We had another great workshop with Penny Kerr, weaving a garden cloche from willow. For a while it looked like chaos, with willow cuttings all over the floor, but we all ended up with unique and useful cloches to put a plantpot or hanging basket in.
Some of the workshop participants with their finished cloche
to join with us in our very first art exhibition and sale
on March 17 & 18, 2018
from 10am – 4pm each day
on the lawns of Clementine, 104 Meehan St, Yass
Art works, along with great coffee and cake for sale
This is a great opportunity to enjoy art by local artists & friends
For artists it is a great opportunity, in the company of like minded
people, to share examples of the visual art you love doing.
Entry form for artists
Last Saturday on a surprisingly warm spring day in very blustery conditions, a number of VASY members painted and drew en plein air at Cooma Cottage. Susan Bell, Chair of Cooma Cottage National Trust, on behalf of the Committee, invited the VASY group, and volunteers Bimbi Turner and Kay Clayton made us feel welcome with devonshire teas and introduced us to the new National Trust stock in the shop!
So, with oils, canvases and drawing books in hand we spent the afternoon taking in the scenery the scenery, horses, and buildings of beautiful Cooma Cottage. It is planned to exhibit the finished works at Cooma Cottage and we look forward to future outings to Cooma Cottage and elsewhere.
Please let us know if you are interested in painting/drawing en plein air and we can start organising.
Jude McColl
A very successful and well organised Willow Sculpture Workshop was held by VASY on Saturday September 9.
Penny Kerr must be admired for her creativity, generously sharing her knowledge with the group and supplying us all the willow!
The afternoon was a fun time, learning the secrets to create a sculpture and some patience was required.
The group of eight all achieved a wonderful ‘take home’ piece to admire and enjoy.
Participating in the workshop was rewarding and after a creative afternoon a glass of bubbles was enjoyed by all
Maureen Watts
This year the Harden Murrumburrah Arts Council presents their 25th Annual Art Exhibition and Sale at the Old Murrumburrah Court House.
It has been a very big year with the Court House undergoing extensive renovations and improvements in the way of a new bathroom, window blinds, painting and advanced gallery lighting and hanging system. We are very, very grateful to Nina Horton who has been overseeing all the work. We now have a fabulous looking art space ready to showcase your art work. We hope you have been painting as we are looking for lots of entries to celebrate our 25th annual show. We also thank our sponsors for their generous donations, especially the Kruger Trust. Once again we are able to offer $1000 for the most outstanding painting.
Please find below this year’s entry form. You are welcome to share this entry form and pass it on to any other artists who may be interested in entering. When printing your form, please select landscape orientation. If you would prefer to send your entries by email, please include a printed copy of the entry form in an envelope with your entry fee when you deliver your paintings. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call Therese Crowe or La Reine Beal (our numbers are on the entry form).
Click on this icon to open and print the flyer: 
19 August 2017
Jo Baskett has written this enthusiastic description of the event.
What better way to spend a winter Saturday afternoon than with like minded people in a warm environment, to learn how to draw people that look like people moving naturally?
All materials were generously supplied.
Col Nelson was an inspired demonstrator and teacher, willing to take questions and advise on our attempts.
Col started with showing that there are a number of standard geometric shapes on which all drawings can be based – square, cylinder, triangle, and circle. He then made these 3-dimensional, then curved – all to help with “gestures” – which make the form lifelike!
Starting with gesture lines, these were then expanded using the 3D curves.
After following Col and practising some life forms, Col gave us a choice from a number of photos – and we were on our own!!
Not only were all materials supplied but Col gave us a sketch book – to take away and practise!!
With so much accomplished, there was only a limited amount of detail spent on drawing hands, feet, faces and the theory of perspective and proportion.
So please Col, when is the next workshop to continue the learning?
22 July 2018
It was FUN, it was ENGAGING, it was ACHIEVABLE and it was MOST SATISFYING!
This was a fantastic three hours at a VASY workshop with Alison Gregory as the tutor for six eager students of French Provincial painting.
An organised and motivated Alison from The Little French Provincial Shop, generously gave her time to demonstrate her love of painted furniture and objects d’art. A project, and in this case, a 2 step stool was set-up to paint, decorate and complete in 3 hours!
We all did it!
On arrival all necessary equipment was laid out on individual tables for each person. Each student selected a colour of their choice to paint their stool with most choosing two colours.
Two coats of chalk paint were applied, with some students using ‘crackling’ to give a more antique appearance. A light sanding and then an applied polish gave a professional touch.
The results were astounding; everyone was happy with what they achieved, and what is more, it was ours to take home!
If you like this type of art, and if you like to make changes to your home interiors by changing furniture, do not miss an opportunity to attend a class VASY may have with Alison in the future.
Mayin Chan, Col Nelson and Lesa Potten are holding an exhibition of their work at the Old Ginninderra School House in Nichols, ACT. Join them for the opening on Sunday 6 August at 3pm.
Exhibition poster
Stuart Marshall
A capacity class of eight enthusiastic participants joined watercolour artist Stuart Marshall from Canberra for an Introductory Workshop on Wednesday 21 June at the CWA Hall in Bowning.
First up, to get in the mood for painting we gathered at The Mews in Bowning for coffee with a few other VASY members!
Apart from all the staples required to paint in watercolour, Stuart also chatted about putting together your own paint kit, the advantages of joining an art group or society, learning about your craft, doing “brush miles” and not to be discouraged.
A great day was had by all. Thank you, Stuart, for your patience in tutoring and fabulous notes. We hope to see you again at VASY.
This was an introductory workshop and Stuart took us through three exercises to help get us started.
Exercise One
This exercise relied on part of the painting being dry and becoming progressively wetter. We ‘mucked around’ with different strengths of paint as the page dried off. Different amounts of water on the page and in the paint produced different results!
Exercise two
We created two colour wheels using paint of creamy milk consistency.
Exercise three
A selection of “first go’s” at painting a picture in watercolour
Exercise three pulled together what we had learned in the other exercises by painting a simple landscape. We drew from a landscape photograph and Stuart had a light box there for anyone wanting to trace a drawing. This was a challenge as we were all beginners. The tree canopy and learning how to remove unwanted paint put us to the test!
Stuart also demonstrated how to mix different shades of black. Mixing strong blue, strong red and strong yellow to create black – was not easy. Easier was the task of mixing strong blue with burnt sienna.
Stuart also showed us a number of his lovely miniature watercolours.
One of Stuart’s miniature watercolours, this one of Comur St in Yass
‘Another great VASY workshop’ was the verdict for Penny Kerr’s workshop held on Saturday 17 June. Penny took the six keen participants through the basics of setting up a willow sculpture. The fully booked class had a fun three hours willow weaving a pheasant. The pheasants all ended up very different but all very good.
Click on an image and then scroll through the slideshow.
While Penny’s willow sculptures have been appearing in more and more local homes and gardens her willow sculptures have attracted attention beyond our region. She has been invited to exhibit and tutor at this year’s Artisans in the Gardens exhibition held at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. Well done Penny!! and we wish you every success!!
