Another ART WEEKEND adventure with Hannah for the x8 Glasgow to West Coast art team 2016! Gamely braving changing wet windy weather in all locations I led them. 21/2 very full days of exploring mark-making with as much mixed media as I could provide and encourage. So inspiring to work with such an eager group open for any experience and my prolific tasks; boot camp no:5?

Day 1: a full studio day mono-printing using vessels and nature as contrasting subject matter where you covered the floors and walls with experimental drawing lines, no perspectives, overlapping lines, your collections; to loosen the body and spirit! After lots of delicious homemade cake now free of all inhibition you ‘loved’ mixing those Autumn Greens in acrylics you would’ve been painting outside, using a domestic vessel set-up for any angle composition and crop looking down, as opposed to side-on in the landscape hills. Painting on cobalt blue panels or white. It helped to ‘paint a landscape’ inside without the wind, changing light and often overwhelming view to select… it helped to get an eye in for those green tones… Fantastic to see x8 utterly different approaches, x8 unique hand-marks, your point of views.

Day 2: Out of the easterly wind with chalks for vigorous drawing on chocolate brown and then pewter grey… pushing your colours and stronger handwriting marks, no indecisive hairiness, mix and cross-hatch, layer those colours. Astounding drawing from everyone! Leaps and bounds progress from last year. Staggering, energetic, well seen, aiming to draw between the trees, ‘not to draw a landscape’. Totally exciting for me to see! Have to show the whole x16 series, just FANTASTIC!

An afternoon dare to The Pier for the powerful light, to try to capture the bombastic weather and colour change, clouds and rain! In graphite, charcoals, black paint and energetic hand marks… You didn’t want to leave, it was too stunning, so further acrylic painting sketches on pink, in the rain… wow what fabulous big sky and sea beauty in those vigorous responses, such energy with game survival!

Day 3: Indoors for my loopy Dahlias in loose inks working back in and over mixing your media, with graphite and white and black charcoals, the looser and more layered the better. Cake was as ever fantastic, as some painted outside on A1 in vigorous dripping black paint and charcoal, pushing those negative shapes to create the white flower… while others played with rosehips and lots of watery splashes. Fun to see you all finding your medium, experimenting, helping you find your own approach… FANTASTIC and thank you for charging the room with big creative energy.