came to the house, nor did his company formally design for it. Instead, all the wallpapers, fabric wall coverings and soft furnishings were bought through the Morris & Co shop or catalogue.

Unlike the artwork, Morris & Co designs were included in the 1887 and 1893 buildings.

However, they were much enhanced after the 1937 saving of the property, when Sir Geoffrey expanded the Manor's Morris collection (or

'Morrisania' as the National Trust's Historic Buildings secretary called it).

This included sketches for Morris designs, as well as large items of furnishings, such as carpets and curtains.

Departs: Henley 8.45am

     Rother St 9.15am

         Arrives: Wightwick Manor 11.00am